The role of the Palestinian and Arab intellectual in forming a new future
A lecture by Prof. Hisham Sharabi at Birzeit University

Dr. Hisham Sharabi, Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., was hosted at Birzeit University today to join in a discussion with various faculty members of the University.

Dr. Hanna Nasir, President of the University, introduced Dr. Sharabi who had previously visited the University seven years ago - just after the Palestinian Authority was established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Noting the changes since then, and with the onset of the second Intifada, Dr. Sharabi, talked about the role of intellectuals and academics in this new phase in the history of Palestine and their contribution for a better future.

Dr. Sharabi said that as a University, Birzeit plays a very important and distinguished role in Palestine in educating thousands of people who will work in Palestine and provide for a better future. "We will not win our war against the Israelis through military powers, but through the people," Dr. Sharabi said. "We need non-classic tactics, not an army or simple theories, but a change in perceptions and the development of an intellectual approach to advance our vision for the future."

He said that the Middle East is now populated with hundreds of intellectuals and academics, all specialized in their own fields, who can contribute to the development of this vision and the building of the state of Palestine. He said that it is the academics who should approach the government bodies to assist and help them in developing a new future for the Palestinians. A discussion followed thereafter between Dr. Sharabi and the faculty members who expressed their views regarding the challenges they face during these uncertain times. Several professors commented about their relations with the Palestinian Authority and how this relation should be strengthened so that faculty members would have a more productive role in the community.

Dr. Sharabi commented on the role of the media and the satellite stations that are bringing the truth about the current situation to almost every home, and are also giving the intellectuals the opportunity to voice their opinions on television, where in the past, the meeting place for such gatherings used to be in private homes. This, he said, is creating intellectual dialogue amongst the people, comprehension about the situation and change in opinions.

On the question of the future and his vision of it, Dr. Sharabi pointed out that "we either make the future with our own hands, or we let the current situation determine our future".

In conclusion, Dr. Sharabi said that societies will not be free if women are not given their freedom and their rights - "The issue of women's rights is a time-bomb in a patriarchal society, if we do not realize this issue, then we will never be free," Dr. Sharabi said.

During his visit at the University, Dr. Sharabi was invited to meet and hold discussions with undergraduate and graduate students in the Sociology, Philosophy and Cultural Studies and Gender, Law and Development programs.

Dr. Hisham Sharabi was born in Jaffa, Palestine, and received a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy in 1947 from the American University in Beirut. He later went to Chicago, where he received a Ph.D. in 1953. In 1971, he held the post of editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, published by the Institute for Palestine Studies. He co-founded the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University in 1975. In 1990, he founded the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine, a Washington, D.C. based institution that provides information, publishes papers, and sponsors talks and symposia pertaining to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Dr. Sharabi is also the founder and chair of the Jerusalem Fund, a Palestinian charitable organization that provides support to Birzeit University and other Palestinian institutions.