NIF Australia to host peace advocates

New Israel Fund Australia will host a Palestinian and Israeli speaker tour in June, bringing together two figures who say they are building a broad coalition working towards peace in the region.

Hiba Qasas, founding executive director of Principles for Peace and a former senior UN official, will appear alongside Dr Gil Murciano, CEO of the Israeli foreign policy think tank Mitvim Institute.

The pair will speak in Sydney on Monday, June 1 and Melbourne on Thursday, June 4, with both events moderated by ABC commentator and host of the Wheeler Centre’s The Fifth Estate podcast, Sally Warhaft.

According to NIF Australia, the two leaders have built a coalition of more than 550 Israeli and Palestinian leaders across civil society, security, business and politics in the aftermath of October 7 and the Gaza war.

Qasas recently addressed the UN Security Council and appeared on CNN with Christiane Amanpour, while Murciano is a regular analyst on Israel’s i24 News channel.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Murciano said the timing was significant given what he described as an “illusion that you can reshape the Middle East by military force alone”.

He argued that defeating Hamas and Hezbollah needs a credible political alternative, not just a military campaign.

Murciano stressed that Mitvim is a Zionist organisation committed to the security and livelihood of Israeli citizens, but said Israeli strategy needed to shift from a military-only approach to one that also uses diplomacy as a strategic asset.

He said he had long regarded Australia as a “blind spot” in international discussion of the Jewish community and the impact of recent events, and wanted to learn from Australian Jewish experiences as much as share his own perspective.

Asked whether the local Jewish community was ready to hear a message about the chances for peace given rising antisemitism in Australia, Murciano acknowledged the sensitivity of the question.

He said he wanted to open a discussion about the line between criticism of Israeli policy and delegitimisation of Israel’s right to exist, calling it “a very complicated case”.

Bookings: nif.org.au/roadmap_to_peace-2026