Ehud Barak, former prime minister of Israel, will deliver the David and Goldie Blanksteen Lecture in Jewish Ethics at Yale on October 10 at 4:15 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of College and Elm streets.
His talk, “Peace of the Brave: Israel’s Prospects in the Middle East,” is free and open to the public. Because of security procedures, the audience is asked to arrive early. The doors to Battell will open at 3:30 p.m.
Barak was Israel’s tenth Prime Minister, serving from 1999 to 2001. During his tenure, he led Israel out of prolonged recession into an economic boom, cutting the deficit and encouraging record foreign investments, while maintaining near-zero inflation.
To promote peace in the region, Barak ordered the withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from southern Lebanon in May 2000, ending 18 years of Israeli occupation. He led efforts to negotiate peace agreements with Syria and with the Palestinian Authority, although these negotiations did not result in the breakthroughs necessary to conclude final agreements.
Before being elected Prime Minister, Barak had an illustrious 36-year career in the Israeli army and was the most decorated soldier in its history. He was a key architect of the June 1976 Entebbe Operation to rescue Air France passengers hijacked by terrorists and forced to land in Uganda. He served as Chief of the General Staff of the IDF and was involved in the negotiation and implementation of the 1994 Peace Treaty with Jordan. He has served as Minister of the Interior, of Foreign Affairs and of Defense.
Barak earned his B.Sc in mathematics and physics from Hebrew University (1976) and his M.S. in Economic Engineering Systems from Stanford (1978).
Barak’s visit to Yale is cosponsored by the Yale Friends of Israel, Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, Yale Hillel and the Center for the Study of Globalization.
