The Holy See signed agreements with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2015 and in 2000. The procedure was done with Israel in 1997 and 1993. What do these agreements imply, and what potential impact(s) might they have on the actors in the Middle East? The lecture will compare and contrast the various agreements.

Leonard Hammer is the Andrea and David Stein Visiting Chair in Modern Israel Studies at the University of Arizona. Hammer also lectures at the Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School in Jerusalem, Israel where he resides and has conducted development work for the Open Society Foundation. His fields of expertise center on international law and international human rights, and he has conducted research and published in these areas, with a focus on holy sites and heritage protection.