What It Means to be Pro-Israel: Opening up The Forbidden Conversation

A Dialogue with Jeremy Ben Ami of J Street and Shaul Gabbay of the University of Denver Moderated by William Ury

Conversations about Israel can be difficult and often divisive. We all acknowledge that we care deeply, yet our emotions are charged, and open, respectful dialogue is rare. With the situation in the Middle East escalating, we need to talk with one another, and listen. Join us for this rare opportunity to dialogue openly and honestly about Israel, Palestine and a secure path to peace.

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Theatre - 1000 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder, Colorado
Tickets $5.00 at the door

Jeremy Ben-Ami, Executive Director, J Street. Jeremy comes to J Street from a 25-year career in government, politics and communications, in the U.S. and in Israel. Jeremy has served in a number of senior government positions including as President Bill Clinton’s Deputy Domestic Policy Adviser and Policy Director on Howard Dean’s Presidential Campaign. Jeremy was most recently Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications. He also has served as the Communications Director for the New Israel Fund and started the Israeli firm, Ben-Or Communications, while living in Israel in the late 1990s. Jeremy’s father was born in Tel Aviv, and much of his family lives in Israel.

Shaul Gabbay, Director of the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. After his military service as Commander in the Israeli Defense Forces, Shaul Gabbay completed a BA at Bar Ilan University and an MA at Tel-Aviv University. In 1991 he received a Presidential Fellowship from the U.S. to continue his studies. In 1995 he completed the Ph.D. program at Columbia University, followed by post doctoral work at the University of Chicago. In 1998, Professor Gabbay returned to Israel to join the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Gabbay joined the University of Denver as the Director of the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East at in 2001. He is a frequent commentator in national media such as CBS, NBC, FOX and MSNBC, analyzing Middle East news stories.

Moderated by William Ury. Over the past three decades, William Ury has mediated in conflicts around the world. Ury is the co-founder of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University. His newest book is The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes. He is co-author of Getting to YES, a five-million-copy bestseller in thirty languages. Currently, he leads the Abraham Path Initiative, which seeks to create a permanent path of tourism and pilgrimage in the Middle East. Ury received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. from Harvard.

We Thank Our Sponsors: Congregation Nevei Kodesh, The Abrahamic Initiative, and Brit Tzedek V'Shalom. For additional information please call 303-271-3543. Event parking at 11th & Arapahoe entrance. Limited parking at Canyon entrance.