Debating Anthony Weiner

The New York Times' Roger Cohen bravely accepts the job of moderating Rep. Anthony Weiner and former Rep. Brian Baird, as they discuss Israel, the Middle East, the Goldstone Report and other light topics this Thursday.

Weiner is, of course, known for his verbal restraint.

The announcement, passed on by an interested reader:

The GOLDSTONE REPORT: It's Relevance to a Fast-Changing Middle East

 

Where: The New School, New York City

When: 7 pm

Join moderator Roger Cohen (The New York Times), former U.S. Representative Brian Baird, a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza (whose essay on Congress and the report appears in The Goldstone Report), and Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), a strong supporter of Israel’s policy on Gaza and an informed critic of Goldstone’s findings, for an engaging conversation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the report’s findings, and the ramifications of the changing landscape in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and beyond for the future of peace in the Middle East. Sponsored by Nation Books and The New School.

When: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 7 pm

Where: Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 W. 12 Street

Admission: free; reservations required: publicprograms [at ] newschool [dot] edu

About The Goldstone Report

In the Spring of 2009, South African judge Richard Goldstone set out on a mission to the Gaza Strip on assignment from the United Nations Human Rights Council. He was sent to investigate possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s invasion of Gaza a few months earlier. Many other reports on the Israel-Palestinian conflict had come and gone, but the account Goldstone’s mission produced later that year was different; it became the report heard round the world, as it alleged that both Israel and Hamas committed atrocities during Israel’s 2009 incursion into Gaza, with Israel aiming to “punish, humiliate, and terrorize a civilian population.” This characterization incited uproar in Israel and abroad. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding the findings supplanted any real understanding of their implications. The Goldstone Report (Nation Books, 2011) changes this. Edited by three progressive Jewish Americans, it contains analysis, commentary, and a context for debate.