Sasha Cabral, Contributing Photographer

Hundreds of students packed one of Yale’s largest lecture halls Wednesday evening for a joint discussion between former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority Nasser al-Qudwa.

The event, hosted by the Yale Political Union, or YPU, in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, was titled “Building Peace in Israel and Palestine” and sold out “immediately,” Brennan Columbia-Walsh ’26, the organization’s president, wrote in an email to the News.

Olmert and al-Qudwa agreed on the necessity of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and frequently referenced their joint proposal, copies of which organizers provided to attendees at the event entrance. Olmert said during the event that al-Qudwa had not been able to obtain a visa to travel to the United States for the event.

Unlike the YPU’s typical weekly debates, the event did not have a resolution for speakers to defend or oppose. Instead, the evening was framed as a discussion moderated by Roee Benya ’27 and Hassaan Qadir ’26. Columbia-Walsh wrote in an email to the News that it is not the standard practice to have two guests argue on the same side, but the YPU was “happy” to frame the conversation around the broader topic of a two-state solution.

The event had a no-bags policy. As attendees were processed through security provided by the Yale Police Department, they were instructed to empty their pockets before being wanded. 

“In a semester that has introduced us to Martin Luther King III, Fareed Zakaria, and two United States senators, tonight’s event is perhaps the gem. It’s also perhaps the greatest example of the union’s commitment to be the standard bearer for open and challenging student debates on campus and throughout the country,” Columbia-Walsh told the audience during introductions, referring to speakers at union events earlier this semester.

During his term as Israel’s prime minister from 2006 to 2009, Olmert pursued peace talks with Palestinian leaders, including at the 2007 Annapolis Conference, which collapsed amid fighting in Gaza in 2008. Facing accusations of corruption, Olmert resigned in 2008. He was convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice and spent 16 months in prison.

From 1991 to 2005, al-Qudwa was the Palestine Liberation Organization’s permanent observer at the United Nations. He then became the Palestinian Authority’s foreign affairs minister, a position he held until 2006.

Both speakers emphasized prioritizing paths forward over discussions concentrated only on the history of the conflict.

“We are too much preoccupied on what happened in the past, and not enough on what should happen in the future,” Olmert told the crowd.

A student speaker, William Barbee ’26, disagreed in his own speech.

“Of all the things said this evening, the words with which I disagree most actually came from Mr. Olmert, when he said that we must spend less time discussing the past and more time discussing the future,” Barbee said. “The hope for the future is impossible without full acceptance of the past.”

The discussion also unpacked American involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Olmert said that although the United States’ role has varied based on the presidential administration, the idea of a two-state solution has been consistent. However, he suggested that the United States has not “exercised its influence” to ensure such a solution is implemented.

Al-Qudwa addressed the contradictory nature of America’s role in the conflict.

“The United States, from a Palestinian point of view, cannot be an honest broker,” said al-Qudwa.

In response to a question about whether a future Palestinian state could maintain sovereignty without an army, both Olmert and al-Qudwa said that militarization was not necessary for peace or independence.

Olmert argued that a Palestinian army would be unnecessary if peace were achieved. He noted that Palestine would be surrounded by Arab nations rather than military threats. Citing Costa Rica as an example of a fully sovereign state without a military, al-Qudwa agreed that sovereignty does not depend on maintaining an army.

Both speakers emphasized the need for a sovereign Palestinian state and a solution that prioritizes peace and stability — and the recognition of both sides’ humanity.

“The state of Palestine does exist,” al-Qudwa said. “It’s not up to the Israeli sides to accept or to deny the rights of the Palestinian people.”

Ehud Olmert was Israel’s 12th prime minister.