On March 15, 2017, East Carolina University’s CAMERA-supported group Pirates for Israel arranged for scholar Dr. Asaf Romirowsky to talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Romirowsky is the co-author of Religion, Politics, and the Origins of Palestine Refugee Relief. He has served in the Israel Defense Forces as an International Relations liaison officer in the West Bank and to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Romirowsky is a Middle East historian and a fellow at the Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank. He publishes across a wide variety of national press in addition to scholarly journals while traveling around the world to make appearances in media outlets and give lectures.
Romirowsky came to teach the ECU community about the origin and details of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the crowd of forty students and staff was not as large as desired, it made for a more active and engaging question and answer session. The majority of the attendees were pro-Palestinian and not there to necessarily learn, but despite the disagreements, they and Dr. Romirowsky were able to get to a point of dialogue on certain topics. Although they had their differences, people were respectful of one another. After the event, all attendees thanked Pirates for Israel for extending the invitation to people with all stances on the issue.
Although the event had a somewhat small turnout, Pirates for Israel did gain more followers on their Facebook page and saw an increase in emails inquiring about more information. They plan on making their next event more focused on Middle Eastern culture to give students and staff a taste of the region’s food, games, and music.
Contributed by CAMERA intern Jake Greenblatt.