When Isaac Herzog, Israeli minister of welfare and social services, delivered the Rudnick Endowed Lecture at the Sanford School of Public Policy’s Fleishman Commons Wednesday, he turned the honor into a family tradition.
Herzog—whose uncle gave the inaugural Rudnick Endowed Lecture—spoke to a small crowd on “Israel, World Affairs and the Peace Process,” emphasizing international misconceptions of the Israeli government.
“When people analyze the Israeli political scene, they misunderstand it because they only see the American political scene—they think it’s always Republicans versus Democrats,” he said. “You have to criss-cross agendas to maneuver the Israeli political scene.”
Herzog said with all of the pressing issues Israel faces, sometimes the Israeli government does not follow the same priorities as other countries. He added that although issues like health care are important, they are often superseded by issues related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and other local matters.
“We say we have a crisis every six hours,” he said. “At least.”
Despite the conflicts, Israel has weathered the economic downturn well, Herzog said, adding that the country has excellent trade agreements with several current and rising economic powers, as well as stable banks and an alleviated tax system to encourage investors to come to Israel.
Israel has also had economic relationships with North Carolina. Herzog was involved with the North Carolina-Israel Partnership in the 1990s, an enterprise that established trading relationships between the two entities.
Herzog said the Israeli government wants to work toward peace with Muslim countries, with the help of the United States as a mediator.
“Right now there is a convergence of interest of all parties, to move toward a historic peace deal,” he said. “The question is whether it can succeed.”
When people deal with Israel and the Middle East, they should know more before passing judgment, Herzog said in an interview after his speech.
“We strive for the same values as everyone else—the pursuit of human rights, peace in the region,” he said. “We should never give up.”
Students who attended the lecture said Herzog explained a complex issue well and did a good job of clearing up the propaganda surrounding the issue of peace with Muslim countries.
“I thought what was great was you could come with any amount of knowledge,” said sophomore Tali Chuchinsky. “He presented it very diplomatically and simply for a complicated issue.”
The Rudnick Endowed Lecture series is sponsored by the endowed lectureship fund created by David Rudnick, director of Medallion Financial Corporation. Rudnick said the goal of the lecture series is to provide the Duke community with exposure to Israel’s role in the Middle East.
“I think there couldn’t have been a better example than Isaac Herzog,” he added. “He really brought firsthand knowledge.”