Can science succeed where politics fails?
In this episode of Feasts of Reason, I speak with Dr. Zafra Lerman — chemist, educator, human rights advocate, and founder of the Malta Conferences Foundation.
For more than two decades, Zafra has brought together scientists from across the Middle East — including Israelis, Palestinians, Iranians, Jordanians, Egyptians, and others — to collaborate across some of the world’s deepest political, religious, and cultural divides.
Her work has earned multiple nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and offers a powerful answer to one of the central questions of our time:
How do we rebuild trust in a world driven by tribalism, propaganda, and polarization?
We discuss:
• Why science creates trust where politics often fails
• The hidden social architecture of peacebuilding
• Why “people who know each other cannot be enemies”
• Human rights, Cold War Soviet dissidents, and risking arrest by the KGB
• Why scientists have moral responsibilities beyond the lab
• Creating a “critical mass” of scientists for peace
#ScienceDiplomacy #MiddleEastPeace #Reason #HumanRights #NewAtenism #FeastsOfReason #ZafraLerman #MaltaConferences #Peacebuilding #CriticalThinking
For more information about New Atenism: https://newatenism.org/
Dr. Lerman’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Rights-Peace-Zafra-Lerman/dp/9815129724/ref=sr_1_2?crid=138IJLD4LJH0I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TW6NIoQQRh7nmBN7xksItuGuUMZm_Svk1Hkxi6EL0N6BHqnwVYdW9Xq1jIxxvNM1gjPHXmAyPgGEdqW4onL7CDPe7YQ-ue9w2QpfM4Bwe1znOD9W7nxZTBftZwnW_SI1xTu9RquFN5cbzQVBbjqHlp2kHVEpNG7Jzf7-Tp767hgwlj0Q2xgfUTDeJMUWzuFuPaegfkfxVZYw6eMkkmtwafjWNMMiOpVrvR9W346st30.2gJ53H5NxAkML75KDPW-EYQLf9tJhxExuxTurQ8h5Fo&dib_tag=se&keywords=zafea+lerman&qid=1777468899&s=books&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=%2Cstripbooks%2C145&sr=1-2
To support the Malta Conferences Foundation: https://www.maltaconferencesfoundation.org/