Lourdes University Leads the Way

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Lourdes University of Sylvania, Ohio, and its new president, William Bisset, who held a vital convening last week as part of the university's Courage Conversations Town Hall series. It focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict, with dozens of students, staff, and faculty taking part.

University President Bisset and Professor Mary Robinson, who chairs the history, geography, and political science departments at Lourdes, said their goal was to offer a historical perspective to develop an understanding of the past history of Israel and Palestine to help people grasp the full scope of what is taking place in that war-torn region. They hope the conversations will help provide a better understanding of a longstanding conflict in which world leaders have long sought a true path toward a lasting peace and a two-state solution.

Thoughtful discussions in which history is examined, as was done at Lourdes University last week, is the way a breakthrough for peace and reconciliation will come about. May other organizations follow the lead of Lourdes University.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a copy of an editorial from the Toledo Blade that recognizes this event and its important contribution to human understanding. [From The Blade, Nov. 25, 2023] Editorial: Lourdes Leads (By The Blade Editorial Board)

Kudos to Lourdes University for showing us the way forward on the future of Palestine and Israel.

Not afraid to tackle probably the most emotionally fraught topic of our day, the university last week offered a ``town hall'' on the topic of the Israeli-Hamas War.

Would that others who have taken to the streets shouting chants and waving signs and issuing orders to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) would show some of the same awareness of how complicated this problem is.

The university in Sylvania devoted its Courageous Conversations Town Hall to the topic.

Conscious of the ethnic and religious tensions, there was security stationed at the door, but it wasn't needed.

About 40, including administration staff, faculty members, and students, attended.

``My goal was to offer this from a historical perspective because I think the more people understand the past and the history, the better understanding they will have of the subject and be able to better understand both sides of the story,'' said Mary Robinson, associate professor of history and department chairman of history, geography, and political science at Lourdes.

President William Bisset said, ``We needed to start with a conversation that explained that this has been a very, very complicated part of the world for many, many years, that leaders throughout the world have tried to figure out.

``We felt that it was important, especially for our students, but also for our community members to start the conversation [about Israel and Palestine] with a historical perspective,'' Mr. Bisset said.

Israel and the Palestinian people, and the armed guerilla groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, who nurture the bitterness of the Palestinians over their displacement from the land that officially became Israel in 1948, are at an impasse, with both sides claiming ownership of the land between Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

But yet, there have been instances under at least two U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, that the Palestinian people came close to securing a Palestinian state.

Among the Arab states of the Middle East, there appears to be a willingness to once again take up the possibility of a so-called two-state solution.

It's not going to happen, though, if Hamas remains in power in the Gaza Strip. Whether by Israel's current invasion of Gaza or through the diplomatic intervention of Arab leaders in the neighboring Islamic countries, Hamas and Hezbollah have to be neutralized.

Calm discussion in which the history is examined, as was done in Lourdes University's Courageous Conversations Town Hall last week, is the way a breakthrough will come about.

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