A Kairos Ireland workshop on the Palestinian situation was held recently in the College. The event was arranged by Dr Peter Collins (lecturer of History at St Mary's) and featured contributions from Rifat Odeh Kassis (current secretary of Kairos Palestine), Mark Braverman (Executive Director of Kairos USA) and Brian Brown (a consultant in the founding of Kairos UK). The workshop was well received and there were very positive reactions to the three speakers. This manifested itself in an extended question and answer session.

Some of the discussion involved:

• Are we looking at a one-state reality within the Middle East and, if so, what would that look like and

  would it be a disaster for Palestinians?

• Has Ireland at official level backed off its traditional support for Palestine because of external economic

  pressures?

• With all the world issues facing us today, what is it about the Palestinian situation that connects us in Ireland

  with support for the non-violent efforts of Palestinians?