This year we were able to meet with two different former Israeli Supreme Court Justices–at the beginning and at the end of the trip–which provided great bookends to our week of learning.  Student Celeste Borjas reflects on the visit to the Supreme Court… On our last day in Jerusalem we were able to tour the … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–The Israeli Supreme Court →

As we did the last trip, we visited with Lydia Aisenberg at Givat Haviva to understand the peacebuilding work that the kibbutz did.  (More about that here.)  And we also walked into the town of Barta’a–divided once by the green line in 1949 and again with the security fence a few years ago.  Student Lauren … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–The Divided Town of Barta’a →

This trip we added a few new places and this was one of them.  As student Jessica Lothman reflects, this particular bridge was filled with history, symbolism, and hope. Bridging Time and Space: The Gravity of Old Gesher Einstein put forth his theory of relativity in 1915 having determined that massive objects cause a distortion … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–Old Gesher (the Crossing into Jordan) →

Our visit with Riman Barakat, a former Marquette Fulbright scholar who has worked in many different Palestinian-Israeli peacebuilding NGO’s is always a highlight of the trip.  Student Adrianna Hromadka reflects on the questions and answers of her talk. East Jerusalem offers a unique type of citizenship. After 1948, East Jerusalem was not included in the … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–The Case of the Curious Citizenship (East Jerusalem) →

From student J.J. Moore, here is a reflection on how the story that is told depends on the storyteller.  I have always loved ruins. Ruins tell a story and bring an appreciation of the past. However, a forgotten aspect of ruins is the stories that surround them. The combination of beauty and history converge at … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–The Truth (?) of Masada →

I am going to start posting the student reflections from the trip on a regular basis for the next couple weeks–hope you enjoy! For the start of our Israel trip this year, we first stopped for an overlook of Jerusalem. Here our tour guide, Asaf, gave us a very brief history of Israel—6,000 years in 6 … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017–Day One–or Should a Bartender be the next Mediator for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? →

I had the delightful pleasure of traveling with our Marquette Law students over this past spring break to Israel again and I will be posting their reflections as I have time (!)  But to start us out, I am sharing the blog post from my colleague Vada Lindsey who teaches property and tax law.  Her … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2017 →

As our blog readers know, I am receiving the ABA award for Outstanding Scholarly Work this year at the Section on Dispute Resolution annual meeting.  I am truly honored and wanted to host a party to thank all of my co-authors, co-bloggers, readers of the blog, and readers of any articles or books–in other words, … Continue reading Let Me Toast You! →

Delighted to post this commentary from FOI Nancy Welsh: I wonder whether anyone noticed the mention of mediation last week during oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the case of Kindred Nursing Centers v. Clark.  The question in this case is whether the FAA preempts a state-law contract rule (here, Kentucky’s rule) that singles … Continue reading Mediation and the Supreme Court →

From Charlie Pillsbury at Quinnipiac, a report from a fascinating conference.  Thanks for sharing! The 16th Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates was held in Bogota, Colombia from February 2-4, 2017; the first time this summit had ever been held in Latin America. It brought together 27 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (12 organizations, 15 individuals), … Continue reading The Colombian Peace Process: Lessons Learned →