Captain Avner Even-Zohar to Speak at University of California-Santa Barbara

Contact: Courtney Toretto • Caravan for Democracy Fellow • University of California-Santa Barbara • ctoretto@gmail.com / •Hillel Kurlandsky
• Caravan for Democracy • 323-964-1400 x207 • Hkurlandsky@jnf.org

May 30, 2007 -- Isla Vista, CA -- Internationally published author, professor, and lecturer Captain Avner Even-Zohar will address students and faculty at the University of California-Santa Barbara on June 4, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. 

Even-Zohar will explore the history of the Six-Day War through a multimedia presentation marking the conflict’s 40th anniversary entitled, “Please Forgive Us For Winning.” 

The lecture is coordinated by Caravan for Democracy, an initiative of Jewish National Fund and Media Watch International that drives constructive dialogue on college campuses throughout the United States by bringing speakers representing a wide spectrum of political and philosophical thought from Israel to discuss the issues affecting Israel, how it is covered in the media, and its unique role as the only democracy in the Middle East.

“Forty years later, the Six-Day War is being taught as an aggressive military campaign on the part of Israel, but for our parents and grandparents it was such a source of pride, and students want to know the real story,” said American Students for Israel president Courtney Toretto, a senior at UC-Santa Barbara who is responsible for coordinating Caravan programming on campus.

Captain Avner Even-Zohar is chair of the Department for Turkish and Hebrew Studies at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.  His writing is included in “What Israel Means to Me,” a compilation of essays by 80 prominent authors, performers, scholars, politicians, and journalists edited by Alan Dershowitz.  Even-Zohar was born in Israel and served in the Israeli army for six years as an education officer.  He received his Masters degree in Middle Eastern languages and cultures at the University of Texas at Austin and worked for the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation in San Francisco. 

Even-Zohar lectures throughout the world on topics such as human rights and democracy; Middle East history and the Arab-Israeli peace process; the Holocaust; and lesbian, gay, bisexuals and transgenders in the military.

This Caravan for Democracy lecture is co-sponsored by Santa Barbara Hillel and American Students for Israel. It will take place in the Santa Barbara Hillel located at 781 Embarcadero Del Mar and will be followed by a question and answer session.  Students are encouraged to pre-register for the event at http://www.caravanfordemocracy.org/.   For more information, visit http://www.caravanfordemocracy.org/ or contact Courtney Toretto at ctoretto@gmail.com.

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