Consul General to visit SU
The Israeli consul general of New York, Asaf Shariv, will bring the discussion revolving around the Middle East to Syracuse University during two talks Wednesday and Thursday.
As consul general, Shariv interacts with the Israeli community in New York and surrounding regions. His duties range from approving visas to bolstering the Israeli-U.S. relationship regionally.
Shariv, who is based in New York City, requested to visit the university in an effort to ‘develop relations with Jewish community in this region and to publicize policies in Israeli government,’ said Harvey Teres, an associate professor of English.
Shariv’s first talk, titled ‘An Israel Update,’ will be held in the Public Events Room in Eggers Hall Wednesday from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. and will be moderated by Miriam Elman, a political science professor. The talk will cover a variety of topics, including the political, economic and cultural climate in Israel today, Teres said.
Shariv will also speak about crisis communications, something he dealt with heavily during his time as the director of media and public affairs to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Shariv was working with Sharon when he suffered a stroke in 2006.
The second talk, ‘An Informal Conversation with Asaf Shariv,’ will be a Q-and-A session between the audience members and Shariv. It will be moderated by Professor Harvey Teres and will be held in the Schine Student Center from 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday. Seating will be available for roughly 100 audience members and arranged in a semicircle in order to facilitate conversation.
Before becoming consul general, Shariv served on the senior staffs of Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon and led media affairs for the leaders.
Israeli policies have been in the national news for decades, stemming from conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. The topic of discussion lately has been a proposed settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an issue the U.S. administration made a top priority for its foreign policy.
Both talks will be open to students and faculty alike, but the audience for Shariv’s earlier speech is expected to be composed primarily of faculty, said Kal Alston, a professor of cultural foundations of education.
Shariv’s visit this week is one stop in a series of regional talks. He has made a number of visits to universities in the tri-state area and will also be visiting Le Moyne College on Wednesday, Alston said.
Published on February 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm
