Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 8pm Eastern / 7pm Central / 5pm Pacific - Online
620 Days: Human Rights and International Law on the Ground in Gaza and the West Bank
by Reconstructionists Expanding the Conversation
Join us for a discussion of the human situation on the ground after 21 months of Israel’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and an assessment of the charges of genocide which South Africa and several supporting countries have lodged against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Mara Kronenfeld, the Executive Director of UNRWA USA will address the humanitarian crisis. Smadar Ben-Natan, an Israeli attorney and professor of global studies and human rights at the University of Oregon, will discuss the question of genocide.
Mara Kronenfeld is Executive Director of UNRWA USA, the nonprofit organization that supports the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East. Mara is a Fulbright Scholar with over 25 years of experience in international development and an expert in designing and leading partnerships supporting youth development programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mara is passionate about advancing the rights, dignity, and opportunities of Palestine refugees and promoting a peaceful future where young people and their families can thrive.
Smadar Ben-Natan is a professor of global studies and human rights at the University of Oregon. Before transitioning to academia, she practiced human rights and criminal defense law in Israel and Palestine, litigating in military and civilian courts up to the Israeli Supreme Court. She is working on two books: Citizen-Enemies: Military Courts and the Construction of Citizenship in Israel/Palestine, and The Carceral State in Conflict: Between Reconciliation and Radicalization. She holds a Ph.D. in law from Tel Aviv University and a master’s in international human rights law from the University of Oxford.