Professor and historian Dr. Art Pitz will continue his discussions of the Middle East in a new series of May presentations on "The Arab-Israeli Conflict" at the Moline and Rock Island Public Libraries. The series is offered at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 8 to 29, with two discussions at each library.

The third series includes new topics generated from Dr. Pitz’s travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories. In 2010, he spent a month in the Middle East, where he was briefed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, traveled to southern Israel near Gaza, and visited the West Bank and a Palestinian refugee camp.

Presentations at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41^st Street, will cover the following dates and topics: 

• May 8: "Iran and Israel: An Existential Threat?”
• May 15: "Islam, Israel and the Jews:  What does the Koran say?”

Presentations at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19^th Street, will cover these dates and topics:

• May 22: "The Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Statehood:  Will it lead to peace or war?"
• May 29: "Can Israel Negotiate with any Palestinian Government?”

All presentations are free and open to the public. No registration is required. The 2012 series is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, the Rock Island Public Library Foundation, and the Friends of the Moline Public Library.

For more information, contact the Moline Library at (309) 524-2440, the Rock Island Public Library at (309)732-7341 or the Jewish Federation at (309) 793-1300.