Award-winning journalist to address Greater Naples community

By Jeff Margolis, IAC Committee Member

The Israel Advocacy Committee of Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is pleased to present Khaled Abu Toameh on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 12 noon (ET). He will be speaking live from Israel via Zoom.

Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist and TV producer and is currently the Palestinian and Arab Affairs Correspondent for The Jerusalem Post. He also writes for the Gatestone Institute think tank in New York. Abu Toameh previously served as a senior producer for NBC in the Middle East. His articles have been published in newspapers around the world.

He will discuss the Israeli-Arab conflict, with a focus on relations between Palestinians and Jews and the future of the peace process.

What’s happening with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas? What are the major obstacles to peace? Will the Palestinians join the Abraham Accords? He will also discuss relations between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, the problems and challenges facing the Arab minority in Israel and the role of the international media toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

One of Abu Toameh’s recent articles for the Gatestone Institute focused on the topic of “The Palestinian Authority Campaign Against Palestinian NGOs.” The IAC is quite fortunate to be able to have him as its February speaker. Registration for this free special event is required.

To register, go to www.jewish naples.org.

Coming in March

On Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m., Avi Malamed makes a return visit to Naples with a program at Beth Tikvah synagogue (also available via Zoom). An expert on current affairs in the Arab and Muslim world, Malamed is a former senior official on Arab affairs and an Israeli intelligence official. He is also an expert on current affairs in the Muslim and Arab society and their effect on the Middle East and Israel, and he serves as founder and the Fellow of Intelligence and Middle East Affairs for the Eisenhower Institute.

Malamed has been involved in several intelligence field positions on behalf of Israeli government agencies and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). He is also known as the founder of Feenjan – Israel Speaks Arabic, an online medium for Arabs and Israelis to engage in various issues and discussions. He is fluent in Arabic, English and Hebrew.

The topics and discussions are centered on the latest trends of the Israeli culture and the Arab world in the Arabic language. Melamed is the author of several books, including “Inside the Middle East” and “Separate and Unequal: The Inside Story of Israel Rule in East Jerusalem.” His latest book, “Inside the Middle East Entering a New Era,” was published in January 2022. His program will focus on this latest book.

Seating is limited for his event and reservations are required. The cost to attend is $18. Please register at www.jewish naples.org.

Please note: Due to changing advisories from the CDC and Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, this program may be presented on Zoom only. Please check with the Federation website and weekly emails for program updates. Contact IAC Chair Harvey Cohen at hwcohen@gmail.com with any questions.