Sen. Mitchell Meets with Scholar Classes of '10 and '11

Plus: An evening with Mideast analyst Robert Malley

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On Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, Sen. George Mitchell met in Washington, DC over coffee and muffins with members of the Mitchell Scholars of the Classes of 2011 and 2012, an event that had been eagerly awaited by the Mitchells, who arrived from Seattle, Honduras, and the UK.

At the informal event, the Senator addressed a diverse set of questions from the Scholars, whose interests range from politics to theater to immunology to neuroscience. He was asked to compare his experience negotiating with Ireland and Northern Ireland to his recent time as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, to comment on the current pervasive sense of pessimism among many Americans, and was queried about the state of the Senate and whether we are doing enough about climate change. A tall order for a breakfast meeting!

After the Senator’s lively and informative session, new Mitchell director Anne Glusker drew on her long experience as a journalist to conduct a workshop on opinion journalism. Anne talked about how to conceive of an idea, how to match that idea to a timely “hook”  or “peg” (the thing that makes a story newsworthy at a particular moment), and how to figure out the appropriate outlet for a particular article. The Scholars evinced great interest in the subject, so Anne promised to follow-up with further sessions, either in person or via email or webinar. 

That evening, the Scholars reconvened at the home of Mitchell Director Glusker for a cocktail party. The featured speaker was Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group who spoke about the roots of the seemingly intractable Arab-Israeli conflict. Malley, who served on President Clinton’s National Security Council and participated in the Camp David Summit, writes and speaks frequently on the Arab-Israeli situation and on the Arab Spring.

The Scholars shared baba ganoush and hummus, many of them sitting cross-legged on the floor at the informal gathering. They listened raptly as Malley deftly traced the history of the Arab-Israeli situation. Many of them posed provocative questions, and all of them were happy to meet new Mitchells and be reunited with old Mitchell friends.

Other guests present from the human rights community included Elisa Massimino, president of Human Rights First; Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch; and Chinese democracy activist Xiarong Li. The Mitchell Scholars hope that these guests will address future gatherings of Scholars.