Conference Circuit

An international conference on "An Assessment of Germany-Israel Relations," will be held in Netanya.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Conference Circuit 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Conference Circuit 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Monday, February 18 THE FRIEDRICH Ebert Stiftung and S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue at the Netanya Academic College are hosting an international conference on "Friendship and Criticism - an Assessment of Germany-Israel Relations." The event begins at 4.30 p.m. in the NAC Tshuva Auditorium. Tuesday, February 19 BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY will host a conference on "Understanding Risk in Environment and Health." The conference will open at 10.30 a.m. in the Goldman Auditorium of the Faculty of Health Sciences on the BGU campus. For more information call (08) 647-7431 THE TWO-DAY 5th annual Jerusalem Conference will be held at Jerusalem's Regency Hotel. Speakers will include an impressive array of key figures and policy makers in the political, economic, social, security/military, rabbinic and academic spheres in Israel. Conference sessions will cover topics such as the international threat of jihad and radical Islam, military deterrence in a missile age, Israel's identity as a democratic Jewish state, poverty and welfare issues in Israeli society, world media trends - and, of course, the future of Jerusalem itself. The government will be represented by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and her cabinet colleagues Isaac Herzog and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. MKs from across the political spectrum will serve as panelists, as will former minister Natan Sharansky. Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu will also address the conference. US dignitaries will include Sen. Sam Brownback, congressmen and retired military leaders. The Sderot Media Center will use the Regency as its base of operations for one day of the conference. Prof. Bernard Lewis, author of The Roots of Muslim Rage, will also take part. Thursday, February 21 THE ISRAEL Council on Foreign Relations will host a lecture by Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Mihai Cioroianu at Jerusalem's Inbal Hotel at 6 p.m. The event will be chaired by former ambassador to Romania Dr. Yosef Govrin. RSVP at icfr@wjc.co.il; or telephone: (02) 633-3003. THE SECOND Israeli Conference on CSR Reporting will be held in the Law Faculty auditorium on the Tel Aviv University campus. For further information contact attorney Liat Golan at (03) 640-6264. Sunday, February 24 THE ANNUAL "Elitzur" memorial lecture will be held at 6 p.m. at Jerusalem's Menachem Begin Heritage Center. "Elitzur" was the nom de guerre of Yitzhak Friedman, a young Irgun officer who participated in many of the major Irgun operations until the end of the struggle against the British. In November-December 1948, Irgun commander Menachem Begin made his first visit to the United States, taking with him a number of young Irgun officers - among them "Elitzur" Friedman - and wounded Irgun fighters who needed medical treatment. "Elitzur" was then asked to remain in the US for a while to advance the interests of Irgun veterans who were denied recognition and assistance by the provisional council and government headed by David Ben-Gurion. He remained to further his own studies and eventually became the dean of the School of Engineering and Science, which became the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the Pratt Institute. "Elitzur" died in 1997. His wife, Estelle, and his children, Jonathan and Wilma, have acted in recent years to perpetuate his memory via an annual memorial lecture connected to Jewish Heroism. This year's "Elitzur" tribute combines with another story of great heroism in the 20th century marking 40 years the beginning of the global struggle for Soviet Jewry. One of the young refuseniks, who is now an MK, Yuli Edelstein, will speak in English of his experiences and the general struggle. In addition, a short movie will be screened.