An Arab Woman’s Journey from Antisemitism to Zionism with Rawan Osman

Monday, November 11, 2024
1:00PM Eastern Time

Lebanon's education system and media present Israelis and Jews as the enemy of Lebanon. The depictions, often extreme in their hostility, shape the perceptions of many Lebanese and also Syrians. Raised in this environment, Rawan Osman accepted the message. Only on moving to Europe and gaining access to new, uncensored information did she question her own biases. In the end, she embraced Israel’s cause and became an activist who championed peace and human rights across borders. What lessons does her personal odyssey offer? Can Arabic speakers emerge from their Judeophobic blight? If so, how? 

Rawan Osman is the founder of Arabs Ask, a platform aimed at fostering dialogue and understanding between Arabs and Israeli Jews. A dual Syrian-Lebanese citizen fluent in Arabic, English, French, and German, she has worked with the Center for Peace Communications. She writes a blog for The Times of Israel, is working on a book on Israel and Israelis, and is studying for a B.A. in Jewish and Islamic Studies at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Israel Insider with Ashley Perry

Wednesday, November 13, 2024
3:00PM Eastern Time

Has Trump’s election already had an impact on the Middle East? Can one say anything with confidence about the second Trump Administration’s policy toward Israel?

Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual and operational means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.