From Dehumanization to Dialogue: Conversation with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

A native of Gaza and one of the most prominent Palestinian critics of Hamas, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib joins us for a conversation that refuses easy answers while insisting on moral seriousness. 

Join us as Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib- Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Director of Realign For Palestine- takes The Weitzman stage for an onstage discussion focused on confronting Hamas, supporting both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, and identifying pragmatic paths forward grounded in nonviolence, human dignity, and political realism. Drawing on Ahmed’s personal history in Gaza, his outspoken criticism of Hamas, and his work advancing a two-state solution, the conversation will also explore how the Israeli-Hamas war reverberates in the United States, including the rise of antisemitism and the challenges facing civic discourse. The goal is not to simplify a complex conflict, but to challenge entrenched narratives, resist dehumanization, and model what serious, values driven dialogue can look like.

More about the Speaker

Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council and Director of Realign For Palestine

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib leads Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse and develops a new policy framework for rejuvenated pro-Palestine advocacy. Realign For Palestine aims to cultivate a new generation of Palestinian voices committed to a two-nation solution, nonviolence, and radical pragmatism.

Alkhatib serves as a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs, where he writes extensively on Gaza’s political and humanitarian affairs, is an outspoken critic of Hamas, and promotes a radically pragmatic approach to peace and Palestinian statehood as the only path forward between Palestinians and Israelis. His writing and opinions have been published and featured across the US, Israeli, and international press, and his views are prominently featured across social media platforms. Alkhatib holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in intelligence and national security studies. He grew up in Gaza City and left Gaza in 2005. Much of Ahmed’s experience is influenced by having grown up in Gaza during the Oslo peace process — and during the difficulties resulting from Oslo’s failure — and the rise of Hamas and Islamism in Gaza.

Since the October 7 massacre, Alkhatib’s life has been deeply impacted by the loss of thirty-three of his immediate and extended family members, who were killed by three different Israeli airstrikes. Still, he aims to play a part in breaking the cycle of dehumanization and defying the cycle of hatred, incitement, violence, and revenge.

This event is co-produced by The Weitzman, ADL Philadelphia, and the JCRC.

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