Dr. Kayed Khalil was born in 1958 to Palestinian parents who had fled their hometowns near Haifa and Nazareth after the creation of the state of Israel. He grew up in the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon. At the age of 18, he was awarded a scholarship to study in the United States, graduating from Kansas State University with degrees in Civil and Electrical Engineering. In 1995 he received a degree from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Medicine. Dr. Khalil has published many articles on Palestinian issues in newspapers, and has been interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor. He speaks at universities, temples, elementary schools and community groups to educate the public about his journey as a Palestinian refugee, including his marriage in 1990 to a Jewish woman. He offers people the chance to meet and ask questions of a Palestinian man, knowing that, for most of the people he encounters in the U.S., the media has been their only opportunity to get to know the people of Palestine.

Dr. Larry Lowenthal is the Executive Director of the Greater Boston Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. He has served as AJC Director for the last 16 years. He lived in Israel from 1970-75, and has been a frequent visitor to Israel ever since. He holds a Ph.D. in English from New York University and has been involved for almost thirty years in interfaith and intergroup activities, and with the struggle for human rights. He has taught English and American literature at New York University and at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has also appeared often on radio and TV, hosted a local radio interview program, and taught courses on Jewish history, film, literature, and humor.

The dialogue is sponsored by Middle East Society at Phillips Exeter Academy and funded by the Riordan Fund