Do The Write Thing Completes 22nd Successful Year
Every year, the World Zionist Organization (WZO), together with the American Zionist Movement (AZM), brings elite Jewish journalism students and young professionals in North America to the Jewish Federation of North America's General Assembly for a conference within the conference aptly titled “Do the Write Thing” (DTWT). Participants are provided with the opportunity to interview high-ranking officials, hobnob with the who’s who of the Jewish world, and learn from seasoned journalism professionals. The young journalists are provided with all the necessary tools and connections to help further their careers in both the near and distant future.
My Brother Has Returned Home — אח שלי חוזר הביתה
Gilad and brother(courtesy of Ynet)
אח שלי חוזר הביתה
My brother has returned home
Gilad Shalit is Finally Home
Gilad Shalit is finally at home. (photo courtesy of Gilad.org
Gilad Shalit Embraced by Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff, LTG Benny Gantz embracing Gilad Shalit upon his return from captivity. (photo courtesy of IDF Online)
Gilad Shalit Salutes the Prime Minister
Gilad Shalit salutes Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after landing in IDF airbase in the center of Israel. Gilad Shalit was released October 18, 2011 after being held five and a half years by Hamas. (photo courtesy of IDF Online).
Gilad Shalit with His Father, Again
Update: After over five years, Sgt. 1st Class Gilad Shalit is now with his father once again. (photo courtesy of IDF)
Gilad Shalit Arriving at Kerem Shalom
Sergeant First Class Gilad Shalit wearing IDF uniform.SFC Shalit, soon after arriving Kerem Shalom, Israel. (photo courtesy of IDF Online)
Gilad Shalit After Five Years of Captivity
First Picture of Gilad Shalit After 5 Years of Captivity. SFC Gilad Shalit on the phone with his parents, after arriving Israel. (photo courtesy of IDF Online)
WZO and AZM Sponsor Conference Addressing Delegitimization
Yuli Edelstein addresses the Conference on Sunday, September 25 in Manhattan (photo credit: David Karp)
Pro-Israel supporters pledged to take action to counter the Delegitimization of Israel during a full-day conference in Manhattan organized by the WZO Department for Activities in Israel and Countering Anti-Semitism and the American Zionist Movement (AZM).
MK Yuli Edelstein, the Minister for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, was the keynote speaker at the conference, entitled HARD REALITIES: Addressing Delegitimization and Anti-Semitism. In addition to Minister Edelstein, other speakers included Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Professor Kenneth Stein, of Emory University and the Center for Israel Education; Brooke Goldstein of The Lawfare Project, Dan Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B’nai B’rith International, and Michael Miller, Executive Vice President of the New York, Jewish Community Relations Council.
Ya’akov HaGoel, Chair of the WZO Department for Activities in Israel and Countering Anti-Semitism said “It is important to gather representatives from the United States who are facing false accusations concerning Israel’s right to exist. There is an escalation of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel events on college campuses, in the media and on the streets.”
William D. Hess, President of the American Zionist Movement added, “This conference was intended to help empower the Jewish community to fight delegitimization. In the morning conference speakers analyzed the underlying issues that have brought us to this point. In the afternoon addressed the challenge of how to reverse negative trends and give people the tools to fight back.” Hess added “we want to encourage the Jewish people to embrace the Zionist idea. Zionism is the national movement of the Jewish people; getting people to say they are Zionists is the starting point for the struggle against delegitimization.
The conference took place less than a week after the United Nations General Assembly opened its 2011 fall session. Hagoel said the timing was not a coincidence and that pro-Israel supporters need to “acquire legitimate arguments that empower both Jewish and non-Jewish activists, as well as influential people around the world.”
Ohad Knoller, Karmit Arbel
