The Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) kicked off its first event of the year last night with a speech delivered by Prince Zeid Bin Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the ambassador from Jordan to the United States and Mexico.
A Hopkins alumnus, Bin Ra'ad shared his emotions about returning to his alma mater with the audience.
"I have to confess my feelings are in both equal measure ones of happiness and trepidation," he said. He went on to explain he was referring to a recent speaking engagement in which a man in the audience's front row fell asleep.
Bin Ra'ad said that most of his statements in the speech were his personal opinion, it was not very different from the official position of Jordan on most issues, just more "brazen."
Bin Ra'ad centered his speech on the individual's power to shape global events.
"There is great heroism when it comes to the work of individuals," he said. "For those of us who practice international diplomacy, the individual agent is the person on whom we place the most hope. But that person can also be the worst possible conveyor of a result."
He acknowledged the global community's failure to "make war unthinkable," but expressed the belief that this problem could be addressed by "moral courage."
"I don't know if we can overcome all these challenges," Bin Ra'ad said, referencing the conflicts both in the Middle East and around the world. "But if we show real resolve with courage to tackle these crises at least we can begin to understand how some might be solved."
Following the speech was a question and answer session in which attendees demonstrated strong interest in the Middle East, particularly the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
One student asked how the Jordanian Embassy in the U.S. worked to educate people here about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Bin Ra'ad explained how he worked in an official capacity by traveling to Arab and Jewish schools and community centers discussing the conflict, but he also mentioned some of his personal views on the issue.
According to Bin Ra'ad, Arabs had to recognize how "psychological" the conflict appeared to Israeli eyes.
"I was convinced that Israel is a permanent feature on the map of the Middle East, but I don't think any Israeli was convinced of it," he said in regard to a conference he had attended on the subject. "It is this deep fear that animates everything being done in Israel."
Bin Ra'ad reiterated throughout the evening works of individuals in global politics and the private sector, encouraging audience members to become involved in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) if granted the opportunity.
Bin Ra'ad answered a range of questions addressing controversial topics like Jordan's dealings with its Bedouin tribes, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the future of the International Criminal Court, which Bin Ra'ad helped found without U.S. support.
Although Bin Ra'ad said that much of his speech and answers were "all pretty much personal," one question that he answered in an official capacity was whether Jordan had an interest in reasserting its claim to the West Bank.
"It has been discussed, and we are not interested whatsoever," he said.
Bin Ra'ad's former comparative international politics professor, Steven David, is now the advisor to the FAS and spoke briefly about his relationship with Bin Ra'ad.
"I taught him about 25 years ago. He was a good student," David said. He said the two had remained in touch sporadically since.
Sophomore Jonathan Jacobs, one of the chairs of the event, estimated that about 300 people were in attendance in Hodson Hall.
"It's a great start to our symposium and a perfect time to have the ambassador speak," he said. "The turnout and questions showed that people were very engaged."
Bin Ra'ad also answered a few questions after the event about his time at Hopkins.
"I liked the school because it was a serious school, but we had a lot of fun," he said.
"We're still all really immature together," he said in closing, recounting how his lacrosse player hall mates threw his mattress out his dormitory window several times over the course of his freshman year.
Freshman Ana Giraldo-Wingler was impressed that the FAS had been able to book the ambassador.
"I thought it was really awesome we could get someone so important in the global sphere," she said. "I think it gave people here hope for what they could accomplish."
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