"I would like to talk about some of the positive things happening in the area," she said.

Goldstein said her family moved to an area in northern Jerusalem, where she met a number of Israeli and Arab families.

She stressed that neither side in the conflict was entirely faultless.

"No conflict would go on for 50 years if there was a simple right and a simple wrong," she said.

Sultan S. Yassin '01, who grew up in the West Bank, discussed the problems with the Oslo Accords, which he said he saw as "doomed to fail."

"We didn't see the [Israeli] withdrawals that we were promised," he said. "Even more settlement activity began under [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu."

He added that Oslo was still significant because each side, for the first time ever, officially recognized the other's existence.

Following the panel, some audience members stayed to exchange ideas with Mendelsohn and the panelists.

Joey Shabot '01, the co-organizer of the event, said he was pleased with the discussion.

"It will form the foundation for a positive relationship between Hillel and SAS," Shabot said.

The panel was the first segment of the panel series on "The End of War." The next event, on May 11, will focus on the success of integrated Arab-Israeli communities, Inouye said.