U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross spoke last night to a full house at the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel about his experiences as an American representative in the Middle East peace process.

Harvard Students for Israel co-chair Alexis B. Offen '00 introduced Ross, saying his speech was the culmination of a celebration of Israel's independence, which was proclaimed 51 years ago yesterday.

Ross reassured the audience that Israel will likely have many more birthdays since several Arab states--previous enemies of Israel--agreed to recognize Israeli statehood in 1993. He said there must be continued efforts for lasting peace in the region.

"I'm going to talk about the peace process with a focus on its development potential," Ross said. "I'm not interested in blame. I'm interested in solving problems."

Ross began by stating that the "landscape of peacemaking has changed dramatically," citing the recent funeral of Jordan's King Hussein, which included both Arab and Israeli attendance, as evidence that the two groups come together more easily today than in the past.

"In the past, no Arab would have come if Israelis were there," he said.

Ross also emphasized that peace talks this January focused on practical forms of cooperation.

He said the goal now is to "build relationship from the ground up."

Ross cited the Oslo Conference in 1993 as a major impetus in changing Arab-Israeli relations.

"It's no longer will the conflict be solved, but when will the conflict be solved" he said. "[The question of] when is profoundly important."

Ross said that efforts to make peace in the Middle East in recent years have slowed, but added that this is to be expected given the long history of conflict in the region.

"[The Middle East] has a legacy of pain, suffering, victims [and] grievance," he said. "We've had determined opponents of peace."

Ross said the peace process would ultimately survive, however, because "there is no acceptable alternative to the pursuit of peace."

Problems in the region are complicated, according to Ross, because the leaders of the Israelis and Palestinians must "sell" any agreements in the peacemaking process to their constituents as successes rather than failures.

Ross' closing sentences stressed the necessity of a shared commitment between nations in the Middle East and the U.S. "[The U.S.] can't impose peace," he said. "We can make an effort, we can push, but we cannot impose peace."

The fundamental problem, according to Ross, is that each side is "convinced that the other side would not its agreement."

He stressed, however, that the U.S. is committed to the peace process, a stance that will not change with a new president or Congress.

Ross concluded by answering questions from the audience members. He told one audience member that while peace involves sometimes making risky concessions, "there's a greater risk in not pursuing peace."