Conference Circuit

The Second Lebanon War and its Aftermath is the theme of a conference organized by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Monday, November 6 * The Second Lebanon War and its Aftermath is the theme of a conference organized by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Topics will include: Strategic Miscalculations, Problems in the Conduct of the War, Mistakes in Preparing the Ground Forces for War, What Did Iran Learn from the War? The Aftermath of the War; What Does the Hizbullah Really Want? The View from Washington: From Disappointment to Disillusion; The Arab World Following the War; and The Political System in Israel After the War. The conference will begin at 2 p.m. in conference will be held in the Senate Hall, Feldman Building, Bar-Ilan University, with simultaneous English/Hebrew translation. * More than 200 participants from over 30 countries are expected to participate in an international conference on "Deserts and Desertification: Challenges and Opportunities," to be held in Sde Boker under the auspices of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - Annex IV nations (UNCCD). This is the first time that a UN General Assembly resolution has welcomed an Israeli initiative on an issue that is high on the global agenda and it comes as an acknowledgement of the State of Israel's leadership role in the worldwide battle against desertification. The conference will consider the effectiveness of different initiatives employed to combat desertification and to share a variety of opportunities available for ensuring the quality of life and sustainable livelihoods in the drylands. In addition, the conference will attempt to assess different domestic policies and strategies in countries affected by desertification. Leading international experts will come together with practitioners to discuss and present recent findings on a range of issues and controversies associated with desertification. Expected participants include Ambassador Gregoire de Kalbermatten, Deputy General Secretary of the UNCCD; Dr. David A. Mouat, Chair, UNCCD Group of Experts, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada; Dr. Vandana Shiva of India, who is a leading environmentalist in the developing world; Minister of the Environment Gideon Ezra and Vice Prime-Minister Shimon Peres who will represent the Israeli government. * Israel Telecom 2006 will be held from November 6-8. Exhibits will focus on Israeli IT and telecommunications industry, including wireless, communications security, technologies, infrastructure, content, Internet, software, and start-ups. There also will be an International Exhibition, in which the world's major producers and leading service providers will participate. In addition to the exhibits there will be professional interdisciplinary conferences, comprised of key note speeches, panels, discussions and workshops, with the guidance of the Steering Committee and participation of leaders in the world telecommunication community, analysts and regulators. The conference will feature keynote speakers from the international telecom world, including: Darryl Edwards, President of Nortel EMEA; S. Gopalakrishnan, President & COO of Infosys; Alan Mottram, Chief Marketing Officer of Alcatel; and Dr. Valerio Zingarelli, Vice Chairman of Fastweb. The conference will operate in three parallel tracks: Infrastructure Development, Convergence Enablers and Applications and Digital Content. * Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic will address the Israel Council on Foreign Relations on "The Serbs and the Jews." The event begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem. Tuesday, November 7 * The first Global Rabbinic Task Force Conference convened by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar in conjunction with the International Council of Jewish Women to try to find solutions for Agunot (women anchored in marriage by the disappearance of husbands or the refusal of husbands to grant a bill of divorce) will be held over a period of two days at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). Wednesday, November 8 * The Prime Minister's Conference for Export and International Cooperation will take place at the David Intercontinental Hotel with the participation of hundreds of business leaders from around the globe, including some of the Israel Telecom participants who will stay on to move from one conference to the other. The Prime Minister's Conference will focus on R&D, initiative technology, sustainable development of energy and water resources, professional services in the global market, and financial conditions for international business. In addition to Prime Minister Olmert and various government ministers, the conference will also be addressed by representatives of foreign governments including Australian Communications Minister Helen Coonan. For further information and registration, call: (03) 644-0271. Thursday, November 9 * The Bnai Brith World Center Diplomatic and Economic Forum will host a meeting on Israel-India relations in the context of the emerging India . Keynote speaker will be Indian Ambassador Arun Kumar Singh. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Dan Panorama Hotel, Keren Hayesod Street, Jerusalem. For further details, call: (02) 625-1743. Friday, November 10 * Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish will open the Netanya Academic College's ninth forum on Law and Society that will be held at the Neve Ilan hotel. The two-day conference also will feature State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, Labor Court President Steve Adler, Knesset Law Committee chairman Menachem Ben Shoshan, former Shabak chief MK Ami Ayalon and several other well known figures. For further details, contact Amikam Shapira (052) 245-3660. Sunday, November 12 * Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will deliver the keynote address at the opening plenary of the four-day United Jewish Communities General Assembly at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The session will deal with the effects of the recent war on Israel, how Jewish communities responded and what more needs to be done. Livni is part of a large Israeli contingent led by Prime Minister Ehud who, towards the end of the GA will discuss Israel's foreign policy challenges. Among the other Israelis participating are Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Yuli Tamir, Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog, Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer, Bank Leumi CEO Galia Maor, business tycoon and philanthropist Eitan Wertheimer and other leading figures representing Israeli organizations and institutions. The GA attracts more than 4,000 leaders from around the Jewish world. Beyond the regular topics focusing on Jewish education, the prevention of assimilation, fostering Jewish identity, fighting anti-Semitism and dealing with Jewish communities in crisis, this year's GA will be heavy with Israel-related discussions. The comprehensive agenda includes the integration of Ethiopian immigrants; in the footsteps of Ben-Gurion towards the strategic development of the Negev; the volunteer sector and Israeli philanthropy throughout the war; fighting Hizbullah - a new kind of warfare; media coverage of Israel; how Israel looks to the average American; Israel on the North American campus; making the case for Israel; women on the frontline; investing in Israel; the challenges of radical Islam; US-Israel relations; what's next for Israel and the Palestinians; the Iranian threat; anti-Zionism as the new anti-Semitism, the United Nations and other related subjects. Concurrent with the GA, the Ben-Gurion Society, a philanthropic organization for people in the 25-45 age group will hold a National Young Leadership conference in Los Angeles to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Ben-Gurion and to discuss what remains to be done to realize his vision for the Negev * The World Jewish Congress (WJC) will hold a day-long meeting of its Governing Board in Paris, attended by over 100 Jewish leaders from around the world, among them WJC President Edgar M. Bronfman, Chairman of the WJC Policy Council Israel Singer, WJC Secretary General Stephen Herbits, President of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) Pierre Besnainou, and CRIF President Roger Cukierman. The sessions will be open to members of the general public. Delegates representing the Jewish communities in over 80 countries will discuss issues such as the threat posed by terrorism and its state sponsors like Iran, the situation in Middle East. Guest speakers at the meeting will include Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations; Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe; and Ambassador Marc Otte, EU Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process. At a session on inter-religious dialogue, Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, President of the French Muslim Council (CFCM); the Chief Rabbi of France, Joseph Sitruk, and Mgr. Andr Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, will discuss on the issue of "Working towards peace." In the evening, France's Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin will deliver the keynote address at a special dinner for Governing Board delegates at the French Senate, in honor of Edgar M. Bronfman and chaired by Pierre Besnainou, As a pre-event kick-off to the meeting, French philosopher, writer and journalist Bernard-Henri Levi will on Saturday, November 11 at 8 p.m. host a debate on the theme of "Global security and its impact on Jews," moderated by Israel Singer. For further details and registration, e-mail: jewcong@wanadoo.fr Monday, November 13 * The Fifth Annual David Bar-Illan Media Conference will be held at the College of Judea and Samaria where it was inaugurated and where it is held each year. The full day academic forum is held in memory of former Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief and senior Israel government spokesman David Bar-Illan Topics on the agenda for this year's forum include: Foreign News Reporting during the 2006 Lebanon conflict; The Propaganda War: Israel vs Hizbullah; Political Satire and its Impact on Israeli Society, the Media during the War in Lebanon and Foreign news reporting the 2006 War in Lebanon. For registration and further information, telephone: (052) 451-4011 or e-mail: anglodtp@netvision.net.il. Tuesday, November 14 * Greece's 11th annual two-day energy conference and exhibition will take place at the Eugenides Foundation, Athens under the auspices of the Ministry of Development. The conference, which is convened by the Institute of Energy for South East Europe (IENE), has established itself as a major event for energy policy and business. The conference will be attended by senior executives, government officials, policy makers, scientists and engineers from all major Greek energy-related companies. A large participation is expected from other countries, especially from the European Union and from S.E. Europe. Among the Greek dignitaries will be Minister for Development, Dimitris Sioufas, Deputy Minister in charge of Energy Anastasios Neratzis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Euripides Stilianidis, the Chairman of Greece's Energy Regulatory Authority Prof. Michael Karamanis, the Managing Director of Public Power Corporation (PPC), the Managing Director of the Public Gas Corporation, the Chairman of Hellenic Petroleum, along with CEOs from Greece's major oil, gas and electricity companies, all of whom will address the conference. Subjects to be covered include: Greece's expanding role as an energy corridor in SE Europe, competition in the European and Greek electricity sector and the liberalization of the Greek energy market, the development of the regional SE. European electricity and gas market, high oil prices and their impact on the emerging energy markets, new dilemmas for energy strategy, investment and development of the energy sector in Greece, the broader implications of the energy market in SE Europe with reference to ECSEE, the role of RES in the new energy landscape, mew technologies and alternative fuels. participating companies, corporations and research institutes to display examples of their work and projects. The conference is sponsored by several leading Greek and international energy companies. There will be simultaneous translation from Greek to English and vice versa throughout the conference. For further information and registration, contact the Conference Secretariat at: 30210-3640278, 3628457, 3624245, fax: 30210 - 3646144, e-mail: marketing@iene.gr Sunday, November 19 * IPCRI - the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information will convene a four-day International Conference on "Education for Peace and Democracy" in Antalya, Turkey. The conference will bring together peace and democracy educators, curricula writers, encounter facilitators, peace studies practitioners, conflict resolution practitioners, human rights educators, mediators, and activists from academia, research sector, governmental and community organizations and others from Israel and beyond, with a special emphasis on other crisis regions. The conference will offer opportunities for dialogue, debate and visioning with collaboration and cooperation between the body of theory and practice, and will raise critical issues and acquire new insights into the profound peace and democracy education developments in Israel and around the world. Peace and Democracy Education is now the subject of UN policy, research and training by UNESCO, the Council of Europe and ministries of education, various universities throughout the world and a worldwide trans-nationally conceived and conducted NGO Global Campaign for Peace and Democracy Education. For details and registration, contact: Gershon Baskin Co-CEO, IPCRI gershon@ipcri.org; Hanna Siniora, Co-CEO, IPCRI, hanna@ipcri.org; Ms. Cyrien Khano, Conference Director, cyrien@ipcri.org; Ms. Hayat El-Alami, (Registration, travel and accommodation arrangements), hayat@ipcri.org Monday, November 20 * Does Israel have a policy on International Property? The question will be dealt with in English and Hebrew by visiting and local speakers at a conference to be held at Prime in the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Guest speakers will include Dr. Peter P. Balas, Deputy Director General DG Trade, European Commission and Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General World Intellectual Property Organization. Wednesday, November 22 * The national business conference for members of the construction and real estate community will take place at Meridian Hotel on the Dead Sea over a three-day period during which participants will hear lectures on new trends and developments and will be able to network with a view towards doing business. A special session will be for CEOs and CFOs. For details and registration, call Tasya (09) 951-8061, ext. 147. The opening address will be delivered by Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit.