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Special to United Methodist Insight | Oct. 6, 2025
Phyllis Bennis stands among the world's most knowledgeable and insightful analysts on the Middle East. The author of an indispensable primer on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, she has a gift for providing clear and accessible explanations for complex issues.
In this very special webinar, we will explore with her some of the most challenging questions that people around the world are grappling with, including: What are the root causes and the purpose of Israel's genocidal war that has raged since Oct 7, 2023? What should we know and understand about Hamas? In light of the ever-worsening horrors unfolding in Gaza, what are the most useful actions we can take? What to think of various plans that are arising for Gaza's future?
With alarming developments in the West Bank, is formal annexation to Israel looming and what would that mean for the future of Palestine? What has been the impact of U.S. policies, in particular during the Biden and Trump administrations? How significant are recent shifts in U.S. politics and society regarding Palestine/Israel, and what might we expect in the year to come? How helpful (or not) are recent developments in Europe and at the United Nations, and what is needed from them?
Phyllis Bennis is an American Jewish writer and political commentator and a leading advocate for Palestinian rights. She directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C., and she is a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She also serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace, and, in 2001, she helped to found US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Bennis has served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on the Middle East, and she has been short-listed twice for the post of UN Special Rapporteur. She writes and speaks widely across the US and around the world, and she is the author of numerous books on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, and US foreign policy.
Her most recent book is Understanding Palestine and Israel (2025).
From the publisher: "The book cuts through the noise and delivers clear, accessible answers to the most pressing questions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — questions that many have never had the opportunity to ask. In an easy to read, FAQ-style format, it covers the origins of the Israeli state, the movement for Palestinian liberation, U.S. foreign policy, and much, much more — including the events of October 7, 2023, the war that followed, and the role of the conflict in 2024 presidential election in the United States."