Photo by Bill Petros

Middle East expert gives first Perlmutter lecture

With Israel and Palestine at an apparent crossroads in their decades-old struggle for peace, David Makovsky, a foremost expert on the region, was a natural choice to deliver the School of Public Affairs’ inaugural Amos Perlmutter Memorial Lecture. Perlmutter, an AU professor from 1972 until his death in 2001, was a dynamic scholar and expert in comparative politics and foreign affairs.

Makovsky, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Project on the Middle East Peace Process and former executive editor of the Jerusalem Post, brought a unique insider’s prospective on the situation to his talk Apr. 6 at the Mary Graydon Center.

“It’s a sea change for both of these people,” Makovsky said of the Israelis, who installed the new Kadima party into power in a March 28 election, and the Palestinians, who voted in Hamas on Jan. 24. “At the very time that Israelis have called for a two-state solution with this election, the Palestinians have come out for one-state. They have invested legitimacy and authority in the most radical party.”

Makovsky refused to make predictions about the future, but did offer this insight.

“There will be a lot of air bumps along the way, so I would tell people to put their tray tables in the upright position,” he said. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” —MU