Speeches

Shirly Fried is 22 years old. She is a second-year student at our Lauder School of Government. Her parents immigrated to Israel from Hungary, joining the Jewish Zionist dream. The father a physician, the mother a nurse, both were supporters of the Israeli peace movement. About a year and a half ago, the family decided to spend the Passover celebration with others in a hotel. Read More

“To kill the Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it…”. These are the words of a religious decree (Fatwah) signed by Bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri and others on February 23rd, 1998. Read More

Preparing this speech proved difficult for me. This Memorial Day is chiefly a moment of moral stocktaking. The existential and moral questions are awesome and I wonder how I can come to grips with them in front of you. I know you will find my evasion reprehensible, but my views might raise controversy at a ceremony that consists of uniting pain. Can we communicate effectively over the distance of nearly two generations that separate us?Read More