Previously cancelled conference on Israel to go ahead in Ireland

A conference on international law and the state of Israel that was reportedly previously cancelled will go ahead as planned, organisers have confirmed.

In an announcement on their website, the organisers said: “The Organising Committee of ‘The State of Israel and International Law: Legitimacy, Exceptionalism and Responsibility’ confirmed that the conference will take place in Cork March 31-April 2.”

“We are aware that confusion has arisen about the timing and location of our event, due in part to inaccurate reporting in the press. We now warmly invite you to register for and join this interdisciplinary debate, with a highly exciting programme, about one of the most pressing issues of our time.”

A number of world renowned scholars, academics and activists have agreed to take part in the event and organisers are optimistic that the conference will be the first of its kind and constitute a ground-breaking historical event on the road towards justice and enduring peace in historic Palestine.

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It’s also been announced that the conference will raise questions that link the suffering in historic Palestine to the manner of Israel’s foundation and its nature. It’s anticipated to generate a debate on legitimacy, exceptionalism and responsibility under international law as provoked by the nature of the Israeli state.

Organisers told MEMO that they had planned to announce the venue at a press conference in Cork yesterday however, in order to maximise media coverage, they have now decided to hold the press conference in Dublin. The reason for this delay, they said, was to facilitate the schedules of supportive politicians in the Irish parliament. The press conference has now been scheduled for early next week.

In January 2017, it was widely reported that the conference had been cancelled due to a lack of special security plans.