Conference Circuit

The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research are organizing Israel's first International Day to Combat Desertification in cooperation with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Monday, June 12 Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, archbishop emeritus of Milan and one of the Catholic Church's leading figures on promoting interfaith dialogue, will be the guest speaker at the annual awarding of the Sir Sigmund Sternberg Prize for Interfaith Understanding at 10:30 a.m in the Rabin Building on the Mt. Scopus campus of the Hebrew University. The cardinal, now retired and living in Jerusalem, will speak on Philosophy and Dialogue. Martini's career has included terms as rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, where he has been a professor of Bible for over 40 years, and rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1980, he was appointed archbishop of Milan, and was elevated to cardinal in 1983. He was at one time considered a possible successor to the papacy. His strong ties with the Italian Jewish community, the Jewish people and Israel date back to his key role in the 1960s in instigating the revolutionary changes in policy of the Catholic Church towards Jews and Judaism. The annual Business Travel conference organized primarily for CEOs and CFOs will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv from 9 a.m. and will be addressed by representatives of various airlines, as well as Carlson Waglit Travel which is hosting the conference. Participation fee is NIS 180. Clients of Ophir Tours are exempt from payment. Registration is solely via the Internet at http://www.reg.co.il/c.w.t "Antisemitism and Multiculturalism: the Uneasy Connection" is the subject of the keynote address in English by Prof. Robert Wistrich opening a four-day conference on Antisemitism, Multiculturalism and Ethnic Identity sponsored by the Vidal Sasson International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at 6:30 p.m., Maiersdorf Faculty Club, the Hebrew University, Mount Scopus. For further details, call: (02) 588-2494. Art, Feminism and Multiculturalism - a conference in Hebrew sponsored by the Lafer Center for Women's and Gender Studies of the Hebrew University and Kol Ha-Isha - Women's Center, will take place at 8:15 p.m., at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 20 Radak St. For further details, call: (02) 588-3455. Tuesday, June 13 "From Gender Bender to Lieutenant Governor: Jewish Women in Canada 1738-2005" - a lecture in English by Prof. Michael Brown of York University, will take place at 6:30 p.m., at the Maiersdorf Faculty club, room 403, Hebrew University, Mount Scopus campus. For further details, call: (02) 588-3367. The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research are organizing Israel's first International Day to Combat Desertification in cooperation with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Group transportation can be arranged if enough people are interested. The topic of the gathering this year is: Grazing and Desertification. Overgrazing has always been recognized as a major driver of desertification and, indeed, led to the much of the land degradation that was seen in the Land of Israel during past centuries. Yet, ecological research suggests that when appropriately regulated, grazing can be produce great benefits for biodiversity. The three-hour symposium will explore recent research findings and have policy presentations from the head of grazing department from Israel's Ministry of Agriculture, as well as a Palestinian and Jordanian experts who will present their local experience and policies. Environment Minister Gideon Ezra will represent the Israeli government. The symposium will open at 12:15 p.m. at the Evens Auditorium of the Sde Boker Campus of Ben Gurion University. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, in conjunction with the program for Conflict Resolution at Bar Ilan University, will host a symposium on "A United Tribe of Brothers - the Renewal of Solidarity in Israeli Society." The symposium will take place at 3 p.m. in the Feldman Congress Center at BIU. Audience participation in the discussions will be encouraged. Wednesday, June 14 NGO Monitor will hold its first conference: "Ethical Norms in a Political World - NGOs, Human Rights and the Arab-Israel Conflict" at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, Jerusalem. Keynote speaker will be Natan Sharansky, MK. The conference begins at 10 a.m. and will feature among the participants academics, Foreign Ministry personnel, representatives of Amnesty, the UN and the EU. The program will be presented in English. Space limitations require pre-registration. E-mail: conference2006@ngo-monitor.org The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, in conjunction with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, will host a symposium on "The Arab Minority in Israel and the 17th Knesset Elections: Beginning of a New Era?" The symposium will take place from 2 p.m. at the Malka Brender Hall of Justice, Trubowitz Law Building on the TAU campus. Several Arab academics from Israeli institutions of higher learning will be among the speakers and will discuss issues such as: Dilemmas of Arab Leadership during the Elections; Boycotts of the Elections in the Arab sector; and the Arab choice of Media in the Elections. There will be simultaneous Hebrew/English translations. Sunday, June 18 The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies will host a conference on Iran Going Nuclear from 2-7 p.m. Wide-ranging discussions will include Russian-Iranian relations, the Iranian leadership and its attitude to Israel, The Ideological Roots of the Iranian Regime, The Iranian Economy, The Arab World and the Nuclearization of Iran, Iran and the Indian Subcontinent, Iran and the Islamic Jihad, The Limits of Diplomacy: Iran and the End of the NPT Process, and The Iranian Nuclear Challenge. The conference will be held in the Senate Hall, Feldman Building, Bar-Ilan University with simultaneous English-Hebrew translations. Sunday, June 19 The 35th Zionist Congress will open at Binyanei Ha'uma in Jerusalem at 8:30 p.m in the presence of President Moshe Katsav, WZO and Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky. The event comes 109 years after the convening in Basle, Switzerland, of the historic first Zionist Congress. Tuesday, June 20 The Israel Democracy Institute's 14th Annual Caesarea Forum, (formerly known as the Caesarea Conference) will be held at the Jerusalem Regency Hotel (formerly Hyatt) over a three-day period. The three primary issues on the agenda will be: Ways of Reducing Poverty in Israel, Formulating Policy for the Low-Tech Fields, and Macroeconomics. The Forum will be chaired by Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson and will include the Prime Minster's Economic Address, as well as presentations by Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, Nobel Laureate Economist Professor Robert Solow, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, former prime ministers Binyamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres, government ministers, members of the Knesset, economists, academics, business-world personalities and social activists. The Caesarea Rothschild Institute and Dept. of Occupational Therapy (Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies) will hold its 4th Annual Virtual Reality (VR) three-day Symposium at the University of Haifa with presentations related to applications of technology to post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatry and psychology, as well as neuro-rehabilitation, autism and pediatrics. Further details and the registration form may be found by linking to http://cri.haifa.ac.il/events/2006/vr/vr.shtml or e-mailing lirt@research.haifa.ac.il or telephoning (04) 828-8391. Wednesday, June 21 Ben Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences Moshe Prywes Center for Medical Education will host the annual international symposium in memory of Prof. Moshe Prywes on The Global Impact of Malaria. The symposium will commence at 9 a.m. in the Joyce Goldman Auditorium, Faculty of Health Sciences on the BGU campus. Sessions will deal with the care of patients with malaria, a student's perspective of malaria in Africa, the history and eradication of malaria in Israel; malaria in Israeli travelers; the impact of malaria on Africa and strategies for its eradication; international efforts and new initiatives to combat malaria and other related subjects. For further information, contact the Moshe Prywes Center for Medical Education, (08) 647-7415 or fax: (08) 647-7633.