On 22 February, NYU Florence will host an event entitled To Serve and Protect? Legitimacy, Trust and the Policing of Minorities. Professor Guy Ben-Porat of University of the Negev will speak, after being introduced by Marcella Simoni of NYU Florence. Ethiopian protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv in 2015 after a video of a young Ethiopian soldier beaten by police officers was aired, echoing protests in Baltimore following the death of an African American man after being taken into police custody. Guy Ben-Porat will discuss trust and distrust between police forces and the civilian population and the consequences of distrust, particularly in a multicultural society.

There are also a number of upcoming related dialogues at NYU Florence: Primo Levi’s Historical and Literary Legacy: A Conversation Between Robert Gordon and Guri Schwarz March 28, 6:00 pm, Villa Sassetti Guri Schwarz, University of Pisa Robert Gordon, University of Cambridge and Abandoning Peace? Israel’s Move to the Right April 5, 6:00 pm, Villa Sassetti Raffaella Del Sarto, Johns Hopkins University and European University Institute.