The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Daniel Gillerman is scheduled to speak today about Middle Eastern politics and its effects on the world.
His speech will cover recent political issues in the Middle East and his experience working on diplomacy there, including the Iranian situation and the war with Lebanon last year.
Bruins for Israel planned the event, which takes place at 2 p.m. in Dodd 147, and the group is eager to give students access to such an important figure in Israeli politics, said Yoni Nattiv, media chair for Bruins for Israel.
“(Gillerman) is very knowledgeable and has had a lot of firsthand experience with diplomacy in the Middle East, and we have a lot to learn from him,” Nattiv said.
He said he is hoping that students will approach the speech with an open mind, and be willing to learn from Gillerman’s experience. Gillerman was elected to serve as the vice president of the General Assembly of the U.N. in 2005 and was deeply involved with the Israeli-Lebanon conflict and the U.N. resolution in 2006. He has worked on many of the current political issues in the Middle East and will also speak about the repercussions of these conflicts for the rest of the world.
“The students are very lucky to hear him speak strategically on the situation in Iran and with the Palestinians,” said Consul General Jacob Dayan, Israel’s chief representative for all the southwestern United States. Dayan said he is pleased to have the ambassador speak at UCLA and noted that the Los Angeles consulate has had a very positive relationship with UCLA in the past.
“The next leaders in the community will come from UCLA, and we want to continue our ongoing dialogue with them,” Dayan said
President of Bruins for Israel Jasmin Niku said she is thrilled to have such a prominent member of Israeli politics coming to UCLA. Gillerman had planned to come speak in Los Angeles, and the Israeli Consulate of Los Angeles, requested the ambassador come speak here, the fourth-year political science student said.
Bruins for Israel’s goal is to educate the UCLA community about Israel, and they hope that people can learn a lot from such a seasoned diplomat, Niku said.
Nattiv agreed that Gillerman should bring a very unique and knowledgeable outlook, different from the one students may have been exposed to in the news.
“The purpose of this event is to shed Israel in a different light than the way it is presented in the media ,” Nattiv said.
The ambassador has experience in the public and private sectors of Israel. After years as the CEO of several companies, Gillerman served as chairman of the Federation of the Israeli Chamber of Commerce, worked on councils for the Israeli prime minister and president and was a member of the board of the World Business Organization.
“Israel is lucky to have such an ambassador at the United Nations working on issues like Iran and the war in Lebanon,” Dayan said.