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Following a year of epic turmoil, the Middle East could see historic change or crushing disappointments in the months ahead - developments with profound importance for Israel no matter what happens.

How Israel views the pressing political and policy issues that 2012 presents will be discussed by an extraordinary roundtable of five members of the Israeli Knesset and three American journalists. Hear perspectives ranging from new immigrants to veterans, Jewish to Arab and religious to secular, as they share their views and insights in a remarkable discussion about the major issues in politics and policy. Topics may include a nuclear threat from Iran, implications of the regional Arab upheaval for Israel, and the radically growing gap between segments of Israeli society. Learn what’s in store in Israeli politics behind the major headlines internationally and domestically.

 

Panelists:

  • Ofir Akunis, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset (Likud)
  • MK Lia Shemtov of Yisrael Beitenu Party
  • MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu)
  • MK Raleb Majadele (Labor)
  • MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz)
  • Ami Eden (editor-in-chief of the JTA)
  • Jane Eisner (editor of The Forward)
  • Gary Rosenblatt, (editor and publisher of The Jewish Week)

Moderator Charlie Radin (News Director, Brandeis University and former Boston Globe Middle East and Far East Bureau Chief).

 

In Partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, Brandeis University, UJA-Federation, and 92nd Street Y.

The visit of the six members of Knesset is made possible by a joint project of the Ruderman Family Foundation and Brandeis University. Now in its second year, the Ruderman Fellows Program is designed to strengthen the relationship between and among key Israeli political leaders and the American Jewish community.

 

 

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Brief Bios

(Click the names below to expand info.)

MK Ofir Akunis, Likud

Ofir Akunis is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and a Member of Knesset on behalf of the Likud party. He chairs three joint committees of the Economic Affairs Committee and is a member of eight other committees, among them the Foreign Affairs and Defense; Economic Affairs; State Control; House, and Rights of the Child committees. Akunis is the founder and chairman of the Tel-Aviv- Jaffa Lobby and also chairs the Lobby for Public Relations of Israel, the Lobby for Tourism and the Knesset Forum on International Relations . He is a member of the Israel- American Jewish Caucus.

In the past, he served in several media and public relations positions in the Likud party, including Spokesperson, Deputy Public Relations Director, and Media Advisor to Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu.

Akunis was born is Israel. He has a B.A in Political Science and International Relations and is a recipient of the Menchem Begin Award for his paper on "Ethics and Realism in Israeli Politics." Akunis is married and the father of two.

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MK Yitzhak Cohen, Shas 

Yitzhak Cohen is Deputy Minister of Finance and a Member of Knesset on behalf of the Shas party. He was first elected to the Knesset in 1996 and is currently serving his fifth consecutive Knesset term. In past governments, he served as Minister of Religious Affairs; Deputy Minister of Finance; Minister without Portfolio and Minister of Religious Services. Prior to his election to the Knesset, he was Deputy Mayor of Ashkelon, a member of the Ashkelon City Council and Secretary- General of Shas's Maayan HaHinuch HaTorani School Network.

Cohen was born in Ashkelon, Israel. He studied in Talmudic College. He is married and the father of 10 children.

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MK Ilan Gilon, Meretz 

Ilan Gilon is a Member of Knesset on behalf of the New Movement-Meretz Party. He is also the Chairperson of the Israel-Romania Parliamentary Friendship League. In the past, he served as Deputy Mayor of Ashdod from 1993-1999, and was a regular columnist for the weekly newspaper Kan Darom from 1988-1993. He was first elected to Knesset in 1999.

He serves as the Chairperson of the Subcommittee for the Regulations for Equal Rights for the Handicapped and as a member of the House, Labor, Welfare and Health Committees. He is also Chairperson of both the Lobby for the Handicapped and the Social Lobby and is a member of seven other lobbies promoting various cultural and social-environmental issues, including the two-state solution and separation between Israel and the Palestinians.

Ilan Gilon was born in Romania. He studied towards a BA in International Relations and Political Science at the Hebrew University He served in the military in the IDF Education Corp. He is married and the father of four.

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MK Fania Kirshenbaum, Yisrael Beitenu 

Fania Kirshenbaum is a Member of Knesset for the Yisrael Beitenu Party. She was first elected to the Knesset in the 2009 elections, and serves as the Director-General of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. In the past, she served as Deputy Chairperson of the Israel branch of the World Jewish Congress and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora. In 1981, she moved to the Israeli settlement of Nili and served as Council Secretary and a member of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.

Kirshenbaum serves as the Chairperson of the Subcommittee for Insurance and is a member of six other committees including Finance, Internal Affairs and Environment Committees, and the Joint Committee for the Budget of the Company for Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets. She is Chairperson of the Lobby for Financial Education in Israel and a member of three other lobbies including the Christian Allies Caucus.

Kirshenbaum was born in Lvov, (Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union), and immigrated to Israel in 1973. She earned a B.A. in General Studies from Thames Valley University and an MBA from the University of Derby; and, she also studied for a diploma in Business Administration and Director's Training from Bar-Ilan University.

She is married and has three children. 

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MK Raleb Majadele, Labor

Raleb Majadele is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and a Member of Knesset on behalf of the Israel Labor Party. He was first elected to the Knesset in 2004. He became the first Muslim Minister in an Israeli government when he was appointed as Minister without Portfolio in 2007. He later served as Minister of Science, Culture and Sport in the same government term.

Majadele serves as Chairperson of the Subcommittee for Housing in the Arab Sector and is a member of the Finance and State Control Committees. He is also Chairperson of the Lobby for Promoting Recycling in Israel and a member of four other lobbies including the Lobby for Public Housing, the Lobby for Promoting the Two-State Solution and Separation between Israel and the Palestinians.

Prior to joining the Knesset, Majadele served as the Head of the Education and Sport Department in the Histadrut Trade Union, as secretary of the Regional Workers Council and Secretary to the Noar Ha'oved Youth Movement.

Majadele was born in Israel and lives in Baqa al-Gharbiyye. He is married and the father of four children.

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