On Tuesday, September 16, at 7:30 pm, Ari Shavit, a leading Israeli columnist and New York Times best-selling author, will speak at the this year’s Hyacinthe & Harold E. Hoffman Memorial Lecture. With the recent publication of his internationally acclaimed book, My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel,Mr. Shavit has become one of the most talked about and influential authors of 2014.

My Promised Land has been described by literary critics as one of the best 10 books of the year and required reading by anyone engaged with Israel, the Israeli-Palestine conflict and with the Middle East. Among its best-known readers are President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Leading senators, congressman, scholars, diplomats, journalists, businessmen and community leaders of different political persuasions have described the book as a formative book that totally transformed their understanding of the Holy Land conflict, the Zionist project, modern Jewish history and the geo-politics of the Middle East.

A long-time columnist for the leading Israeli daiy Haaretz and a prominent commentator on Israeli public TV, Mr. Shavit has become in recent years one of the strongest voices in his nation’s public arena. In an elgant, eloquent and yet daring way, he challenges the dogmas of both Right and Left whille giving a unique insight into the overall Israeli condition.

Born in Rehovet, Israel, in 1957, Mr. Shavit served as a paratrooper in the IDF and studied philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The lecture is free and the community is welcome.