Lecture to discuss Israel’s new government

By Benjamin Weiss

The profound challenges and opportunities that the Holy Land of Israel is currently facing will be discussed at an upcoming guest lecture titled “Where is Israel heading to? An Insider’s View on Peace and Politics.”

Presenting will be Gil Hoffman, who served as chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post for 24 years. He is now the executive director of HonestReporting, which monitors international and social media. He is also a lecturer on political strategy at Israel’s College of Management.

Hoffman is visiting Arizona to talk for the Jewish National Fund’s Annual Arizona Breakfast for Israel in Phoenix, and for Chabad Tucson, the Jewish outreach and education network of Southern Arizona. His talk in Tucson will be on Thursday, February 23, at 7:00 PM, at The Shul -

2443 E 4th Street. Following the lecture, Hoffman will be taking questions from the crowd.

Hoffman was raised in Chicago, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northwestern University’s School of Journalism, and wrote for the Miami Herald and the Arizona Republic before moving to Jerusalem, where he lives with his family.

A reserve soldier in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, he has lectured in every major English-speaking country in the world and more than half the Canadian provinces. He recently made history in Hawaii by becoming the first speaker to have lectured about Israel in all 50 U.S. states.

Well-connected to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he has interviewed every major figure across the Israeli political spectrum and is a regular analyst on CNN, Al-Jazeera and other news outlets. Called “The most optimistic man in Israel” by Israel Television, Hoffman provides a behind-thescenes look at the intrigue and humor in the Israeli political arena.

Hoffman says he has noticed a negative tone in how the international media covers the recently formed government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister. Within Israel, there have been mass protests against the planned legal and constitutional reforms the Netanyahu administration is proposing.

“There are strong points of view on both sides,” Hoffman recently told ILTV news. “Both sides believe that if their view does not win, it will cause tremendous damage to the future of the state of Israel. The fact that they’re using such strong language from the get-go just shows how intense this is going to get over time.”

Putting the division into context, Hoffman says that “Israelis are not hyper-polarized over diplomatic, security and economic issues. That’s why the legal reforms that highlight the differences really stand out.”

In an optimistic tone, Hoffman says: “In the end, we are one people. There is a pendulum in Israeli politics and things will swing across ideologies. I think people understand that you have to have healthy discourse in a democracy even when you have strong opinions.”

The lecture in Tucson is open to the wider public. Tickets are $18 per person and will be sold at the door or online at ChabadTucson.com/IsraelLecture