Kinneret Center on Peace, Security and Society in Memory of Dan Shomron

Maj. Gen. Dan Shomron was a former chief of Israel’s general staff and the paratroop commander who planned and led the storied 1976 raid in which Israeli troops freed 103 hijacked hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. On the night of July 3, 1976, Israeli commandos and paratroopers flew 2,500 miles in transport planes to the Entebee airport, surprised and killed hijackers who had demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners, rescued the captives taken from a hijacked Air France plane, and flew back to Israel with them. Shomron was born on a kibbutz in the Jordan Valley. He fought as a paratrooper in the Sinai campaign in 1956 and was recognized as the first Israeli paratrooper to reach the Suez Canal in the 1967 war. He was picked as the chief of the general staff in 1987 and held the post until he retired from military service in 1991. Shomron passed away in February 2008.

How the Story Began:

The Dan Shomron Center for Society, Security and Peace functions as an academic research center combining crucial issues which concern the Israeli public. These crucial issues are also a main focal point of the legacy of the late Dan Shomron.

For the last two years, the Center has dealt with the following topics: Israel’s Water Policies, Religious and Secular in the IDF, The Increasing Role of Religion in the IDF, lectures about Israel’s Security Problem and other topics which combine the IDF and Israeli society.

In the coming years, the Center will continue to focus on the aforementioned issues, while simultaneously incorporating new activities of various researchers.

One of the main challenges facing the Center today is to participate in think-tanks with other similar institutions across Israel to bolster support for the establishment of the Israeli branch of the IUS (Inter-University Seminar for Armed Forces and Society). The Center also aims to host the first Israeli gathering of the organization here at the College.

2009 Activities:

1. Building a network with the surrounding community in the interest of strengthening Israel’s periphery.
2. Cooperating with the IDF and the security establishment, to develop dialogue about the issues involving the Center’s activities.

Events:

1. Remembering Dan Shomron: An evening honoring the memory of the late Dan Shomron which occurred on February 26, 2009.
2. “War at Home?”: From Gaza Disengagement to the Golan Heights—which occurred on November 27, 2009.
3. “Israel’s Water Policy”—this event was in cooperation with the Neman Institute at the Technion and the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute. This event resulted the publishing of several articles on the subject.

Lectures and Meetings:

• “Forever in War?”—A series of lectures on the challenges facing Israel’s security.

Participants:

• Former Minister of Security Prof. Moshe Arens and Gen. (Res.) Itzhak Mordechai.
• Gen. (Res.) Giora Eiland, Uzi Dayan and Ilan Biran
• The first lecture in this series occurred on January 17, 2009.

Final Projects:

Local high school students completed final projects covering the topics dealt with by the Center.

2010 Activities

“Values 40 Years Later”—an event honoring the late Yossi Shacham who fell in the War of Attrition. This event featured a panel titled “From Solidarity to Privatization: The Changing of the Israeli Ethos”, hosted by Dr. Gadi Taub. The event took place on August 31, 2010.

“The Increasing Role of Religion in the IDF”—this Round Table of researchers took place in the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv on July 5, 2010. After this event, several articles were published.

“Religious and Secular in the IDF”—this large event will take place at the Begin-Sadat Center in Bar Ilan University on September 15, 2010.

Lectures:

Lectures featuring Minister of Industry, Commerce and Business Fuad Ben Eliezer and Deputy Minister for Security Matan Vilnai.

Upcoming Projects:

1. “The War of Attrition in the Private Sector”—Event and Meeting featuring researchers, Israeli citizens and members of the military. This project is a result of the research of Prof. Zeev Drory.
2. A major conference about civil- military relations in Israel which will be used as an inauguration event for the Association of Civil-Military Scholars in Israel.
3. There will also be efforts to open dialogue and connections with the Israeli security establishment and the Kinneret Center.