Founding President of Galilee International Management Institute, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
Key Takeaways:
Dr. Shevel’s explanation of how so many political issues stem from access to water was enlightening and made me think about the other roots of problems I don’t often notice. Also, having the Israel-Palestine conflict explained by someone who was directly involved gave me a new perspective with which to view major world events and how they are covered by the media.
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Ponte Nuovo students had the opportunity to meet Dr. Joseph "Yossie" Shevel on Monday, the 13th of December. We discussed a wide range of topics from his founding of the Galilee Institute to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its similarities with the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Surprisingly, Dr. Shevel began by explaining the importance of water in politics, something I didn't realize was often a deciding factor in war. He recounted his involvement in creating peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea and how the conflict was essentially about water. We learned about Dr. Shevel's role in the negotiations for peace and were fascinated to hear how this work led to a number of nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize. Hearing about this
experience and process was a thrill for our small group.
Dr. Shevel also told us about his founding of the Galilee Institute and its accomplishments in educating leaders from around the world about Israeli economic and agricultural practices. We also discussed a new approach that could solve not only immigration issues, but also poverty in many African countries: working online. Perhaps Covid has enlightened us to a new alternative for workers to avoid going into overcrowded, expensive cities and might also allow people to remain in their home countries. Dr. Shevel suggested this could be one solution to poverty in many places.
We also discussed the fact that, in Israel, everyone is required to serve in the military. Dr. Shevel told us about his time as an Officer in the Israeli Intelligence branch and shared what everyday life was like in Israel. Dr. Shevel is a "Sabra," meaning he was born and raised in Israel. From this perspective, he was able to give us an understanding of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It was interesting to see that he didn't seem biased by his Israeli roots but wanted us to understand the situation. And we did understand.
