Japan, Palestine and the Middle East (1999)

Introduction 

PASSIA’s seminar on “Japan, Palestine and the Middle East” was part of PASSIA’s annual pro­gram on Training and Education in Interna­tional Affairs. The purpose of this program is to help Palestinian professionals broaden their knowl­edge and contacts in the international arena, de­velop their expertise in specialist areas important to their community, and enhance their relations with others.

In focusing on Japan, Palestine and the Middle East, the 1999 semi­nar recognized that Japan has been an important source of eco­nomic aid and dip­lomatic sup­port for the Palestinian commu­nity over recent years, and notably since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians were signed in 1993. Japan was among the coun­tries that sent observers to monitor the Palestin­ian elections of Janu­ary 1996, and Japanese as­sis­tance has been crucial in regard to economic devel­opment within the Palestinian Autonomous Areas. Japa­nese con­tacts with the Palestinian community on the ground have in­creased ac­cordingly and the Japanese Foreign Ministry has estab­lished a pro­gram for bringing Palestinian representatives to Japan for infor­mational and familiarization tours. Among the wider Pales­tinian com­munity, how­ever, there is little knowl­edge about Ja­pan, its history and culture, its contribu­tion in the peace process and its role in the develop­ment of Pales­tine. The 1999 PASSIA seminar on Ja­pan, Pal­estine and the Middle East was designed to meet this obvious need for in­creased understanding and contact.

The following report contains the proceedings of the PASSIA seminar, including presentations given by the lecturers and summaries of the sub­sequent discus­sions. In the appendices, one can find information about the lecture program, the lecturers, the Palestin­ian participants, and a list of relevant reading material. 

PASSIA would like to take this opportunity to express its deep appreciation to the Japanese Endowment Fund established by the UNDP/ Program of Assis­tance to the Palestinian People (PAPP), Jerusalem, whose kind support made this seminar program possi­ble.

 We also thank most warmly the guest lecturers from Japan and all the local and regional schol­ars whose lectures and expertise contributed greatly to the suc­cess of the seminar.

Last, but not least, the PASSIA team would like to thank the Palestinian participants for their comments and enthusiasm to learn about the socioeconomic aspects, political system, and foreign policy making of Japan especially with regard to the Middle East and Palestine.

Jerusalem, 
May 1999
Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi
Head of PASSIA

PASSIA consulted with Palestinian and foreign scholars in order to plan and implement the semi­nar. Consultation on the planning and im­plemen­tation of the seminar began in December 1998. At the be­ginning of January 1999, PAS­SIA adver­tised the seminar in the local press, Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam; notification was also given to national organizations such as universities, research centers, and institutions of the Pales­tinian Authority. No fees for undertak­ing the course were required from the participants.

PASSIA formed a committee specifically for the preparatory stage and oversight of the seminar. Its members were: Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, Head of PASSIA, Dr. Rosemary Hollis, Head of the Middle East Program at the Royal Institute of Interna­tional Affairs, London, and Mrs. Deniz Altayli, PASSIA’s Program Director. PASSIA received ap­plications from all over the Pales­tinian Terri­to­ries and all applicants were invited for inter­views. Dr. Hollis came from London specifically to con­duct the interviews, which took place be­tween 27 and 30 Janu­ary 1999 in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Seventeen of the inter­viewees were selected to participate in the semi­nar, as well as four reserves.

A list of reference materials providing back­ground information on the topics to be covered in the semi­nar was prepared in consultation with rele­vant experts. Required reading materials were pho­to­copied and distributed to the partici­pants at the beginning of Febru­ary, in or­der that they could familiarize themselves with the basic facts and issues in advance of the seminar. Additional recommended read­ing mate­rial was available for the participants at PAS­SIA’s li­brary.

The reading period included the preparation of a background paper; each participant was assigned a specific topic to research and to present dur­ing the seminar itself.

From 14-19 March 1999 a series of lectures, dis­cus­sions, and other educational exercises were con­ducted by local scholars and visiting foreign experts. In addition, repre­sentatives from the Japa­nese dip­lomatic corps in Tel Aviv gave pres­en­tations and the participants them­selves pre­sented the background research papers that they had pre­pared as part of the one-month preparatory read­ing period.

During the six-day seminar, beverages and lunch­eon for all participants and lecturers were pro­vided by PASSIA. One evening, PASSIA hosted a reception at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem for all involved in the seminar, as well as for rep­resentatives of Palestinian institutions, the diplo­matic corps and friends of PASSIA.

Participants were required to write a second essay after the close of the seminar. A list of suggested es­say topics was made avail­able during the semi­nar, from which participants were invited to choose the subjects on which they wished to write. Essays had to be completed within one month of the end of the seminar.

Participants who attended the entire seminar and completed the reading and writ­ing assignments, as­suming they have attended the entire seminar, re­ceived a certificate from PASSIA recognizing their successful completion of the seminar pro­gram.

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