BOG 2019: Annual Gandel Forum Enthralls Audience

A packed-full Raya and Josef Jaglom Auditorium was the setting for this year’s John Gandel Symposium on the Middle East, held in the framework of the 2019 Board of Governors meeting. Revolving around the topic of Redefining the Military, the event gave hundreds of TAU Governors and Friends the opportunity to hear three fascinating talks on the latest geopolitical developments in Israel and the region.

Prof. Jacob A. Frenkel, Chairman of the Board of Governors, welcomed attendees to the event, which was established in 2003 by esteemed philanthropist and dedicated Israel friend John Gandel of Australia – “a visionary creator of this forum which has become one of the hallmarks of our Board meetings,” said Prof. Frenkel. He also remarked that “Almost every year the questions at the Gandel Symposium are the same, yet the answers differ…demonstrating the dynamic nature of our region.”

The Symposium was moderated by two TAU Governors: Mr. Eric J. Gertler, Executive Chairman, US News & World Report, trustee of the Zuckerman Family Foundation and co-founder of the Frenkel-Zuckerman Institute for Global Economics; and Mr. Andrew L. Cohen, Executive Chairman of Global Wealth Management at JP Morgan.​

​The audience heard three talks: The first was given by​ Ofer Shelach, a Member of Knesset from the Kahol Lavan (“Blue & White”) political alliance, who discussed the impact of the US pulling out of the Middle East and the importance of Israel maintaining its strong defensive position as well as its superior moral compass.                                                    MK Ofer Shelach        

 

​He was followed by Prof. Asher Susser, former Director of TAU’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, who gave an overview of the current situation in the region, including the importance of finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that does not erode Israel’s international legitimacy.

Prof. (emer) Asher Susser

The final talk was given by TAU applied geophysicist Prof. Moshe Reshef, who discussed his research contributions to detecting tunnels on Israel’s borders.