Community

November 9 - with Knesset memeber Yuli Tamir. The elections' impact on Israel-US relations.

February 2 - with Professor Galia Golan. Political Science Professor and Israeli Peace Activist. Israel Palestinian Relationship in Post Election / New Coalition Era

March 2 - with Professor Eyal Ben-Ari. Director The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

April 14 - Special with ADM. (Ret) Ami Ayalon). Can a Political Assasination Happen Again? Will Israel Face a Civil War?

October 26 - with Gidi Grinstein. Founder and president of The Re'ut Institute Zionist think-tank

January 4 - with Rabbi Uri Regev, President World Union for Progressive Judaism Jewish Pluralism in a Changing Israel.

February 1- with Stuart Schoffman Associate Editor of the Jerusalem Report

Associate Editor and columnist at the Jerusalem Report. Worked as a journalist for Fortune and Time magazines in New York, as a screenwriter for many Hollywood studios and producers, and taught at the University of Texas and the University of Southern California film school before making Aliya in 1988. He wrote the script for "The Wordmaker", a film for Israel Television about Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and the 19th century origins of Israel's current "culture war." He is a frequent lecturer in Israel and abroad, and is currently developing a new program for journalists at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he is a graduate of Harvard and Yale.

March 1 - with Dr. Sami Shalom Chetrit. Activist, scholar, poet, writer and filmmaker. Activist, scholar, poet, writer and filmmaker.

Studied at Hebrew University and Columbia University. He was among the founders and leaders of KEDMA- Mizrachi Internet portal, The Association for Equal Education in Israel, and Hakeshet- a Mizrachi social movement. He is the author of numerous articles and books on ethnic relations, culture, society, education and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With Eli Hamo he co-directed the documentary "The Black Panthers (in Israel) Speak." He teaches critical studies on politics, literature and ethnicity. He was a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, and currently he is a research associate and a guest lecturer at the Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA.

March 7 - 9 - with Gadi Sukenik. Main Anchorman for Israel’s Channel 2 News. Featuring the movie: “10 Days in Gaza”.

Mr. Sukenik, is a prominent TV journalist and main anchorman on Israel’s Channel 2 news. About the movie: On the 15th of August 2005, Israel embarked on a journey that changed it, geographically, politically and historically. Though lasting only 10 days, Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, marked a watershed event in the country’s history. Mass demonstrations and bitter political battles deepened the bold division which cut through the social, political and economic strata of Israeli society, leaving many homeless and many more reeling from the traumatic event. “10 Days in Gaza” begins with the military closure of the Gaza Strip to civilian traffic, continues with the morning when the evacuation forces marched into the 21 settlements, and ends with the last soldier that closed the Gaza's gates behind him, ending 38 years of Israeli occupation.

Topic: The Right to Resist: The Playwright's Perspective on Moral Dilemmas in Times of War.
A Leading Hebrew playwright, Sobol has been artistic director of the Haifa Municipal Theater; he has also taught esthetics and directed theater workshops at Tel Aviv University as well as at various colleges. He has written 13 plays, many of which have been staged in Europe and the USA to great critical acclaim. Soul of a Jew was performed at the Edinburgh, Berlin and Chicago Festivals. Ghetto was named Britain’s "Play of the Year" in 1989, and has been staged in Vienna, Cologne, Toronto, Oslo, Paris, Los Angeles, Berlin and Washington. Most recently, his play Witness was performed at the Heidelberg Theater Festival, 2005. Sobol has also published two novels, Silence (2000) and Whiskey’s Fine (2004).

Sobol speaks about the role of the artist in society in troubled times. Sobol’s play iWitness, which has its US premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles this month, is based on the true story of an Austrian farmer who refused to serve under the Nazis. The playwright discusses these issues following a staged reading of an excerpt from the play by Traveling Jewish Theatre.

Professor Muli Peleg is a professor of political communications at the Tel Aviv University and the research fellow at the Stanford Center for Conflict Resolution and Negotiation. He has served as a top advisor on leadership and peace processes for the Peres Center for Peace and the New Israel Fund as well as counseled the Prime Minister’s office, the Foreign Office and the National Security Council. Currently, Professor Peleg is the Israeli co-chairman of One Voice, a Palestinian-Israeli organization for promotion of dialogue and reconciliation between the two nations.

“The world's best birding locale teaches coexistence through nature” with Dr. Yossi Leshem, Israel Ornithology Center and Dan Alon, former Executive Director, SPNI- Society for Protection of Nature in Israel.

Dan Alon: is the head of SPNI's birding division at the Israel Ornithology Center. Dan received the Time Magazine Conservation Award in 1999, and the EuroNature Conservation Prize in 2004 for his work to encourage birding in Israel and throughout the world.

Dr. Yossi Leshem: is the former Executive Director of the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel. Yossi is a world-renowned expert on bird migration. He now teaches at the Zoology Department of Tel Aviv University and is the Director of the International Center for Bird Migration in Latrun, home to a proprietary radar system to track bird migration. His research has saved commercial and military aviation hundreds of millions of dollars, not to mention lives, by mapping the migration flyways. His passion for avian research has led to remarkable programs to encourage coexistence between people and nature and between Israel and its neighbors through educational programs with Palestinian and international schoolchildren and through scientific cooperation.

Robbie Gringras tells his own personal story of aliyah, immigration to Israel, weaving together personal anecdotes and Israeli music. Gringras illustrates the difficulties of the aliyah process with humor and love, talks about culture shock and shows Israel from a different perspective. He creates an unforgettable experience strewn with humour, emotion, and warmth.

Robbie Gringras is an international theatre artist, whose plays have been performed globally. He is also an educational consultant and a graduate of the prestigious Jerusalem Fellows program. He was born and bred in the Jewish community of Britain but has been living and creating in Israel since 1996. As such his work – educational and theatrical – bridges the Israel-Diaspora connection with empathy and insight. He has just completed the world tour of his powerful new solo show about a suicide bombing About The Oranges. Robbie was until recently running the Global Arts Initiative of the Jewish Agency for Israel. He lectures in theatre at Tel Aviv University and has taught at Haifa University and at Israel's Open University.

August 10 - Insider's Perspective with Consule General David Akov at the JCSF.

August 16 - Insider's Perspective with Consule General David Akov at Stanford.

Mr. Tamary is the Washington Correspondent for Channel 10 News in Israel. Prior to joining Channel 10 News, Mr. Tamary served as anchor and chief editor of "Good Morning Israel," and worked as the Washington Bureau Chief for Israel Broadcasting Authority and Kol Israel (Voice of Israel).

Over the last decade, Mr. Tamary has covered a wide range of Middle East issues from a U.S. perspective.

Mr. Tamary was born in Israel and is a reserve officer in the IDF. He has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree with a distinction in Economics and Management from Tel Aviv University.

Collette Avital, currently Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, has served in the 15th, 16th, and 17th (current) Knessets. She is the International Secretary of the Israeli Labor Party and chairperson for both the Committee for Immigrant Absorption and the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for the Location and Restitution of Property of Holocaust Victims. She also serves on the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women; the Finance Committee; and the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee.

As a career diplomat, Ambassador Avital has served as the Israeli Consul General to New York, Consul and Acting Consular General in Boston, Ambassador to Portugal, Consul in Paris, and Press Attaché in Brussels. In addition, within the Israeli Foreign Ministry, she has served as Director of the Leadership Department and Deputy Director General of the Communications and Information Division.

Ambassador Avital holds a B.A. in Political Science and a M.A. in Public Administration, while her mastery of foreign languages includes English, French, Romanian, German, Portuguese, and Italian. Her articles have appeared in Le Monde, the New York Times, and the New York Post.

Monday, September 11, 2006. 7:00 pm. Cubberley Auditorium, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Admission $5. RSVP to Teresa Lanz at teresal@sfjcf.org or 650.919.2100 ext. 8005.

Ms. Dayan served three terms as a Labor Party member of Knesset. Dayan was a member of the Defense and Foreign Affairs and the Constitution, Law and Justice Committees. She founded and chaired the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women as well as the Subcommittee for Gay and Lesbian Rights. Ms. Dayan is the author of eight books (six novels) and has been a journalist for forty years, writing political commentary in both Israeli and foreign press.

Dayan was born in Nahalal, a co-operative village, in Israel, to Ruth and the late General Moshe Dayan. She lives in Tel Aviv, was married to the late General (Reserves) Dov Sion and has two children and three grandchildren.

Tuesday, October 3, 7:30 pm. Temple Sinai, corner of Webster St. @ 28th St., Oakland.
Wednesday, October 4, 7:30 pm. JCCSF. 3200 California, San Francisco.
Thursday, October 5, 7:30 pm. Peninsula Jewish Community Center Board Room, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City.
Friday, October 6, 7:30 pm. Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.
Saturday, October 7, 12:30 pm. Discussion following the screening of "Can You Hear Me", 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley. (more...)
Saturday, October 7, 7:00 pm. Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, 290 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Alon Ben David

Alon Ben David is a television and print journalist, who has been covering the Middle East conflict for the last 20 years. Specializing in defense and military issues, Mr. Ben David is currently a Senior Defense Correspondent for Israeli Channel 10 and Middle East Correspondent for the London-based Jane's Defence Weekly. He presents on-air military news and analysis daily, including on-the-scene reporting.

Mr. Ben David has covered all major events in the region in the last two decades, including the first and second Intifada, the assassination of Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, the Disengagement from Gaza, and israel's long war in Lebanon, including the recent round. He has reported from scenes of major global events, such as the 9/11 attack in NY.

Mr. Ben David holds a BA in political science from Tel Aviv University and a Master's in public administration from Harvard University

Upcoming Venues:

Tuesday, October 31, 7:30 pm. New Location: Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills. (Suggested donation at the door of $10 to defray the cost) Info: Sara Bronstein, (650) 619-3513, quebo@sbcglobal.net
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Service. Wednesday, November 1, 7:30 pm. JCCSF. 3200 California, San Francisco.
Thursday, November 2, 7:30 pm. Peninsula Jewish Community Center Board Room, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City.
Friday, November 3, 7:30pm. Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael

Dr. Reuven Pedatzur

Defense analyst for the Israeli daily Haaretz, senior professor at the Strategic Studies Program of Tel Aviv University, and the academic director of the Strategic Dialogue Center of Netanya College, Dr. Pedatzur is a former Israeli Air Force combat pilot and an expert on the Iranian nuclear threat and on Israeli nuclear and defense policy.

Upcoming Venues:

Friday, December 1. 7:30 pm. Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.
Wednesday, December 6. 7:30 pm. JCCSF, 3200 California (@ Presidio), San Francisco.
Thursday, December 7. 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Peninsula Jewish Community Center 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City. An expanded two-part panel discussion, featuring guest speaker Dr. Reuven Pedatzur. Series: $10 member/ $15 non-member. Drop-In: $5 member/ $7.50 non-member. More info...

Dr. Alon Tal - a Leading Environmentalist

The founding director of Adam Teva V'din, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Dr. Alon Tal founded, in 1996, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a graduate studies center in which Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian students join environmentalists from around the world in an advanced interdisciplinary research program. In 2006 he was awarded the Charles Bronfman humanitarian prize for environmental leadership. The 100,000 prize money has been largely directed to establish The Tal Fund – a new grassroots ecological initiative in Israel in conjunction with the Jewish National Fund. Dr. Tal is an Associate Professor of Environmental Policy at Ben Gurion University, and has held faculty appointments at Tel Aviv and the Hebrew Universities in Israel, and taught at Harvard and the University of Otago, New Zealand. He is chairman of the committee for sustainable development on the international board of the Jewish National Fund and represents Israel's Foreign Ministry at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

Upcoming Venues:

Tuesday, February 6. 7:30 pm. Palo Alto JCC, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto.
Wednesday, February 7. 7:30 pm. JCCSF, 3200 California St., San Francisco.