Israel and Palestine were on the agenda last night in Bentley Hall, when professor Marc Scarcelli gave his analysis on the ongoing conflicts in the beleaguered area.
Scarcelli has been teaching at Ohio University since 2009 as a visiting assistant professor. Scarcelli particularly focuses on terrorism, smuggling, and international relations in the political science department. Hillel at OU sponsored the discussion.
Eric Rudel, a sophomore and intern at Hillel, organized the event and talked to Scarcelli knowing he was knowledgeable on the subject.
“I wanted to find a way to raise awareness of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict on campus,” Rudel said.
The presentation elaborated on conflicts not just in Israel, but also around the world.
Scarcelli began his speech discussing asymmetric wars; wars that consist of two different categories: guerilla fighting and terrorism, he said.
“There is no end point achieved through this battle. It’s the largest difference between conventional war,” he said.
He then discussed peace studies, highlighting that although many believe partisans are solutions to war, most end in causing more wars among smaller groups, Scarcelli said.
Scarcelli also discussed population issues within countries and smuggling problems through the Sinai peninsula; talking about how the global north and Israel are facing overpopulation due to the problems of 10-year work visas issued and smuggling that occurs throughout countries, he said.
He also spoke about the matters of water scarcity as it “may become the basis for future wars, if not already today,” he said.
He later discussed ongoing conflicts between Israel and Palestinian nationalists, debating who deserves the right to water resources in the country largely for agricultural use.
Scarcelli was happy he was invited to speak on a less-discussed topic.
“We get so caught up with wrestling conventional issues, we don’t always get to talk about these (issues),” Scarcelli said.
The presentation attracted many students’ interests, attracting both students of Scarcelli and students interested with finding out more about the conflict.
“I wanted learn more about the Israeli/Palestinian situation and thought (Scarcelli’s) presentation went well,” Gayle Garvin, a sophmore, said.
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