Lecture

Jonathan Spyer, Dr. Veysi Dag, Juliana Taimoorazy, Dr. Yusri Haizran, and Lyn Julius
Is There a Future for Middle Eastern Minorities?

Tuesday 1.09.2026

How to watch

This lecture starts on 1 September at 7:00pm (UK).

Summary

The “Arab world” is a misnomer for a region comprising a rich mosaic of non-Arab and non-Muslim peoples, sects, and religions, many of whom predate the Arab conquest and Islam in the Middle East. However, Middle Eastern minorities have suffered a decline due to conflict and persecution. Many have been forced to flee. Demands for autonomy or self-determination have been frustrated. What is the future for Middle Eastern minorities? To discuss this pressing question, Middle East specialist Jonathan Spyer will chair a distinguished panel comprising Kurdish spokesman Veysi Dag, Juliana Taimoorazy, representing Assyrian Christians, and Yusri Khaizran from the Druze community. (In partnership with Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.)

Please note this session will run for 90 minutes.

Current Events 238 lectures

Jonathan Spyer

Jonathan Spyer is a journalist and Middle East analyst. He is director of research at the Middle East Forum, editor of Middle East Quarterly magazine and a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Spyer is the author of ‘Days of the Fall: A Reporter’s Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars’ (Routledge 2018).

Dr. Veysi Dag

Dr. Veysi Dag is a researcher at the Kurdish Forum of the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. His research interests include migration and diaspora, governance, and comparative politics, with a particular focus on refugee and migration policies in Europe and the Middle East. He also works on peacebuilding and conflict transformation, as well as regional policy with a focus on Middle Eastern politics, the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, and Kurdish-Jewish relations. His research has appeared in a wide range of publications. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Dag is a frequent political analyst on various TV networks in Europe and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. from the Free University of Berlin.

Juliana Taimoorazy

Juliana Taimoorazy is a speaker, author, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, advancing awareness of the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

In 2007, Taimoorazy founded the Iraqi Christian Relief Council to educate and raise humanitarian aid for the victims of persecution. She founded Assyrians Against Anti-Semitism, an initiative which builds a bridge between the Middle Eastern Christians and the Jewish community.

Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas, furthering her commitment to scholarship and advocacy.

Dr. Yusri Haizran

Dr. Yusri Haizran is a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University and a senior lecturer in the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Shalem College. The author of numerous articles, Dr Haizran is the author of The Druze Community and the Lebanese State: Between Resistance and Reconciliation (Routledge, 2014). A second book deals with Israel’s efforts to create an alliance with ethnic and religious minorities in the Arab Middle East.

Lyn Julius

Lyn Julius was born in the UK and educated at the French Lycée in London and the University of Sussex. The daughter of Jewish refugees from Iraq, she is a journalist and founder of Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (www.harif.org). Lyn blogs daily at Point of No Return. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Huffington Post, Jewish News, and Jerusalem Post. She has a regular column in the Times of Israel and JNS News. Her book Uprooted: How 3,000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight has been translated in to Norwegian, Portuguese and Arabic, and a Hebrew version is in progress. Lyn’s latest book Cast Out, a long-form essay is available from Jewish Quarterly.

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Jonathan Spyer, Dr. Veysi Dag, Juliana Taimoorazy, Dr. Yusri Haizran, and Lyn JuliusIs There a Future for Middle Eastern Minorities?