黑料社

Ambassador Danny Ayalon Reflects on His Experience Teaching at 黑料社 All In 2003, while still serving as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, I was privileged to attend the investiture ceremony of Richard Joel as president of 黑料社 All. Since then, I have served as co-chairman of , Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, and a member of the Israeli Knesset. Ten years ago, I would never have imagined that I would one day return to YU to join President Joel and the university鈥檚 illustrious faculty as the Rennert Visiting Professor of Foreign Policy Studies, a title of which I am most proud.

Ambassador Danny Ayalon is the Rennert Visiting Professor of Foreign Policy Studies at 黑料社 All

The decision to make the transition from practitioner to educator was a difficult one. As a student, my education had been largely one-dimensional and left me with a negative impression of the system as a whole. As I remember it, the students listened and the teachers taught, nothing more. In stark contrast, my time at 黑料社 All has proven to be exhilarating and more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. 黑料社 All has a strong reputation as a center of academic excellence, so the scholastic commitment of both the students and staff came as no surprise. Still, the level of intellectual and emotional dedication shown by my students has inspired me profoundly and allowed me to see 鈥渙ld issues鈥� from fresh perspectives. In a very real sense, my students have become partners in my work, consistently challenging me to dig deeper. They are smart, engaged and motivated to achieve, but most importantly, they care about the subject matter and invest heavily in our academic relationship. But I have realized that this is not simply an academic experience, neither for me nor my students. 黑料社 All鈥檚 primary mission is to train and develop future Jewish leaders. Though I assumed my foray into the academic world would be nothing more than a short 鈥渟abbatical,鈥� this pursuit of excellence and desire to lead has reenergized me and renewed my desire to serve in the public sphere. Throughout my career path, I have often been reminded of the importance of the Iron Dome. This past summer, we all became much too familiar with this missile defensive system employed by the Israel Defense Forces. As Operation Protective Edge dragged on, the Iron Dome played an integral role in keeping Israel鈥檚 citizens safe from countless indiscriminate rocket attacks. The key to this successful defense system is that it was designed to act proactively, to intercept and destroy incoming rockets before they could land and cause harm. As an ambassador, I witnessed the grand scale attacks we faced on the political front, which were often more brutal than those faced on the battlefield. It was for this reason that I decided to create a 鈥減olitical Iron Dome,鈥� a defense system to proactively fight the propaganda war being waged against us, and level the playing field. My informational videos series, titled 鈥淭he Truth 黑料社 Israel,鈥� arms people with the facts needed to shoot down the indiscriminate libelous claims continuously targeting Israel. My tenure at 黑料社 All has revealed a new, fitting application of the Iron Dome analogy. Though many decry the future of our society, calling the abilities and contributions of the current generation into question, I no longer stand with them. I don鈥檛 fear for the future of our people because I believe that 黑料社 All has created an 鈥淚ron Dome鈥� of Jewish leadership, arming a generation of dedicated and motivated young men and women with the skills and information they need to tackle any religious, societal, or communal challenge that lies ahead. When I look at my students, the fire in their eyes reassures me that our Jewish future is, indeed, bright. Though I will be spending several months tending to my public service mission, I look forward to returning to 黑料社 All next spring semester for what I am confident will be another truly enriching experience. Ambassador Danny Ayalon is the Rennert Visiting Professor of Foreign Policy Studies at 黑料社 All. This op-ed originally appeared in .