Believing in “The Holy Land”: Religion in the Israel-Palestine Conflict

November 13, 6:30-9:00 pm

Washington Duke Inn, Ambassador Ballroom

The current war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza has a long history. Over centuries of conflict, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peoples have laid claim to the land all of them understand as holy. In the last year, we’ve heard religious rhetoric used to justify and escalate violence. On these contentious and emotionally charged issues, universities have a responsibility to cultivate thoughtful conversations in which we listen to others from diverse political and religious backgrounds.

At this semester’s Triangle Roundtable, we’ll hear from three faculty experts who belong to Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions on the role of religion in the current Israel-Palestine conflict. How do religion, ethnicity, and nationality interact in Israeli and Palestinian identities? Should Israel consider itself primarily a Jewish nation-state or a secular democracy? Is Palestinian resistance a jihad—and what does that term really mean? And how do Christian beliefs about the Jewish people and Israel influence foreign policy and international relations? We’ll examine ways that religious identities contribute to conflict as well as religious resources for peace and reconciliation.

Meeting over a meal, we aim to foster civil, constructive conversations about these complex, charged issues, listening to diverse religious and nonreligious perspectives. No matter what you believe, you’re welcome at the table.

Speakers

Abdullah Antepli is Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at Duke Divinity School and Associate Professor of the Practice at Sanford School of Public Policy. He previously served as Duke University's first Muslim chaplain and director of the Center for Muslim Life. He is also a senior fellow on Jewish-Muslim Relations at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

Yaakov Ariel is Professor of Religious Studies at UNC. His research focuses on Christian-Jewish relations in the late modern era and attitudes towards the Jewish people and the Holy Land among evangelical Christians. His books include Evangelizing the Chosen People and An Unusual Relationship: Evangelical Christians and Jews.

Kyle Beardsley is Professor of Political Science at Duke, co-director of the International Crisis Behavior data project, and the Director of the Triangle Institute of Security Studies (TISS). His research focuses on the causes and consequences of armed conflict around the world. He is also a board member of the Center for Christianity and Scholarship.

What to Expect at Triangle Roundtable

Faculty from Duke, UNC, NCSU, and other Triangle-area colleges and universities are invited to join colleagues and special guests for a Faculty Roundtable on Religion and Public Life. The night includes dinner, presentations from featured speakers, and small group discussion on Wednesday, November 13.

The evening will include a moderated discussion featuring Abdullah Antepli, Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at Duke University; Yaakov Ariel, Professor of Religious Studies at UNC; and Kyle Beardsley, Professor of Political Science at Duke.

Triangle Roundtable is hosted by the Center for Christianity and Scholarship, InterVarsity Faculty Ministries at Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University, InterVarsity Black Scholars and Professionals (BSAP), and the North Carolina Study Center.

Faculty roundtables have taken place since 2005 and have engaged thousands of professors at major universities, including Harvard, MIT, Yale, and Brown. Roundtables are dedicated to fostering dialogue that explores religious perspectives on an array of topics. The Triangle Roundtable began in 2020 and serves faculty at universities and colleges in the Triangle region of North Carolina.

We hope you will join us for this conversation!