From Theory to Practice After October 7: Informal Diplomacy and Transnational Advocacy

Jonathan L. Dekel-Chen is a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, “ground zero” for Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. His son, Sagui was taken hostage by Hamas, held in subhuman conditions, and released only in February, 2025. In this presentation, Dekel-Chen will analyze the horrors that have befallen Israel and the people of Gaza since October 2023 and detail his own efforts advocating for the release of the hostages, drawing from his years of research on informal diplomacy and transnational advocacy.

About the Howard J. Reiter Memorial Lecture:

Established by family and friends in memory of beloved Katz Center board member Howard Jay Reiter, this lecture series shares insights and discoveries from Israeli scholarship with the University of Pennsylvania community.