[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 197 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H6031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LOURDES UNIVERSITY LEADS THE WAY

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud 
Lourdes University of Sylvania, Ohio, and its new president, William 
Bisset, who held a vital convening last week as part of the 
university's Courage Conversations Town Hall series. It focused on the 
Israel-Palestine conflict, with dozens of students, staff, and faculty 
taking part.
  University President Bisset and Professor Mary Robinson, who chairs 
the history, geography, and political science departments at Lourdes, 
said their goal was to offer a historical perspective to develop an 
understanding of the past history of Israel and Palestine to help 
people grasp the full scope of what is taking place in that war-torn 
region. They hope the conversations will help provide a better 
understanding of a longstanding conflict in which world leaders have 
long sought a true path toward a lasting peace and a two-state 
solution.
  Thoughtful discussions in which history is examined, as was done at 
Lourdes University last week, is the way a breakthrough for peace and 
reconciliation will come about. May other organizations follow the lead 
of Lourdes University.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a copy of an editorial from the 
Toledo Blade that recognizes this event and its important contribution 
to human understanding.

                    [From The Blade, Nov. 25, 2023]

                        Editorial: Lourdes Leads

                     (By The Blade Editorial Board)

       Kudos to Lourdes University for showing us the way forward 
     on the future of Palestine and Israel.
       Not afraid to tackle probably the most emotionally fraught 
     topic of our day, the university last week offered a ``town 
     hall'' on the topic of the Israeli-Hamas War.
       Would that others who have taken to the streets shouting 
     chants and waving signs and issuing orders to U.S. Rep. Marcy 
     Kaptur (D., Toledo) would show some of the same awareness of 
     how complicated this problem is.
       The university in Sylvania devoted its Courageous 
     Conversations Town Hall to the topic.
       Conscious of the ethnic and religious tensions, there was 
     security stationed at the door, but it wasn't needed.
       About 40, including administration staff, faculty members, 
     and students, attended.
       ``My goal was to offer this from a historical perspective 
     because I think the more people understand the past and the 
     history, the better understanding they will have of the 
     subject and be able to better understand both sides of the 
     story,'' said Mary Robinson, associate professor of history 
     and department chairman of history, geography, and political 
     science at Lourdes.
       President William Bisset said, ``We needed to start with a 
     conversation that explained that this has been a very, very 
     complicated part of the world for many, many years, that 
     leaders throughout the world have tried to figure out.
       ``We felt that it was important, especially for our 
     students, but also for our community members to start the 
     conversation [about Israel and Palestine] with a historical 
     perspective,'' Mr. Bisset said.
       Israel and the Palestinian people, and the armed guerilla 
     groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, who nurture the bitterness of 
     the Palestinians over their displacement from the land that 
     officially became Israel in 1948, are at an impasse, with 
     both sides claiming ownership of the land between Jordan 
     River and the Mediterranean Sea.
       But yet, there have been instances under at least two U.S. 
     presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, that the 
     Palestinian people came close to securing a Palestinian 
     state.
       Among the Arab states of the Middle East, there appears to 
     be a willingness to once again take up the possibility of a 
     so-called two-state solution.
       It's not going to happen, though, if Hamas remains in power 
     in the Gaza Strip. Whether by Israel's current invasion of 
     Gaza or through the diplomatic intervention of Arab leaders 
     in the neighboring Islamic countries, Hamas and Hezbollah 
     have to be neutralized.
       Calm discussion in which the history is examined, as was 
     done in Lourdes University's Courageous Conversations Town 
     Hall last week, is the way a breakthrough will come about.

     

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