Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 4, 2002|Volume 31, Number 5

Israel's Ehud Barak on peace prospects in Middle East

Ehud Barak
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Ehud Barak, former prime minister of Israel, will deliver the 2002 David and Goldie Blanksteen Lecture in Jewish Ethics at Yale on Thursday, Oct. 10.

Barak will speak on "Peace of the Brave: Israel's Prospects in the Middle East." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of Elm and College streets. Those who wish to attend are advised to arrive early, as there will be security checks at the door.

The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Israel and Yale Hillel.

Ehud Barak served as Israel's 10th prime minister until 2001. During his tenure, he led Israel out of a prolonged recession and into an economic boom, with a 5.9% annual growth, record foreign investments, near zero inflation, a halved deficit and decreased external debt.

The core of Barak's government's effort was devoted to the peace process. In May 2000 Barak ordered the withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces from South Lebanon, ending 18 years of Israel's presence there. He led efforts to negotiate peace agreements, first with Syria and later with political leaders of the Palestinians.

Before being elected prime minister, Barak served as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for 36 years, and was the most decorated soldier in its history. He also served as chief of the general staff of the IDF, where he was involved in the negotiation and implementation of the 1994 Peace Treaty with Jordan.

He was a key architect of the June 1976 Entebbe Operation for the rescue of passengers on the Air France aircraft hijacked by terrorists and forced to land at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

Barak previously served as Israel's minister of the interior, minister of foreign affairs and defense minister.

The Lectureship in Jewish Ethics was established by David and Goldie Blanksteen to provide members of the Yale community with the opportunity to engage in discussion of the critical ethical questions of the moment with leading contemporary thinkers and activists. Deeply committed to Judaism and to education, the Blanksteens were founding donors of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale. Their daughter, Jane, graduated from Yale in 1977. The David and Goldie Blanksteen Lectureship in Jewish Ethics was inaugurated in April 1995.

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