Yesterday David Olesker presented his seminar and lecture to Perth on Israel advocacy.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I have previously attended educational seminars and programs by David Olesker, and knew that I would not be dissapointed by his presentation in Perth. He is always a pleasure to listen to, and always very effective at speaking publicly. Even though his content was well rehearsed, I did not mind following through his points and learning a few new techniques for communicating along the way.
He was not in Perth to teach facts, or impart information about certain situations, so in this respect there was little to pick up in terms of content or knowledge of the Israel-Arab conflict. However there was plenty to consider in terms of the type of advocacy, the forms of communication and the ability to frame an arguement (set the rules for discussion). It is true that many of the things we confront, including issues put forward on this blog, are reactive. It is much harder to start the conversation, raise an idea, set the perameters of a discussion, and therefore define the debate.
I would like to think that this blog is one small practical way in which some of the debate can be set. This blog was established as a forum to approach issues of concern to Perth Jews from an Orthodox Jewish viewpoint. Israel, and our relationship to Israel is most certainly one of those important issues.
A little of David Oleskers chutzpadik approach towards putting ideas foward will be welcomed by this blog, so please keep watching for some practical implementation of our new advocacy techniques.Â