Israel, the United States and the American Jewish relationship to Israel

Daniel Sokatch is the Chief Executive Officer of the New Israel Fund (NIF), the leading organization committed to equality and democracy for all Israelis (www.nif.org). The NIF funds and supports social change organisations in Israel, opposes inequality, injustice and extremism and often takes the initiative in setting the public agenda. Before joining NIF, Sokatch served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. Prior to his tenure at Federation, he served as the founding Executive Director of the Los Angeles based Progressive Jewish Alliance. In recognition of his leadership, Sokatch has been named to the Forward newspaper’s “Forward 50,” an annual list of the fifty leading Jewish decision-makers and opinion-shapers in the US, in 2002, 2005 and 2008 and 2010. Daniel has an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, a JD from Boston College Law School, and a BA from Brandeis University.

His talk will address the current political situation in Israel in the wake of an election which is expected to produce a significant move to the right and the current situation in Washington, DC regarding Israel and Palestine.
It will examine the current state of the American Jewish relationship to Israel and the role that this plays in relations between the United States and Israel and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sponsored by the School of Political Science and Sociology and the Whitaker Institute

For further information contact niall.odochartaigh@nuigalway.ie