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PAGE 30<br />
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY<br />
<strong>AFHU</strong> NEWS VOL. 30 PAGE 31<br />
Event Recaps<br />
VP for Strategy & Diversity Mona Khoury Visits the<br />
United States<br />
LEAD Participants Take Part in <strong>AFHU</strong> Board’s Palm<br />
Beach Weekend<br />
<strong>AFHU</strong> welcomed its Leadership Empowerment and Development Program (LEAD) Cohort II<br />
participants in Palm Beach during the <strong>AFHU</strong> board weekend. Beginning on Saturday, January 14,<br />
fourteen members of the new LEAD class gathered for three days of stimulating and engaging<br />
conversation and education.<br />
Highlights of the program featured sessions with HU leadership and professors, including HU President<br />
Professor Asher Cohen, Chancellor Menahem Ben-Sasson, Professor Shy Arkin, and Professor Ori<br />
Adam. LEAD members also had a chance to meet with and learn about <strong>AFHU</strong> through a series of<br />
programs with with key members of the <strong>AFHU</strong> leadership team.<br />
The exclusive, 18-month immersive program is designed to develop a new generation of <strong>AFHU</strong><br />
leaders who will serve as ambassadors for the university and its mission, as well as promoters of<br />
Israel’s bright future.<br />
LEAD Cohort II Participants<br />
On March 22, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Vice<br />
President for Strategy and Diversity Prof. Mona<br />
Khoury began a wide-ranging tour that included<br />
stops in Los Angeles, South Florida, and New York.<br />
Prof. Khoury, who also serves as dean of the<br />
university’s Paul Baerwald School of Social Work<br />
and Social Welfare, started her visit in Southern<br />
California, where she participated in a speaker<br />
series co-hosted by <strong>AFHU</strong> and Sinai Temple, Los<br />
Angeles. Prof. Khoury joined UCLA Prof. Ron Avi<br />
Astor for a lecture on “Diversity, Inclusion, and<br />
Collaboration Through School Safety,” where they<br />
shared information on a program that plans joint<br />
projects and exchanges between schools in Los<br />
Angeles and Israel. She returned to Sinai Temple<br />
later in her trip to join Sinai Temple Rabbinical<br />
School Fellows in a discussion on Israeli-Arab<br />
coexistence.<br />
While in Los Angeles, Prof. Khoury was a guest<br />
speaker at the <strong>AFHU</strong> Western Region Board<br />
Meeting, spoke with <strong>AFHU</strong>/HU foundation<br />
partners, participated in a UCLA-HU collaborative<br />
luncheon, met with UCLA academics, and shared<br />
information on Hebrew University initiatives for<br />
Orthodox and Arab students to an invited audience<br />
at Glaser Weil LLP.<br />
On March 30, Prof. Khoury visited South Florida<br />
to share “The Hebrew University: A Model for<br />
Coexistence in Israel Society.” Hosted by alumna<br />
Marian Kruss and her husband, Paul Kruss,<br />
Professor Khoury spoke to HU alumni and friends<br />
at the couple’s eatery, Mo’s Bagels, in Aventura,<br />
FL. Later that evening, she met with the <strong>AFHU</strong><br />
Southeast Region Advisory Committee. The<br />
following day, <strong>AFHU</strong> supporters Hedy and Arnold<br />
Kanarick hosted Prof. Khoury at Frenchman’s Creek<br />
Beach and Country Club for a lively discussion.<br />
L-R: Hedy Kanarick, Prof. Mona Khoury, Arnie Kanarick<br />
Prof. Khoury concluded her U.S. stay with a visit to<br />
New York City from March 31 to April 4. During her<br />
time in NY, she met with advertising executive and<br />
talent developer Jonathan Russo, food distributer<br />
Steve Wils, and European real estate developer<br />
Amnon Bar Tur. The group discussed Arab Israeli<br />
student development, along with other efforts to<br />
build a more inclusive campus.<br />
Additional engagements included a meeting with<br />
Andres Spokoiny, President and CEO of the Jewish<br />
Funders Network, and dinner with Northeast<br />
Region Board Executive Committee members<br />
Jeremy Merrin, Founder and CEO of the Havana<br />
Central Restaurant Group, and HU Alumna Dafna<br />
Schmerin.<br />
Before her departure for Israel, Prof. Khoury<br />
visited the <strong>AFHU</strong> National Office. She shared<br />
with staff the progress the Hebrew University<br />
has made in building a welcoming environment<br />
for a variety of marginalized groups as well as the<br />
challenges that remain in creating a more diverse<br />
university community.