April 13, 2004
Jerusalem Is Subject of International Conference
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Jerusalem -- the ancient city holy to Christians,
Muslims and Jews alike -- will be the subject of a two-day international
conference Tuesday and Wednesday, May 4 and 5, at Northwestern
University and Chicago's Fairmont Hotel.
Free and open to the public, day sessions on May 4 and 5 will
take place in Hardin Hall in Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street,
on the Evanston campus. The evening session on May 4, hosted by
the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and moderated by Northwestern
University President Henry S. Bienen, will take place in the State
Room of the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago.
"Jerusalem, City of Three Faiths: Histories of the Past,
Present and Future" will trace the ancient city’s long
history and its political, religious and cultural importance. Sponsored
by the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Crown Family
Center for Jewish Studies, the conference is made possible through
a generous gift from the Perlman Family Foundation.
Panelists will pay particular attention to the Temple Mount or,
as it is know to Muslims, the Noble Sanctuary (haram al-sharif),
and explore how it came to be understood as sacred space within
the Holy Land.
A schedule follows:
Tuesday, May 4
9 a.m. to noon, Jerusalem in Jewish History and Historiography, "Biblical
Jerusalem: The Historic Debate, Benjamin Sommer, Northwestern University; "The
Temple and Temple Mount in Jewish Tradition," Yaron Eliav,
University of Michigan; "Muslim Responses to the Sanctity
of the Temple Mount: Anti-Jewish and Christian Polemics," Jacob
Lassner, Northwestern University.
1:30 to 4 p.m., Jerusalem (al-Quds/Bayt al-Maqdis) in
Muslim History and Historiography, "Arab Politics
and the Sanctification of Medieval Jerusalem," Jacob Lassner,
Northwestern University; "Jerusalem and Arab Politics during
the Palestine Mandate," Muhammad Muslih, Long Island University;
Response, Suleiman Mourad, Middlebury College.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus
Drive, Chicago, Negotiating the Future of Jerusalem, moderated
by Northwestern University President Henry S. Bienen with Muhammed
Muslih, Long Island University, and Menachem Klein, Bar-Ilan
University.
Wednesday, May 5
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Jerusalem Post 1948, "The
Emergence of Israel's Capital," Ilan Troen, Ben Gurion University; "Israel,
Jordan and Jerusalem," Reuven Merhav, Israel Foreign Ministry
(retired); "The Vatican and Jerusalem," Michael Perko,
Loyola University, Chicago; "The Arabs of Jerusalem and its
Environs following the Unification of the City in 1967," Elie
Rekhess, Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University; Response,
Emile Sahliyeh, University of North Texas.
"Jerusalem" City of Three Faiths" is
co-sponsored by the Northwestern University Office of the President;
Program
in Asian and Middle East Studies, Program in International Studies;
Department of History; and Center for International Comparative
Studies. It is made possible with the cooperation of the Moshe
Dayan Centre of Middle East and African History and the Konrad
Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at Tel Aviv University,
and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.
For further information, call (847) 491-2612 Note: Seating
is limited. To ensure seating, call (847) 491-2612 or e-mail jewish-studies@northwestern.edu in
advance of the conference. |