To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the landmark vote declaring Israel’s statehood and celebrate Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver’s legacy, we will be joined by former US Ambassador Martin Indyk along with representatives from the Western Reserve Historical Society, members of The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Silver family.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2
5:00 pm – Opening Reception
6:00 pm – Shabbat Service featuring Silver Scholar Ambassador Martin Indyk, the Silver family, and members of The Cleveland Orchestra
7:30 pm – Dessert Oneg
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3
10:00 am – Presentation on the digitization of the Silver Archives by Sean Martin of the Western Reserve Historical Society and Lisa Frankel from the American Jewish Archives, followed by a panel discussion with Ambassador Indyk, Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, and CWRU Vice Provost for International Affairs David Fleshler
12:00 pm – Luncheon and Book Signing*
3:30 pm – Family program celebrating Israel’s 75th anniversary with Rabbi Dadoun. Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver would be amazed to witness all of Israel’s accomplishments, past and present, and would be moved to see today’s rich culture and diversity all across the State. Join us for an afternoon of creative learning and engage with facets of Israel’s culture you never knew existed! We will serve light snacks and end our gathering together with Havdallah.
OUR GUEST SPEAKER
Martin S. Indyk is currently distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, and prior to that as the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings, and the founder of its Center for Middle East Policy. He was also the founding executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Ambassador Indyk entered government service in 1993 as special assistant to President Bill Clinton and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs at the National Security Council. Indyk served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2001. In between, he served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. In July 2013, President Obama appointed Indyk as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, a position he held until July 2014.
He is the author of Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy (A.A. Knopf, 2021) and Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East (Simon and Schuster, 2009) and the co-author of Bending History: Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy with Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Lieberthal (Brookings Institution Press, 2012).
HOST COMMITTEE*
Elaine Bercu ♦ Lois Goodman ♦ Elaine Gross ♦ Gini and Michael Hartzmark ♦ Sue and Richard Koletsky ♦ Karen and Alan Krause ♦ Tamar and Milton Maltz ♦ Helga Miller ♦ Suzanne Fisher and Steve Miller ♦ Amy and Marc Morgenstern ♦ Stan Morgernstern ♦ Margie and Art Newman ♦ Susie and Jim Ratner ♦ Ilene and David Saginor ♦ Ginny Sukenik ♦ Jeanne and Dr. Jordan Tobin ♦ Lee Warshwasky ♦ Trudy and Steven Wiesenberger
* Committee in formation