Gershon Baskin shares ideas about the Annapolis Peace Meeting in Boston

Gershon Baskin shares ideas about the Annapolis Middle East peace conference at Temple Israel in Boston.

Temple Israel has been an integral part of Boston Jewish life for over 160 years. As an urban congregation where all are welcome to live Judaism through discovery, dynamic spirituality, and righteous impact, they welcomed Gershon Baskin and Hanna Siniora.

Diane Balser mediated the conversation with Gershon Baskin and Hanna Siniora.

The Annapolis Conference was a Middle East peace conference held on 27 November 2007, at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. The conference aimed to revive the Israeli–Palestinian peace process and implement the “Roadmap for peace”. The conference ended with the issuing of a joint statement from all parties. After the Annapolis Conference, the negotiations were continued.

Diane Balser worked to change how women relate to stereotypes and helped grow support for peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Balser helped found one of the first feminist collectives in the US, Bread and Roses, which championed affordable housing and environmental responsibility. She has trained women worldwide in leadership skills and public policy, and led multiple delegations to the NGO International Conferences for Women. In her classes on gender and politics at Boston University, Balser encourages young women to confront the stereotype of the helpless and materialistic Jewish American Princess and commit instead to a tradition of powerful Jewish activism. Through her leadership of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, she helped the grassroots organization (now part of J-Street) mobilize support for a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.