Mar 12, 2004 -- Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, will examine prospects for Middle East peace at a March 31 event inaugurating 鶹ýӳ’s Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs.
Dr. Haass, a former senior State Department advisor and foreign policy specialist, will deliver his address—“The Greater Middle East: Present and Future—Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, and Reform in the Arab World”-- Wednesday evening at 8:00 at Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, 164 East 68th Street. Richard M. Joel, president of 鶹ýӳ, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of the landmark Park East Synagogue, will also speak.
Rabbi Schneier, a longtime advocate for religious freedom and human rights, and President Joel spearheaded creation of the center as a forum for discussion of important international issues—war and peace, security and terrorism, human rights, global health, intellectual property rights, and the environment.
President Joel praised Rabbi Schneier, a 鶹ýӳ alumnus, for his humanitarian work, and said 鶹ýӳ was honored to have the new center bear his name. The new program, President Joel added, will not only improve understanding of key political and social issues, but will also enrich and broaden 鶹ýӳ’s academic scope. The goal is to utilize faculty and research from 鶹ýӳ undergraduate and graduate schools in areas such as medicine, law, social work, history, Bible, and political science.
Rabbi Schneier is founder and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, established in 1965. He became spiritual leader of the Upper East Side synagogue in 1962. He received the Presidential Citizens Medal, honoring him as “…a Holocaust survivor who devoted a lifetime to overcoming forces of hatred and intolerance…”
Dr. Haass is a former director of policy planning at the State Department, where he also served as a chief advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Dr. Haass is also the former vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, an independent think tank based in Washington DC.
Ruth A. Bevan, PhD, the David W. Petegorsky Chair in Political Science, will direct the center.
Reservations are required. RSVP to 212-737-6900 or e-mail: ginette@parkeastsynagogue.org
