Events

Event with Akiva Eldar

Saturday, October 24 at 12:45pm

at Congregation Beth Elohim
Eighth Avenue & Garfield Place,
Park Slope, Brooklyn

*Light lunch will be served

This event is sponsored by the New Israel Fund

and Co-sponsored by: Congregation Beth Elohim, Meretz USA, APN, Brit Tzdek, and J-Street

Biography
_____________________________________
Akiva Eldar is currently a chief political columnist and editorial writer for the prestigious Israeli national daily Ha'aretz. His columns also appear regularly in the Ha'aretz-Herald Tribune edition. In May 2006 The Financial Times selected him among the most prominent and influential commentators in the world," whose comments inspire callers from across the political spectrum".

Mr. Eldar was previously (1993-1996) the Ha'aretz US Bureau Chief and Washington correspondent, covering the Peace Process, US-Israel relations, American issues and Israel-Diaspora relations. Prior to this post, Mr. Eldar was for ten years (1983-1993) the diplomatic correspondent for Ha'aretz and its municipal correspondent covering Jerusalem (1978-1983). Before joining Ha'aretz he was a reporter and an editor at the Israeli Public Radio (1974-1978) and served as spokesperson for former Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek (1972-1974).

Mr. Eldar's book "The ambush on Jerusalem", on US-Israel-Jewish community relations, was Published (November 2002) by "The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies". His last book ( with Prof. Idith Zertal) ,"lords of the land", on the Jewish settlements in the West bank was in 2005 on the best sellers list in Israel and was published in 2007 in English
(Nation Books) and German (DVA). In 2007 he received the annual "Search for Common Ground" award for Middle East journalism.

Mr. Eldar was a special consultant to Abba Eban's PBS television documentaries on the history of Israel and the Oslo peace initiative. He is regularly interviewed by major television and radio networks in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and Israel. He appeared many times on news programs such as Nightline, The Lehrer Show, Charlie Roze Show, CNN News and CBS Morning News, current affair programs on Israeli television, as well as NPR talk shows.

Mr. Eldar contributes to the op-ed pages of The New York Times, LA Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Jewish Week. During his stay in the US Mr. Eldar lectured extensively for the Jewish community and on campuses throughout the US, Canada and Australia. He participated in various Israeli-Arab-European seminars.

Mr. Eldar is the chairman of Ramat-Gan College as well as the Amos Ganor Fund, which promotes Israeli-Palestinian Relations and the friendship between Israel and Japan.

Mr. Eldar was born in Haifa, Israel in 1945. He graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he majored in Economics, Political Science and Psychology.

Join Meretz USA at JStreet's first National Conference

Join Meretz USA at JStreet's first National Conference

Join Meretz USA at JStreet's first National Conference

Join Meretz USA at JStreet's first National Conference

Loosening the Grip: How are Israelis combating the ultra-Orthodox hold on Israel?

Despite their minority status, Israel's ultra-Orthodox wield immense control over what it means to be Jewish in Israel:

• Gender-segregated public bus lines, in which women are forced to sit at the back of the bus
• De-facto segregation of Ethiopian and Mizrachi students in some government-funded Orthodox schools
• Denial of marriage, burial and other personal rights to those who can't prove their Jewish status

WHAT: Breakfast and Discussion with Shira
Ben-Sasson Furstenberg

WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at
8:00 am

WHERE: The home of Susan Lebow
12837 Highwood St
Los Angeles, CA 90049

RSVP: meretzusa.la@gmail.com

Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg's work as NIF's Religious Pluralism Coordinator focuses on promoting Jewish Pluralism in Israel, struggling for 'freedom of' and 'freedom from' Religion. Born and raised in a liberal Orthodox family in Jerusalem, Shira was an officer in the IDF and received her BA and MA in cultural anthropology from the Hebrew University. Prior to joining Shatil, she worked for five years in the Knesset Research and Information Center, focusing on education and culture. She is married to Yair, currently a Tikva fellow at Princeton University, working on his PHD in Talmud and classics; they have two sons and a daughter.

Co-Sponsored by Meretz USA and Americans for Peace Now