November 3, 2003

SFSU presents "Exploring the Israeli-Palestinian Issue through Film," featuring six films on the long-standing conflict in the Middle East, airing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Two films will be screened from 3:45 to 7 p.m. each day in room 133 of the Humanities building. Admission is free and open to the public.

The film series is an extension of SFSU's Year of Civil Discourse, a series of panel discussions, workshops, guest lectures and arts events created last year by President Robert A. Corrigan to promote constructive civil discourse among all members of the campus community.

"By bracketing each Israeli/Jewish film with a Palestinian/Arab film, we hope that our students and those arrayed on both sides of the issue can better understand the suffering that the war brings to everyone," said Jerald Combs, professor of history and coordinator of the Year of Civil Discourse. "We will have on- and off-campus experts present at the showings to facilitate discussion between and after the films and generate what we hope will be a civil discourse on the war."

The panel members discussing the films include: Fred Astren, professor and director of Jewish Studies; Matthew Shenoda, lecturer of ethnic studies and faculty adviser to the General Union of Palestinian Students; Noura Khoury, co-leader of the SFSU Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group; and Seth Brysk, director of San Francisco Hillel. Combs will serve as moderator.

Students can enroll in Cinema 325 Section 6 and earn one unit of course credit for watching all six films and writing a paper about it.

For a schedule of the film screenings, visit the Civil Discourse Web site.

-- Matt Itelson

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Last modified November 3, 2003, by the Office of Public Affairs