Please join us for this important event on Sunday, December 10 at 5:00 pm at the Ocean Reef Chapel and Fellowship Center.
We have all been devastated by the events in Israel over the past seven weeks. To educate and enlighten, Congregation Ocean Reef is sponsoring a conversation for the entire community on the current rise in global conflicts and what that means for the future of democracy. From Hamas to Ukraine to China, and with all roads leading to Iran, the alarming trend of democratic decline and the rise of authoritarian regimes raise significant questions.
We are fortunate to welcome Mr. Ken Wollack, Chair of the National Endowment for Democracy (NDI), to Ocean Reef to speak about the relationship between all these challenges and suggest how trends and opportunities will influence the course of democracy in the coming years.
Ken Wollack has been actively involved in foreign affairs, journalism, and politics over the past five decades. For over 25 years, he served as president of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. NDI maintains offices in more than 50 countries and works to support democratic elections, political parties, parliaments, civic engagement and women’s political empowerment.
Before joining NDI, Mr. Wollack co-edited the Middle East Policy Survey and wrote regularly on foreign affairs for the Los Angeles Times. From 1973 to 1980, he served as legislative director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC and has been active in American politics since the 1970’s.
He has served on task forces sponsored by the Brookings Institution, the United States Institute of Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Atlantic Council. He chaired the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Development Program, served on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion, and was a member of the advisory committee for the U.S. Agency for International Development and a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He co-chaired the Ronald Reagan Institute’s bi-partisan Working Group on advancing freedom and promoting democracy in the 21st century.
We hope to see you on the 10th.
In Peace – B’Shalom
Susan Hirschbiel, President
On behalf of Congregation Ocean Reef