Ehud Barak to Speak at UT
By Byron LaMasters
I'll be there:
EHUD BARAK TO SPEAK AT UT
Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel, will speak on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 7:30pm at the LBJ Auditorium. Passes are free and will be available beginning Wednesday, April 14 at the Student Events Center ticket office located on the 4th level of the Texas Union (weekdays 8am-5pm).
Passes do NOT guarantee admission.
Due to security precautions, please arrive early for seating.
All bags and items will be subject to search. For the sake of gaining quick and easy admission, we strongly recommend that patrons enter the LBJ Auditorium bearing as few personal belongings as possible.
This lecture is sponsored by the Student Endowed Centennial Lectureship, Jewish Community Center, Texas Hillel, the LBJ School Center for Ethical Leadership, the College of Liberal Arts and the Student Events Center Distinguished Speakers Committee.
Ehud Barak is the most decorated soldier in the history of the Israeli Defense Forces. After reaching the rank of Lieutenant General, Barak gradually moved into the political realm and in 1995 was appointed Minister of the Interior under Yitzhak Rabin. When Rabin was assassinated, Barak became Minister of Foreign Affairs under Shimon Peres. In 1996 Barak was elected to the Knesset, and in 1999 he was elected Prime Minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu. He served as Prime Minister until 2001.
Barak holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (1976), and an M.Sc. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University, California (1978).
For questions about passes please call the Student Events Center at 475-6630.
Posted by Byron LaMasters at April 13, 2004 05:32 PM
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Barak spoke at Brown last school year (December 2002) and he was definitely well worth seeing. His stories from his Special Forces days were very vividly told and worth hearing in terms of the perspective he gained from them. In terms of content, he gave a three-part talk on what he saw as key international problems, particularly in lieu of the present situatio nin Israel and of 9/11. He gave pretty standard fare about terrorism in general, and both Al Qaeda and the situation his nation faced-- nothing surprising there. He did, though, make a pretty articulate case (albeit only from Israel's perspective, not an American one) for why Saddam had to go in his opinion, probably the best I've heard (even though I was unpersuaded). Then, once he'd gotten the left pissed off, he went on to decry those who suggested that the war on terror was a military clash of civilizations, and gave a rousing detailing of the many world destabilizing world problems that contributed to the current global climate (i.e. trade disparities, AIDS, health care and education) and why the world needed a concerted effort at closing the gap therein from both a moral and strategic perspective.
Definitely one of the most interesting speakers that our LEcture Board has brought lately, way moreso than the utterly predictable (albeit entertaining) than this fall semester's main effort, Spike Lee. Even if you don't agree with the guy on everything, its tough to come away without respecting him a huge deal.
