Israeli Parliament members visit Brandeis

Six members of the Israeli Knesset were in Waltham on Sunday, March 31, to meet with Brandeis leaders, faculty members and alumni. The visit was part of the Ruderman Fellows Program, an initiative of the Ruderman Family Foundation, in partnership with Brandeis, to create and strengthen connections between Israeli leaders and the American Jewish community.

President Frederick M. Lawrence and his wife Kathy hosted a dinner and discussion for Itzik Shmuli and Nachman Shai (Labor); Michal Rozin (Meretz); Shimon Ohayon (Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu); Shimon Solomon (Yesh Atid); and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli (Bayit Yehudi).

Joining them were Jay Ruderman ’88, Barbara Gaffin ’76, Alex Goldstein ’06 and Michal Bineth-Horowitz of the Ruderman Family Foundation, and several Brandeis faculty members and senior leaders: Amy Sales, associate professor; Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History; Ted Sasson, senior research scientist; Len Saxe, Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies; and David Bunis ’83, senior vice president, chief of staff and chief legal officer. Also attending the dinner were Brandeis alumni Jacqueline Hallo ’82, Lawrence Kraus ’84, Jonathan Landman ’82 and his wife Joan Balaban, Eric Nadel ’84, Marianne Paley ’85, and Sara Smolover ’82.

The Ruderman Fellows also had meetings with Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Marty Walsh, Congressman Michael Capuano and community leaders and participated in public forum in Boston before leaving for meetings in New York.