The Palestinian Dilemma: Where to Now?

Izzat Salah Abdulhadi is the Head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Izzat was born in Nablus, Palestine, in 1957 and educated in Egypt, Lebanon, the UK and Australia.

Prior to joining the Palestinian Diplomatic Corp, he was the founding Director General of Bisan Centre for Research and Development, a leading NGO in community development and civil society strengthening. Established in 1989, he held this post for 18 years, implementing programs and producing ground breaking research funded by the World Bank and other premier international organisations. Izzat explains: ‘Bisan was and remains central to strengthening Palestinian civil society, promoting human rights, democratic principles, human sustainable development and social justice through community development, policy research, advocacy and networking.’

Following the Oslo Accords of 1993, Izzat was among a core group of civil society leaders who established the Palestinian NGO Network or “PNGO”, the most significant networking body for Palestinian NGOs, and was elected consecutively to the PNGO Steering Committee. He was also part of the establishment of the Arab NGO Network for Development and a member of its steering committee. He has been heavily involved in the move to NGOs leading the establishment and development of vibrant and democratic Arab civil societies.

In 2006, Izzat was appointed as the Head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Guided by a strong commitment to public diplomacy, his work as Head of the General Delegation focuses on creating open and robust relationships between all levels of Australian and New Zealand society and Palestinian society.

He is an active member of the Council of the Arab Ambassadors in Canberra and currently holds the post of Deputy Dean of the Council. In this role, he implements Council decisions that engage the shared interests of Arab countries within Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. In addition, he maintains relationships with other members of the international diplomatic corp.

Dennis Altman has written 15 books since his groundbreaking Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation. The Bulletin listed him as one of the 100 most influential Australians ever. He is Patron of the Australian Queer Archives and Pride Foundation Australia.

Meir Itzchaki is a senior diplomat in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel, Canberra.

Following a career including serving as an officer in the Israel Defence Forces, Meir joined the Diplomatic Corps in 1994 after graduating from the Hebrew University where he attained a bachelors degree in History and Middle Eastern Studies

Since then, he has served with distinction in posts around the world from Africa to Europe. Meir’s particular expertise has focused on international treaties and international organizations, having played key roles in multilateral negotiations and the development of global arms control disarmament and non-proliferation mechanisms.

Now posted to Australia, Meir holds a number of qualifications and is shortly due to receive his Masters in International Law from London University.

Tony Walker is international editor of the Australian Financial Review. He is a former Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times.

Tony has served as the AFR’s political editor, and recently completed a long assignment as Washington correspondent. He is a dual Walkley Award winner for commentary. He is co-author of Arafat: the biography, first published in 1990 by WH Allen.