Wednesday, October 24, 2001

WILMINGTON, NC -- Michael Bar-Zohar, a former member of the Israeli Parliament, military lecturer, writer and official biographer of David Ben Gurion, will be the keynote speaker at the UNCW lecture and panel discussion “Terrorism, the Middle East and Security at Home.” Sponsored by the UNC Wilmington Department of Political Science, the free event will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Warwick Center Ballroom.

Bar-Zohar, who served as a foreign correspondent in Paris from 1959 to 1964, saw military action in Israel during the Sinai Campaign in 1956 and the Six-Day War in 1976. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Bar-Zohar served in the paratrooper battalion that crossed the Suez Canal and established the Israeli bridgehead in Egyptian territory.

His political experience included serving in the 10th Knesset from 1981 to 1984. Re-elected to the 12th Knesset in 1988, Bar-Zohar was chair of the Education and Culture Committee and the Sports Committee. A member of Itzhak Rabin’s inner staff in the 1992 primaries, Bar-Zohar participated in Shimon Peres’ 1996 re-election campaign.

The author of several research, non-fiction and fiction works, Bar-Zohar’s book Enigma, published in 1978, was made into a movie starring Martin Sheen and Derek Jacobi.

In addition to Bar-Zohar, panelists for this discussion are:

Remonda Kleinberg, associate professor of political science, UNCW, who is an expert in international relations and international law.

Cindy Combs, associate professor of political science, UNC Charlotte, who is an expert in international terrorism and the author of Terrorism in the 21st Century.

Sanford Silverburg, professor of political science, Catawba College, who is an expert in Middle East politics and the author of Palestine and International Law.

Milan Dluhy, professor and chair of the UNCW Department of Political Science, will moderate the panel.

“This lecture/discussion will not be about why did they do this? Whom do we blame? Why did get ourselves in this mess?” said Dr. Dluhy. “Rather we want to focus on the fact that we may be at this for two or three years or longer. How will this affect security and freedom of movement in the U.S.? What precautions will we have to take? Will we need an ID card? What will the Office of Home Security do? Can Israel help us with this? What helps or works? What to avoid?

“We think this will be a very provocative and informative evening, and we encourage everyone to attend,” he said. “We are especially pleased to have a speaker of Mr. Bar-Zohar’s stature on our campus.”

For additional information, contact Dr. Dluhy at 910/962-7686 or program organizer Dr. Remonda Kleinberg at 910/962-4254. A more detailed biography of Bar-Zohar along with a downloadable photo is available on the UNCW News and Events Web site at http://www.uncwil.edu/news/releases/october01/terrorism_panel.html.