Bechazit: On The Frontline | Driving Social Change in Israel – Ami Ayalon

This program will be offered on Zoom. Registrants only need to RSVP once to be registered for the entire series.Classrooms Without Borders is embarking our newest Israel seminar which we are calling “Bachazit” – On The Frontline. In our upcoming 6 sessions we will highlight challenges facing Israel and the individuals or organizations that are grappling with the issues at hand. We will illuminate subjects such as the integration of minority groups into the high-tech sector, the struggle for L.G.B.T.Q. rights, programs that assist Israelis injured during their military service, the fight against racism in Israeli society and more.

Sunday, April 11: Ami Ayalon – From Commander to Peacemaker
During the week of Israel Independence Day, we will meet with Ami Ayalon, the former decorated commander of the Naval commandos (the Israeli version of Navy Seals) and subsequently the former commander of the Israeli Navy, former head of the Shin-Bet (Israel’s Internal Security Service), former member of Parliament and former government minister. Ami is also a leading voice for making peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We will learn what lead a man who spent his entire professional life fighting terror to befriend some of his enemies and to promote a genuine peace between the warring peoples.

Admiral (Ret.) Ami Ayalon

Admiral (ret.) Ayalon is a former director of the Israel Security Agency (the Shin Bet) and a former commander of Israel’s Navy. He has served as a cabinet minister and a member of the Knesset. Along with Sari Nusseibeh, he has headed the ‘People’s Voice’ peace initiative in 2002.

Ayalon is one of the founders of ‘Blue White Future’, a non-partisan political movement, committed to securing the future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state through facilitating an inclusive discourse to promote a two state solution.

Between the years 2011-2016 Ayalon has served as Chairman of the Executive Committee at the university of Haifa and until recently he also served as senior research fellow and Director of the Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute.

Currently Ayalon serves as the Chairman of AKIM Israel (the National Association for the Habilitation of Children and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities). He is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Haifa Research Center for Maritime Policy & Strategy.

Avi Ben-Hur

A Brooklyn native, Avi moved to Israel in 1983. Currently, he is on the faculty of the University of Haifa Tourism School, an examiner for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, and the Director of Education of Classrooms Without Borders.

An eclectic Israeli educator specializing in Land of Israel studies, the history of Jerusalem, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Holocaust studies, Avi’s expertise is in integrating ideas and knowledge from various disciplines into a comprehensive and coherent narrative.