Khalīl Ṣāyegh was born into a Christian family in Gaza in 1994 at the height of the Oslo peace process. In 2009, he moved to the West Bank where he studied at the Bethlehem Bible College, earning a B.A. in 2018. In 2022, he completed an M.A. in comparative politics at the American University in Washington, D.C. In August, 2023, he founded theAgora Initiative in Washington, D.C. in order to reshape the conversation around Israel-Palestine and build toward a more just and peaceful future rooted in truth, human dignity, and freedom. Please take a moment to learn more about Khalīl’s vision for the Agora Initiative here. 

I first met Khalīl when he graciously agreed to speak to a class I was teaching on the Middle East at the American University in Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2022. I’m not sure that either of us knew, or at least I didn’t, how dark things would become in Gaza a little more than a year later. Despite immense personal loss, Khalīl perseveres in promoting a unique and important vision about this devastating conflict and possible paths forward. I hope our readers might consider ways they can support Khalīl and his team at the Agora Initiative in their important work.

(Khalīl speaking at a recent Agora Initiative event in New York.)

Our interview touches on Khalīl’s childhood as a Christian in Gaza, his early perceptions of Israel and Ḥamās, time as a student in the West Bank, dialogue efforts with Israelis, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, tunnels in and around Gaza, his perspective on October 7th, Israel’s war on Gaza, and the tragic loss of his immediate family members in that war, among other pressing topics. The interview was conducted on August 6, 2025.

More information and several lengthy excerpts from the interview can be found here.

Matthew Anderson

Director - Center for Arab-West Understanding

Executive Editor - Dialogue Across Borders (Brill)

CAWU Instagram

August 31, 2025