The Peninsula

Prominent Jews to speak at Doha Debates



Two prominent Jewish personalities from Israel and two Palestinians will speak at the next Doha Debates being held at the Qatar Foundation headquarters on Wednesday. The motion for the day will be: “This House believes the Palestinians should give up their full right of return.” Yossi Beilin, a member of the Israeli Knesset, who initiated the secret Oslo talks, and Bassem Eid will support the motion. Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and the child of refugees and Dr Ilan Pappe, Israeli historian who teaches at Haifa University will speak against the motion. 

Doha Debates backs Palestinian refugees' right to return



Should the Palestinians give up their right to return to their homeland after decades of misery and sufferings in refugee camps across the world? A huge majority of the participants at Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates yesterday rejected the idea when they overwhelmingly defeated the motion that suggested Palestinians should give up their full right to return. Only 18.4 per cent of the participants voted for the motion. The debate was marked with the presence of two prominent Jewish personalities from Israel, opposing each other. Equally interesting was the presence of two Palestinians facing each other on the two sides of the panel.