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№ 2003.004 — Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Commencement address
George Mitchell
Former U.S. senator
At MIT's 137th Commencement, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell told graduates that a resolution to the Middle East conflict is possible but requires each side to recognize the other's needs—Palestinians seeking a viable state and Israelis seeking security. Drawing on his peace work, he argued that no conflict is impossible to end and urged Americans not to turn away when setbacks occur. He called on graduates, as a privileged elite, to speak out against discrimination and injustice and to help others achieve education and a clean environment.
Key moments
- 01 Argues a two-state Middle East solution is achievable only through negotiation
- 02 Notes total mutual mistrust creates a zero-sum conflict harming both sides
- 03 Declares that conflicts made by humans can be ended by humans
- 04 Urges Americans not to despair at setbacks and graduates to fight injustice
Visual speech map
George Mitchell at MIT, 2003
A commencement address about negotiated peace, refusing despair, confronting injustice, and using elite education for public responsibility.
- 01 Middle East
- 02 Mutual needs
- 03 Negotiation
- 04 Mistrust
- 05 No inevitability
- 06 American role
- 07 Privilege
- 08 Justice
Conflict
Peace begins by naming both peoples' needs
Mitchell frames the Middle East conflict around two legitimate human requirements: Palestinians need a viable state, and Israelis need durable security.
The address refuses a one-sided moral map and asks listeners to see needs on both sides.
A viable Palestinian state is presented as a practical condition for lasting settlement.
Israeli safety is treated as equally real, not as an obstacle to be wished away.
Method
Negotiation is the alternative to fatalism
The speech argues that even deeply rooted conflict is not permanent when people choose negotiation over despair and zero-sum thinking.
Total mutual mistrust turns every concession into a perceived loss and keeps both sides trapped.
The path forward is structured negotiation, not waiting for exhaustion or victory.
No conflict made by human beings is beyond human repair.
Public
Setbacks cannot become an excuse to withdraw
Mitchell warns Americans not to turn away when diplomacy suffers reversals, because distance does not remove responsibility.
Peace work is measured across years of effort, interrupted progress, and repeated return.
Citizens outside the conflict still shape the political conditions around it.
The central civic discipline is staying engaged after disappointment.
Charge
Privilege has to answer injustice directly
The closing charge turns from geopolitics to the graduates: education and status are obligations to fight discrimination, expand opportunity, and serve others.
Graduates are urged to speak out when discrimination and injustice are visible.
Helping others gain education becomes one test of whether privilege is being used well.
A clean environment and a fair society are presented as shared responsibilities.
Transcript
The full transcript is hosted by the original publisher. Commencement Archive links to the source rather than republishing copyrighted text.
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