The Palestinian Exile: 78 Years and No Future

Register here, then watch the trailers for free at your convenience, and then join the discussion with Discussion Panelists and Moderator:

• Ardi Imseis is Associate Professor of Law at Queen’s University and a former U.N. official
  with UNRWA and UNHCR (2002–2014). He served on the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on
  Yemen (2019–2021), has acted as legal counsel before the International Court of Justice, and
  has provided expert testimony before bodies including the U.N. Security Council and Human
  Rights Council. He is author of The United Nations and the Question of Palestine (Cambridge,
  2023), former Editor-in-Chief of the Palestine Yearbook of International Law (2008–2019),
  and holds degrees from Cambridge (Ph.D.), Columbia (LL.M.), Dalhousie (LL.B.), and Toronto
  (B.A.). He appears in his personal capacity.
• Kassem Aina is the General Director of the National Institution for Social Care and Vocational
  Training (Beit Atfal Assomoud), a leading Lebanese NGO serving vulnerable communities and
  refugees. Since its founding in 1976 after the Tal El Zaatar tragedy, he has expanded it into a
  nationwide, nonsectarian institution providing family support, mental-health care,
  education, and vocational training. Aina is also a prominent advocate for human dignity,
  insisting that refugee rights must remain above political deadlock. He represents Beit Atfal
  Assomoud in major civil society networks, linking grassroots programs with international
  partners and U.N. mechanisms to strengthen humanitarian impact.
• Stacy Gilbert is a former Senior Civil-Military Advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s
  Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, where she worked for more than 20 years in
  humanitarian emergencies and refugee crises worldwide. She advised U.S. and foreign
  militaries on humanitarian principles, civilian protection, aid worker security, and emergency
  response, and deployed to major crises including Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan,
  and Afghanistan. In May 2024, she resigned from the State Department in protest after it
  concluded that Israel was not blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, a decision that drew
  national and international attention. She continues to advocate for humanitarian issues,
  adherence to law, and accountability.
• Ussama Makdisi is a Palestinian–American historian and the Chancellor’s Chair in History at
  U.C. Berkeley. A leading scholar of modern Arab history, U.S.–Middle East relations, and the
  political construction of sectarianism, he has also held the May Ziadeh Chair in Palestinian
  and Arab Studies, underscoring his deep expertise on Palestinian history and justice.
  Makdisi’s work highlights how empire, displacement, and U.S. policy have shaped Palestinian
  experiences. His books—including Age of Coexistence, Faith Misplaced, Artillery of Heaven,
  and The Culture of Sectarianism—have established him as a widely recognized voice in the
  field.