Israeli Society and Politics after October 7th | Gaza Lecture Series

We here at Busboys and Poets Books have been watching with horror as the siege on Gaza continues and the civilian death count rises day by day. In partnership with the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University, we present The Gaza Lecture Series of 2024. We invite everyone to come and learn more about the history of settler colonialism, violence, and genocide in Palestine. Join us for this session to learn more about Israeli society and politics, the division within Israeli society around the war on Gaza, and how things have changed since October 7th.

NYU Director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies and the Henry Taub Professor of Israel Studies at the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, Lihi Ben Shitrit, is joining us on the Busboys stage to share her scholarly and personal experiences surrounding Israeli mass violence in Palestinian territories. Lihi Ben Shitrit is also the editor for THE GATES OF GAZA: CRITICAL VOICES FROM ISRAEL ON OCTOBER 7TH AND THE WAR WITH HAMAS, an anthology where all pieces were written within a few days to a few months of October 7 and comprise an archive of a particular discourse taking shape in Israel at this historical juncture. She’ll be joined by Dr. Nader Hashemi, Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at Georgetown University. 

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of THE GATES OF GAZA: CRITICAL VOICES FROM ISRAEL ON OCTOBER 7TH AND THE WAR WITH HAMAS will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and will be livestreamed. 

We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

Lihi Ben Shitrit is the director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies and the Henry Taub Professor of Israel Studies at the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender, religion, and politics in the Middle East. She is the author of Righteous Transgressions: Women’s Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right (Princeton University Press, 2015) and Women and the Holy City: The Struggle over Jerusalem’s Sacred Space (Cambridge University Press, 2020) as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Ben Shitrit’s work has been supported by various fellowships including from Harvard Law School’s Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World (2023), ACLS/Luce Religion, International Affairs and Journalism fellowship (2019-2020), Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative (2018-2019), University of Pennsylvania’s Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (2017), and Harvard Divinity School’s Women’s Studies in Religion Program (2013-2014). She holds a Ph.D., M.Phil., and M.A. in political science from Yale University and a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.

Dr. Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (Oxford University Press, 2009) and co-editor of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future (Melville House, 2011), The Syria Dilemma (MIT Press, 2013), Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2017) and a four-volume study on Islam and Human Rights: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies (Routledge, 2023). His next book project is entitled: “The Global Divide over Israel and Palestine.” He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Busboys and Poets, 450 K Street Northwest, Washington, United States