Middle East analyst David Makovsky (center) spoke with Binghamton University students on March 21. Norman Finkelstein spoke at BU the next day.

Iran’s increasing significance, and the ramifications of that for Israelis and Arabs, were discussed by Middle East Analyst David Makovsky on March 21st, and controversial professor Norman Finkelstein spoke the next day.

In “Shifting Sands of the Mideast,” a program sponsored by Hillel-JSU, Makovsky met with small groups during the day, and presented a 45-minute lecture in the evening. Makovsky is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former editor of the Jerusalem Post.
Nicolas Kolios, Hillel ICA representative summarized Makovsky’s appearance in a letter to the editor in April’s Hatikva Magazine:

He spoke on involvement of countries like Saudi Arabia and Jordan in trying to oppose Iran’s apparently growing influence in the region. [He] Encouraged the pursuit of alternative energy and stressed its role in helping the U.S. avoid having dual and opposing roles, i.e. military involvement in the region, while also buying oil. The lecture was followed by a 40 minute Q&A session, after which several students stayed around, talking more personally with David about his early career in journalism, and getting further political analysis.

The next day, Norman Finkelstein, professor of political theory at DePaul University in Chicago, gave a lecture entitled “A Question of Justice: Historical Origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and the Prospects for Peace.” The talk was sponsored by the Middle East Cultural Association, Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Graduate Student Organization and the graduate vice president for multicultural affairs.