Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Join Avi Melamed, one of Israel's most respected intelligence analysts in Middle East affairs, for the third and final installment in his lecture series hosted by Temple Israel's Adult Education Committee on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m.

This virtual presentation, titled "Israel as an Obstacle in Turkey's Quest to Revive the Ottoman Empire," is free and open to the community. The program will discuss President Erdogan's aspirations to restore the glory days of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and to rule the Middle East. In less than two decades, he has single-handedly changed Turkey from a secular democracy to an Islamist autocracy. When Erdogan took office as the prime minister in March 2003, he pursued a "zero conflict" policy. Turkey was going to be friends with everyone. Yet, the reality is the opposite. Under President Erdogan, Turkey is engaged in multiple - and severe - conflicts with regional and global powers. However, in his quest for hegemony, as of July 2020, Erdogan can also mark significant achievements. This briefing explores Erdogan's foreign policy as well as the current and expected results on the region and on Israel.

Melamed is a strategic intelligence analyst and an expert on current Arab and Muslim affairs and their impact on the Middle East and Israel. He is the founder and CEO of Inside the Middle East: Intelligence Perspectives. ITME is an empowering educational program teaching critical analysis in an innovative and engaging fashion. That analysis separates him from other speakers.

"Not everyone has the time or resources to stay abreast of all the news in Israel and the Middle East. Avi has done a wonderful job of bringing novice and expert alike into the inner workings behind the headlines. He is a well-organized presenter who knows how to lay out a briefing clearly and succinctly," said Rabbi Joshua Neely.

Melamed is also a former Israeli intelligence official and senior official on Arab affairs. In his public service, he held high-risk government, senior advisory, intelligence, and counter-terrorist intelligence positions in Arab cities and communities throughout the region - often in very sensitive times - on behalf of Israeli government agencies.

Dr. Bob Kaplan attended Melamed's two previous sessions and is looking forward to the final talk. "Leveraging his broad background and wealth of experience, Avi is very articulate, clear, concise, and extremely insightful - in essence, a skilled presenter. His strategic use of photos, maps, and other pictorial aides significantly enhanced the content and helped emphasize key points," he said.

In addition to his public service work, Melamed has also co-authored "Separate and Unequal: Israel's Rule in East Jerusalem" and wrote "Ubrusi: The Novel." His newest book, "Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth" is a GPS to help navigate the dramatically changing Middle East.

Debbie Meitin attended Melamed's earlier talks as well. "He explained the background and structure of possible annexation options being considered by Israel in the first program. And in the second program, he broke down the very complex network of Iran and its proxies throughout the region, all of whom are aiming to wipe Israel off the map. All of this is very complicated, and he was able to break down the various parts into understandable segments, allowing us to better follow the very complex dynamics of Israel's neighborhood. I look forward to the next program in the series," said Meitin.

Email office@tiflorida.org or call 407-647-3055 to register and receive the Zoom link. In order to continue bringing in exceptional educational speakers and programs, please consider a $50 sponsorship by contacting Natan Brener at natanbrener@gmail.com or 407-435-8613.