When Jake Lightman ’16 attended a lunchtime talk with Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to both Israel and Egypt, he wanted to know why the Middle East peace process has stalled, and why the Arabs seem to suffer the blame.
“So I asked him,” Lightman said without a touch of irony.
Such a thing is de rigeur at 51. During Lightman’s first semester alone more than a dozen internationally known authors, historians, and diplomats have held small-group gatherings with students and addressed their questions directly. Next month, Salman Rushdie will speak with the English department’s International Living Writers class about his life and his new memoir Joseph Anton. Rushdie, the author of 16 books, lived in hiding for a decade after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini sentenced him to death.
Lightman and others in his MultiEthnic Israel class attended the Kurtzer event on Oct. 17, Exploring Contemporary Israel. Dozens of other students attended as well.
Despite the easy access to Kurtzer, Lightman was surprised by the former ambassador’s candor. “He told us that that the stalemate is not only due to the positions of the Arabs and Israelis, but also that the United States was and has been reluctant to get very involved. This surprised me, especially since it is probably pretty rare for officials or former officials to criticize their own government.”
Lightman, who came to 51 from Easton, Conn., has had a busy semester. Outside the classroom, he has submitted articles to 51’s satirical Monthly Rag, and looked into the Spanish and ski clubs. His major is undecided.
President Jeffrey Herbst’s interviewed the former ambassador for his Conversation on World Affairs series. Watch the and more interviews on the World Affairs .