Israeli activist Hoffman to speak about two-state solution today in L.V.

By Yvonne Gonzalez

Thursday, March 16, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Supporters of a two-state solution in Israel are bringing activists to speak on the topic at UNLV tonight.

The keynote speaker will be Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, the legal and advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel.

Sponsored by the local chapter of J Street, a pro-Israel lobbying organization, the event will get underway at 7 p.m. at the Richard Tam Alumni Center. The event will also include Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s president and founder.

Hoffman said she’ll focus on the concept of security in Israel and how that applies to issues of equality and tolerance, not just bombs, airplanes and tanks. Las Vegas Rabbi Yocheved Mintz invited Hoffman to come from Jerusalem and speak at the local chapter’s event.

“By broadening the conversation and bearing it out and bringing some new energy in, I think they’re doing a marvelous thing for Israel,” Hoffman said of the Las Vegas chapter.

J Street chapter member Rob Solomon said Wednesday that the event is partially intended to expose the Las Vegas community to the two-state solution in the Middle East, where a secure Israel would exist side by side with Palestine.

“We believe that is the only road to a secure democratic Jewish state in Israel,” he said.

Hoffman is best known for her role in Women of the Wall, a group that says on its website that it advocates for the right of women to ”wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah, collectively and aloud, at the Western Wall.”

Hoffman is a leading advocate in Israel for pluralism, which calls for making the country “a place for all people with equal recognition whether they are Orthodox or conservative or reform or secular Jews,” Solomon said.

He said Hoffman stood up to the Orthodox control of government institutions during her 14 years as a member of the Jerusalem City Council.

“We were interested in bringing to Las Vegas a powerful advocate for the two-state solution and for pluralism in Israel,” he said. “In addition to being a truly awe-inspiring speaker, she has international respect for her passion and her achievements.”

Ben-Ami says the Las Vegas chapter of the Washington, D.C.,-based J Street is now among about 25 local affiliates that have formed since 2010, two years after the national group was established.

“These groups bring constituents, real-life local citizens, in touch with people who represent them,” Ben-Ami said. “This complements the work we do in Washington at the national level.”

The national group focuses on lobbying and connecting with elected officials as well as candidates to inform them about issues facing Israel, he said.

J Street supported Cortez Masto in her run for office and has been sharing information with her on Israel, Ben-Ami said.

“We are very excited to have that relationship with her and believe that she’s also been really grateful for the information that we’ve produced and the insights into some of the issues she’s now dealing with in regard to foreign policy.”

He said his group is deeply supportive of the work being done by Hoffman and her groups.

“Their work is very much about the character of the state of Israel,” he said.

Ben-Ami said Las Vegas has a growing Jewish population.

“For us, it’s a very important place to be putting down roots and to make those connections,” he said.

This is the J Street chapter’s first event. Those interested in attending can register online for the free event, “Mapping a Secure Future for Israel,” at eventbrite.com.