The 4th Annual Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture -- held in Southern California -- will be Thursday, December 4th, featuring Israel's renowned Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann speaking on the topic GETTING REAL ABOUT JERUSALEM.  It could not be more timely.

See below for further information, followed by a detailed bio on the speaker and on Professor Bubis.

RSVP's are requested to 323-934-3480 or apnwest@peacenow.org.

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Daniel "Danny" Seidemann is the leading expert on geopolitical Jerusalem and has long been the "go to guy" for governmental bodies and the media in Israel, Palestine and in the international community on matters pertaining to Israeli-Palestinian relations and developments in Jerusalem.

Mr. Seidemann received his degree in Law from the Hebrew University and has been a practicing attorney in Jerusalem and a partner in a firm specializing in commercial law since 1987. Starting in 1991, he has also specialized in legal and public issues in East Jerusalem, in particular, with regard to government and municipal policies and practices, representing Israeli and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem before the statutory Planning Boards regarding development issues. Key cases have included the takeover of properties in Silwan, the legality of the Har Homa expropriation and town plan, the Ras el Amud town plan, and administrative demolition orders, and challenging the inadequate provision of educational facilities in East Jerusalem. He has argued more than 20 Jerusalem-related cases before the Israeli Supreme Court.

Mr. Seidemann is the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ), an Israeli non-governmental organization, launched in January 2010, that promotes an Israeli-Palestinian permanent status peace agreement by working to ensure that an agreement is possible on the issue of Jerusalem.  This followed his founding in 2000 of Ir Amim, an NGO dedicated to an equitable, stable and sustainable Jerusalem, and serving as lead counsel of Ir Shalem.  He has acquired expertise in the functional exercise of authority in Jerusalem, particularly in the fields of planning, residency rights, allocation of resources, property rights, and the subjective perceptions of the various populations of the city in this regard, particularly as these impact on the functioning and viability of Jerusalem. 

In 2000-2001, Seidemann served in an informal advisory capacity to the final status negotiations; serving as a member of a committee of experts commissioned by the Prime Minister Barak's office to generate sustainable arrangements geared to implement the emerging political understandings with the Palestinians. Seidemann worked closely with the drafters of the Geneva Initiative, Track II talks on Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians, as a key participant in the University of Windsor's Jerusalem Old City Initiative.

Mr. Seidemann has participated in various Jerusalem-related projects, colloquia and back channel work, sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the French Institute of Foreign Relations (IFRI), UNESCO, The Davis Institute of the Hebrew University, the British Foreign Office, the Olaf Palme Institute, the Organization of Architects and Planners in Israel, the European Parliament, New York University, the United Nations, and others. He has also been conducting ongoing discussions on Jerusalem issues within the Arab world and with Christian faith communities in North America and Europe.

Mr. Seidemann is a native of Syracuse, NY, and a graduate of Cornell University. He immigrated to Israel in 1973, where he has lived since. From 1973-77 he was involved with educational work with youth leaders in Israel. He is a retired Reserve Major in the Israeli Defense Forces, who engaged in leadership training of senior officers. He is married and has three daughters.

Professor Gerald B. Bubis was the Founding Director and Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at the School of Jewish Communal Service (now Jewish Non- Pro?t Management), at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. Jerry has published many books and articles, and has been the recipient of numerous awards from local, national and international organizations. He has been an active member of Valley Beth Shalom since 1973, and has taken on countless leadership positions within the Jewish community and on behalf of Israel, including serving as National Co-Chair of Americans for Peace Now (APN). The “Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture” was established in honor of his retirement from the APN Board of Directors.