Thursday, November 1, 2012

"Indigenous Challenge to Legal Doctrine: Bedouin Land Rights in Israel/Palestine"

 A Talk by Oren Yiftachel and Ahmad Amara   

12:00- 1:00 p.m.

Wasserstein 3007  

Harvard Law School

Cambridge, MA

Professor Oren Yiftachel, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Ahmad Amara, Palestinian human rights lawyer and PhD candidate at New York University, will discuss a recent court challenge (the 'al-Uqbi' case) against a longstanding Israeli legal doctrine which has made it all but impossible for traditional land holders to gain legal ownership. The current challenge relates to global debates on issues of indigenous rights, customary law, legal pluralism, and transitional justice.  

Amara and Yiftachel co-edited (with Ismael Abu-Saad) a forthcoming book, "Indigenous (In)Justice," soon to be published by the Human Rights Program. With contributions from international scholars, including United Nations officials, the book examines the economic and social rights of indigenous peoples within the context of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. 

This talk is being co-sponsored by The Middle East Initiative at the Belfer Center at Harvard University.