Harvard University recently held what was billed as “a first-of-its kind student conference” titled, “Economic Prosperity for Peace,” which promised to explore “the idea of the private sector creating stability and laying the groundwork for peace in the Middle East through entrepreneurship, education and economic prosperity.”
While it’s encouraging to see higher education initiating a productive approach to achieving peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the fact that no specialists in the region were involved is significant. Instead, the host and organizers (Harvard Business School and a group of Arab, Israeli, and American students from Harvard and MIT) all hail from the business/private enterprise sector. Too many Middle East studies academics are busy issuing apologias for Palestinian intransigence and promoting BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel, neither of which are a boon to coexistence.
