Business as usual?

The Iranian regime, the holy war against Israel and the West and the German reaction

International Conference in Berlin, May 2 - 3, 2008

 

Schedule

For a printable PDF-version please click here. A PDF-file in Farsi is available here, a kurdish version can be found here.

 

Friday,May 2nd 2008

 

11 a.m.

Press conference

  

7 p.m.

Introduction and greetings

  • Prof. Elie Wiesel
    Nobel Laureate, Publicist and Survivor of the Shoah (USA)
    (Video-Message)
  • Charles A. Small
    Yale University
    (USA), President and Founder of theInstitute for the Global Study of Antisemitism and Policy
  • Prof. Diethard Pallaschke
    Head of German chapter of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME)

 

7.30 p.m. 

Opening panel

Islamism, Antisemitism, Nuclear Programme: The Iranian threat

  • Religious and ideological motivation in Iranian domestic and international policies
    Menashe Amir

    Former Director of the Persian program of Radio Kol Israel (Voice of Israel),
    Israel
  • A second Holocaust? The threat to Israel
    Prof. Benny
    Morris
    Professor of History,
    Ben-Gurion University, Middle East Studies Dept., Israel
  • “Strategic partner”? The special German-Iranian relationship
    Dr. Matthias
    Küntzel 
    Political Scientist, Board Member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East,
    Germany
  • The EU, Iran and the effectiveness of sanctions
    MEP Paulo Casaca

    Partido Socialista Portugal
    , Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Portugal
  • Chair:Alan Posener
    Head Commentator Welt
    am Sonntag, Germany

Saturday, May 3rd 2008

 

10.15 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.

Theocracy and Human Rights: The character of the Iranian Regime

 

  • Anatomy of Terror in the Iranian theocracy
    Javad Asadian

    Writer and Poet, member and former head of the exil-Iranian PEN, Germany
  • Women under theocracy
    Nasrin Amirsedghi

    Publicist and Cultural Scientist,
    Germany
  • The situation of the Kurds in Iran
    Dr. Miro Aliyar

    Representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian
    Kurdistan, Austria
  • Chair: Caroline Fetscher
    Journalist Tagesspiegel, Germany

 

12.45 p.m.  - 2.30 p.m.

The Holy war against Israel and the West

  • The roadmap to the bomb
    Yossi Melman 

    Publicist and Journalist
    Haaretz, Israel
  • Terror and ideology-export: The IslamicRepublic's war against the West
    Dr. Patrick Clawson 

    Deputy Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East
    Policy, USA
  • Iran and the Islamist network in Germany
    Alexander Ritzmann 

    Political Scientist, European Foundation for Democracy,
    Germany
  • Chair:Dr.Sylke Tempel
    Historian and Publicist, Germany

 

4.00 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.

Iran and Europe: Dialogue or confrontation?

  • Is Europe pressing Israel towards war? EU, UN and the possible effectiveness of draconian sanctions
    Saul Singer

    Journalist and Publicist, Editorial Page Editor Jerusalem Post, Israel
  • Business as usual? German-Iranian trade relations
    Dr. Matthias
    Küntzel 
    Political Scientist, Board Member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East,
    Germany
  • Know nothing, hear nothing, see nothing - Germany's policy toward Islamism: Calculation or anticipatory obedience?
    Bruno Schirra

    Journalist and Publicist, Germany
  • Chair: Dr. Majid Sattar
    Political Editor Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany

 

6.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.

Final panel

The need for a new antifascism

  • Capitulate to the Iranian regime?
    Henryk M. Broder

    Journalist, Germany
  • International cooperation against the Mullah-Regime
    Kayvan Kaboli

    Spokesperson of the Green Party
    of Iran, USA
  • Where are the anti-fascists? Iran and the meaning of "Coming to terms with the Nazi past" in 2008
    Prof. Jeffrey Herf 

    Historian,
    University of Maryland, College Park, USA
  • Freedom, secularization, democracy – for a new Middle East
    Thomas von der Osten-Sacken

    Publicist and Director of relief and human rights organization Wadi e.V., Germany
  • Chair: Doris Akrap
    Editor Jungle World, Germany