Yitzhak Rabin's Son to Address Conference

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Yuval Rabin, son of the late Israeli prime minister and head of a major Israeli grass-roots movement dedicated to finding ways to bring peace to the Middle East, will be the keynote speaker at the 13th annual Wasserman Conference, to be held from 1-5:30 p.m. March 21 in Norton Hall on the North Campus.

The conference will be presented in memory of the late Arthur and Louise Wasserman by Hillel of Buffalo.

Co-sponsors are the American Jewish Committee, the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropy and the Jewish Student Union.

Admission is $10 for members of the community and $2 for students at the door. There is no cost for students who register in advance by calling 639-8362.

Rabin, who heads the movement Dor Shalom (Generation of Peace), will discuss "Pathways to the New Millennium" at 2 p.m. in Woldman Theatre in Norton Hall.

The movement, which arose in protest of the 1995 murder of Rabin's father, Yitzhak Rabin, is dedicated to promoting peace in the Middle East and unity between the religious and secular right- and left-wing factions in Israel.

A younger generation views its nation's future path differently than did the previous one, which fought for Israel's independence, Rabin says. It feels it has a choice about Israel's future. Its goal is expressed in the slogan "Dor Shalom Doresh Shalom" (A Whole Generation Demands Peace), he says.

Currently living in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children, Rabin is a software engineer and product-line developer for the high-tech firm Emultek.

Following Rabin's speech, six workshops will be held from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in nearby classrooms in Norton Hall.

Major topics addressed will be freedom of speech, religious freedom and freedom for all. Speakers and moderators will include Rich Kellman, senior news correspondent at WGRZ-TV/Channel 2; Debbie Katchko-Zimmerman, cantor at Temple Beth El; Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, director of the Jewish Discovery Center; Rabbi Michael Feshbach of Temple Beth Am; Eliot Kleinman, regional director of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; local civil-rights lawyer David Jay, and Helene Kershner, assistant chair and lecturer in the UB Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

A photo exhibit of the Jews of Kiev and how their lives and economy are suffering in the aftermath of the breakup of the former Soviet Union will be displayed in Norton Hall.