We are very honored to have Nathan Thrall and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man in conversation for the next installment of the Bisan Lecture Series, on Wednesday March 12th, at 7PM Palestine time.
Register here to get the Zoom link!
We are very honored to have Nathan Thrall and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man in conversation for the next installment of the Bisan Lecture Series, on Wednesday March 12th, at 7PM Palestine time.
Register here to get the Zoom link!
Title: Palestinian Life Under Occupation, American Complicity, and Prospects for International Accountability
Abstract: Join us for a conversation between Nathan Thrall and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man on “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama”, a heart-wrenching portrait of Palestinian life under occupation told through the story of a tragic bus accident that took the lives of six Palestinian kindergartners. Situating the personal narrative in the context of structural forces, “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama” elucidates the daily injustices faced by the roughly 3.2 million Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank. Author Nathan Thrall will be in a conversation with Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, Director of Research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. The two will discuss American complicity in Israeli crimes against humanity and the prospects for international accountability.
Bios: Nathan Thrallis an American writer living in Jerusalem. In 2024, he received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama”. An international bestseller, it was translated into more than two dozen languages, selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and named a best book of the year by over twenty publications, including The New Yorker, The Economist, and Time. He is also the author of “The Only Language They Understand”. His reporting, essays, and criticism have appeared in the London Review of Books, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, and The New York Review of Books. He spent a decade at the International Crisis Group, where he was director of the Arab-Israeli Project, and has taught at Bard College.
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man is director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. Michael’s work focuses on accountability of Israeli officials and entities via U.S. and international mechanisms, including filing complaints to the ICC, and extensive work on settler violence sanctions in the United States. Michael worked as a journalist in Israel-Palestine for over a dozen years, including as editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine. He is the co-author of an upcoming book, to be published in 2025 by UC Press, exploring practical policy frameworks for dismantling apartheid and occupation.
Register here! You can find the list of previous and upcoming lectures on our website.
The previous BLS webinar titled “Sowing Diversity: Peasant Paths to Biodiversity and Food Sovereignty” saw Prof. Ivette Perfecto and their student Mita Khanna Sharma focusing on the impact of the ongoing loss of biodiversity and biomass, coupled with declining bird and wildlife populations, which is a growing concern worldwide. Industrial agriculture—marked by extensive monocultures and heavy reliance on agrochemicals—has played a significant role in this crisis. Additionally, the transformation of wildlands for agricultural expansion has further intensified environmental degradation, disrupting ecosystems and accelerating climate change. The fundamental shift in food and farming systems is necessary to sustain food production and meet the growing global demand. Their discussion explores how millions of smallholder farmers turn to agroecology—a holistic farming approach that integrates ecological principles with social, political, and cultural dimensions. The agroecology movement is reshaping food systems and strengthening the connection to food sovereignty by advocating for biodiversity conservation, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Materials from this lecture are available here.
This lecture is sponsored by the Bisan Center for Research and Development and Scientists for Palestine.
In light of the urgent need to assist the people of Gaza, who are currently experiencing immeasurable loss of life and widespread devastation, please read this humanitarian aid appeal from ANERA, forwarded to us by a friend of BLS, Dr. Sara Roy of Harvard University. Hoping to see many of you at this webinar, we send you our best regards.
The Bisan Lecture Series Steering Committee
BLS Statement of purpose In concert with Scientists for Palestine and the Bisan Center for Research and Development, and in keeping with their joint commitment to full integration of Palestine in the global community of learning, the Bisan Lecture Series sponsors discourses on subjects of cultural, scientific, and societal importance by leading research experts and public intellectuals of varied heritage and viewpoint. The interactive webinars are free and open to the public, and recordings of each will be posted soon afterward.