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Expert to discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict at Connecticut College Feb. 17

NEW LONDON, Conn. - One of the most sought out experts on the Arab-Israeli conflict will speak at Connecticut College Feb. 17. Ilan Troen, professor of Israel Studies at Brandeis University, will give a talk titled "Whose Land is it Anyway: Theology and Secular Politics in the Land of Israel/ Palestine" in the Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room of Charles E. Shain Library at 4:30 p.m. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is a Melrod Judaic Studies Lecture sponsored by Miriam Melrod, a 1946 Connecticut College graduate, in coordination with the Religious Studies department.

Troen will discuss how the contending parties have developed two fundamental discourses: one that is directed internally to members of the group and one that is directed towards outsiders who evaluate claims and influence outcomes. He will also talk about why the external discourse, once so favorable to Zionism - the international Jewish political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine after two millenia of exile - has undergone significant change.

Troen has written several books on the subject of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, including his most recent publication "Imagining Zion: dreams, designs and realities in a century of Jewish settlement," and "Jews and Muslims in the Arab World: Haunted by Pasts Real and Imagined," a book he co-authored with Jacob Lassner.

About Connecticut College

Situated on the coast of southern New England, Connecticut College is a highly selective private liberal arts college with 1900 students from all across the country and throughout the world. On the college´s 750-acre arboretum campus overlooking Long Island Sound, students and faculty create a vibrant social, cultural and intellectual community enriched by diverse perspectives. The college, founded in 1911, is known for its unique combination of interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning.

For more information, visit www.conncoll.edu.

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February 11, 2009