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We’ve gathered leading international experts on Israel-Palestine to share their CHALLENGING, THOUGHTFUL and ESSENTIAL ideas about what has gone wrong and how to put it right. Speakers include Yuli Novak, Hanin Majadli, Sir Mick Davis, Alon Liel, Caitlin Le Roith and Peter Beinart. Your ticket to the festival includes:

• A screening of the documentary There is another way on Saturday night;• Eight sessions on Sunday;• A vegetarian lunch plus tea and coffee and snacks.• A display of the work of acclaimed Israeli photojournalist Maya Levine featuring current images of the West Bank and Gaza border.

The event will be hosted at venues in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Choose your city:Saturday night, 26 July from 7.00pm to 10.00pm.Sunday 27 July from 9.00am to 6.00pm

Our Speakers Include:

Yuli Novak- Israeli human rights activist. From 2012 to 2017, she was executive director of Breaking the Silence, an organisation that documents the experiences of soldiers in the Occupied Territories, in the spirit of the End Conscription Campaign in South Africa. Since 2023 she has led B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories – one of the most respected Jerusalem groups documenting human rights violations in the Occupied Territories.Novak will be speaking to us over zoom.

Hanin Majadli - Palestinian Israeli citizen, journalist, publicist and editor at Haaretz, the premier progressive Israeli newspaper. In her work as an opinion columnist she focuses on engaging with the Arab-Palestinian communities in Israel, the fragile relationship between them and the State and its Jewish citizens. She aims to expand the exposure of alternative Israeli voices, whose work is unusual and different from the Israeli mainstream.Majadli will be speaking in person in Johannesburg.

Sir Mick Davis- South Africa-born international business executive, philanthropist and former CEO of the British Conservative Party. He advocates that Diaspora Jews have a legitimate stake in the resilience of Israel as a liberal democracy pursuing fairness for all of its citizens and seeking a secure peace with its neighbours. He believes this agency must be used to hold Israel’s leadership to account when they deviate from the foundational values of liberal democracy. He set up, with Mike Prashker, the London Initiative, a global network of philanthropists and civil society leaders that aims to create an environment for these values to be actioned. He believes that a peaceful settlement of the conflict with the Palestinian people is fundamental.Davis will be speaking to us over zoom.

Peter Beinart - Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York. He is also a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, an MSNBC political commentator, Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. In his new book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, he argues that a chauvinistic version of Zionism has displaced the traditional humanitarian values of Judaism. He appeals to his fellow Jews to grapple with the morality of their uncritical defence of Israel’s actions, supposedly done in their name. Beinart will be speaking to us over zoom.

Alon Liel - Former director general of the Foreign Ministry of Israel and Israeli ambassador to South Africa in the 1990s, playing a key role in improving relations between the Jewish community and Nelson Mandela. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and governments. He is a member of the boards of several NGO’s focused on promoting civil and human rights in Israel-Palestine. Liel will be speaking to us over zoom.

Caitlin Le Roith - Dynamic legal professional and educator. Lectures at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town. While her work focuses on issues of law and justice within South Africa, Caitlin has researched and written on aspects of international law and its potential to hold Israel accountable for rights violations. Caitlin is also an activist and public speaker, motivated to challenge hegemonic narratives and critically examine the structures that maintain unjust status quos.Le Roith will be speaking in person from Cape Town. Her talk will be zoomed to Johannesburg.

The event has been organised by the Jewish Democratic Initiative, which campaigns for democracy within Israel-Palestine and a negotiated settlement to the conflict based upon justice and egalitarian principles for all.

Full Price Tickets are R360. For those unable to pay the full price we have concession tickets available for R180. We want to encourage everyone, regardless of financial status to attend so if the concession price is too high please email info@jdisa.org so we can arrange tickets.