University of Maine Professor Derek Michaud, PhD, and Retired US Senior Foreign Service Officer Norm Olsen to present on Israel, Gaza
York Public Library will host two programs in January in partnership with the 39th Annual Camden Conference, “Today’s Middle East: Power, Politics, and Players.”
The Middle East region remains one of the world’s most intractable trouble spots. It is a volatile arena where regional powers, global interests, and local aspirations intersect in ever-evolving and often violent ways.
The 2026 Camden Conference in February will explore how traditional and emerging powers are reshaping relationships and testing alliances across this globally vital region.
The Camden Conference is a nonprofit, non-partisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed, thoughtful discourse on global issues through public engagement, educational programming, and its annual multi-day conference. Its signature event features world-class speakers and panel discussions focusing on a selected foreign affairs topic.
The Conference also supports year-round, thematically related community events—lectures, films, cultural programming, and symposia—to expand its impact in anticipation of the flagship weekend. These community events are attended by thousands of people, including many who cannot make it to the annual Conference itself.
In its eighth year of collaborating with The Camden Conference, York Public Library will host a pairing of events in January, free and open to the public.
Guest presenters are Professor Derek Michaud, PhD, Senior Lecturer and Chair of Philosophy, Religious, and Judaic Studies at the University of Maine, and Norm Olsen, a retired US Senior Foreign Service Officer who served for 26 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a total of nine years in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
On January 22 at 6 PM, Dr. Michaud virtually presents, “Perspectives on the Land: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Understandings.” For Jews, it’s the Promised Land of Zion. For Christians, it’s the Holy Land of Jesus. For Muslims, it’s the land of the prophets preceding Muhammad and the home of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Dr. Michaud will guide program attendees through the rich history, ideology, and theology that fuel these sometimes competing interpretations of the same land. By drawing on historical evidence, as well as story and myth, he will contextualize the rhetoric of each community to understand how these perspectives developed and continue to inform contemporary identity. The talk will be an examination of how one land, at the crossroads of three continents, came to have (at least) three different stories and interpretations.
In Part II of the series, Cape Elizabeth native Norm Olsen will join the Library on January 28 at 4 PM in the Community Room for “Inside the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Reflections from a US Foreign Service Officer.” Olsen will share his personal experiences and discuss the prospects for Middle East peace as he sees them. Olsen’s first tour of duty as a Gaza reporting officer and USAID representative spanned the First Intifada, the Madrid talks, the secret Oslo negotiations, the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, and the return of Yasser Arafat to Palestine. His reporting during that time was recognized by his receipt of a National Human Intelligence Reporting Award from the U.S. intelligence community. His second tour of duty there as chief of the embassy political section spanned the Second Intifada, the efforts of Quartet negotiator James Wolfensohn, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the victory of Hamas in U.S.-demanded Palestinian elections, the successful Hamas expulsion of U.S.-backed Fatah militants who were terrorizing Gaza, and the Israel-Lebanon war. He retired as a Senior Foreign Service Officer in 2008 and has remained active in Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
The programs are free and open to the public, and registration is required. Visit yorkpubliclibrary.org/calendar to sign up.
Part I: “Perspectives on the Land: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Understandings” with Professor Derek Muchaud, PhD
Thursday, January 22, 2026, 6 – 8 PM
A Virtual Program
Part II: “Inside the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Reflections from a US Foreign Service Officer” with retired US Senior Foreign Service Officer Norm Olsen
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 4 – 5:30 PM
York Public Library Community Room
