Political Guild hosts mid-east conflict panel

The Flagler College Political Guild announced to Historic City News local reporters that they will host a panel on relations between Palestine and Israel on January 25th at 7:30 p.m. in the Virginia Room of the Ringhaver Student Center on Sevilla Street.

The panel will include former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, former CIA Clandestine Service operations officer Ron Estes and Spanish Foreign Service Ambassador Santiago Martinez-Caro; who will discuss current relations between Palestine and Israel, the prognosis for peace between these two countries and the best policy path for the U.S. to take regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

McGovern was Democratic nominee for president against Richard Nixon in 1972, and he served as South Dakota’s Senator from 1963 to 1981. From 1991 to 1997, he was the president of the Middle East Policy Council, a non-profit organization that seeks to educate American citizens and policy makers about the political, economic and security issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East.

Estes is a 25-year veteran as operations officer in the CIA Clandestine Service. Six of those years were spent in Middle East Operations. He was chief of station in three countries, and is author of the novel, “The Mission: CIA in the Balkans.”

Martinez-Caro is a career ambassador in the Spanish Foreign Service, having been ambassador in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. He was senior special advisor for European Union relations with the Union for the Mediterranean, in which Israel, Arab countries and Palestine share membership. He is currently posted to the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria.

The Political Guild is a student club at Flagler consisting of a mixture of students from many different backgrounds and political views. The members of the club are aligned with both Democrats and Republicans. The club works to bring awareness of politics and political issues to the college, raise money for charities, and bring more political discussions to the Flagler community.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis