The second of eight lectures within “The Gaza Lecture Series,” hosted by Georgetown University, was livestreamed Oct. 1 for attendees in the North Lounge in Campion Student Center. The livestream was co-sponsored by the department of history, the department of political science, the Faith-Justice Studies Program, the International Relations Program and the department of theology and religious studies.
Nathan Thrall, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, was the guest speaker of the lecture, titled “Gaza, Israel’s System of Domination and U.S. Complicity.” Thrall was joined in conversation by Sarah Leah Witson, J.D., executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now.
Thrall was critical of the U.S. government’s support for Israel, which he said enabled the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza in the days after Hamas’ October 2023 attack in southern Israel.
“What I really see for Israel is total impunity this past year,” Thrall said. “I see a carte blanche from the United States as Israel is demolishing Gaza and now expanding into Lebanon, and who knows what’s coming tomorrow? I do believe that the incentive can change for Israel if we actually reach a point where there are real costs. I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Witson called the American media’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict “awful” during her remarks.
“Many in the American media, certainly some of the most prominent voices, have been reckless and irresponsible,” Witson said. “If they had made these mistakes in any other context, they would all be fired by now.”
Umeyye Isra Yazicioglu, Ph.D., associate professor of Islamic studies and organizer of the lecture series livestreams, said it was important to hold these lectures as an American-Jesuit university.
“It is not the first time human beings are killed in large numbers, but this is, perhaps, the first time we are seeing it unfold in real time,” Yazicioglu said. “It is also a responsibility for us to talk about this.”
Dominic Demarco ’26 said he came to the lecture to broaden his understanding of the Israel-Hamas war and of the situation in Palestine.
“I feel more brought in on how Israel has subjugated Palestinians to abuse and discrimination,” Demarco said. “I’ve also now realized how [the] U.S. is complicit in those actions as well, and how the U.S. media also blocks out the truth.”
Elaine Shenk, Ph.D., professor of Spanish and co-facilitator of the post-lecture Q&A along with Jenny Spinner, Ph.D., professor of English, encouraged St. Joe’s students to educate themselves on the conflict in Gaza properly and to take advantage of future lectures.
“Accurate information is the basis for understanding the true situation and what is happening there,” Shenk said.
Alex Andahazy ’25 contributed to this article.
