TV star Sivan Rahav-Meir to headline new season of live TOI English events

Beginning January 21, The Times of Israel presents journalists, rabbis, and original thinkers in our 2018 series of onstage conversations

Sivan Rahav-Meir. (Courtesy)
Sivan Rahav-Meir. (Courtesy)

Sivan Rahav-Meir is on the hot seat in 2018’s Times of Israel Presents season opener on Sunday, January 21.

Described by Globes as Israel’s favorite female news personality, Rahav-Meir is one of few Orthodox Jewish women in Israel’s mainstream media. Raised in a secular home, her fans admire Rahav-Meir for her ability to straddle the secular and religious worlds.

And she is not afraid of controversy when it comes to standing up for her beliefs: Rahav-Meir ruffled a few feathers last year with her refusal to congratulate Israeli pop legend Zvika Pick after his daughter Daniela got engaged to non-Jew Quentin Tarantino.

‘#Parasha: Weekly Insights from a Leading Israeli Journalist’ (Menorah), by Sivan Rahav-Meir. (Courtesy)

Apart from her regular appearances on the nightly news and daytime radio, Rahav-Meir gives weekly Torah classes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv attended by more than 1,000 people. Recently, she has built a strong presence on Hebrew social media, gaining 150,000 followers for her Facebook and WhatsApp posts concentrating on religious issues.

Over the coming months, Times of Israel Presents will host writers, artists, filmmakers and top personalities from Israeli public life — all in English — in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and beyond.

We’ll be partnering with a range of organizations to help spread the word (and keep the ticket prices as low as possible), including Beit Avi Chai, the Dangoor Centre at Mishkenot Shaananim, Nefesh B’Nefesh, AACI, Tel Aviv Arts Council and the Tower of David Museum.

Last year, more than 5,000 people joined us for live interviews with leading figures such as Natan Sharansky, Michael Oren, David Grossman, Melanie Philips and Avigdor Liberman. We presented screenings and interviews with film directors, including “Norman” with Joseph Cedar, “Foxtrot” with Samuel Maoz, and “Sand Storm” with Elite Zexer. We also hosted Avi Issacharoff with an exclusive screening of “Fauda.”

We look forward to welcoming you to more memorable evenings during 2018.

Here are the opening events of the season:

Israel’s divided society: A focus on Beit Shemesh

TOI Presents, together with Bet Knesset Feigenson – Nofei Aviv, “As Beit Shemesh Goes, So Goes Israel? Navigating Dati-Haredi Borderlines.” A panel discussion, moderated by Times of Israel Ops & Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag, includes participants: Dov Lipman, Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll, Nili Philipp, Daniel Goldman, and Chaya Josovic.

8:00 p.m., Saturday, January 13, 2018
At Bet Knesset Feigenson – Nofei Aviv.
Admission is free, seats are limited.

Police stand guard as Beit Shemesh municipal workers take down ‘modesty’ signs in the city on December 11, 2017. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash90)

Sivan Rahav-Meir

TV and radio star Sivan Rahav-Meir is one of Israel’s most popular media figures. She is a primetime TV newscaster, writes a regular column for Yedioth Ahronoth, and hosts a radio show on Galei Tzahal.

Rahav-Meir will discuss the English edition of her book “#Parasha: Weekly Insights From a Leading Israeli Journalist” (Menorah) with Amanda Borschel-Dan, The Times of Israel’s Jewish World and Archaeology Editor.

8:00 p.m., Sunday, January 21
Beit Avi Chai, King George 44, Jerusalem
Tickets NIS 40 HERE

Israeli journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir speaks to Orthodox Jewish women at a conference organized by the religious women’s magazine ‘Pnima’ in Jerusalem on September 13, 2016. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Michael Eisenberg & Benny Lau

One of the leading figures in Israel’s high-tech revolution, Michael Eisenberg is a partner at Aleph venture capital fund whose $300 million of investments include WeWork and Freightos. At Benchmark Capital, Eisenberg’s portfolio included Wix and Seeking Alpha. He also pens a popular blog that gives an insider’s view of Israel’s start-up nation.
Eisenberg will discuss his book “The Vanishing Jew: A Wake-Up Call from the Book of Esther” and talk about start-ups, risk and the message of Purim with Rabbi Benny Lau.

8:00 p.m., Sunday, February 18
Beit Avi Chai, King George 44, Jerusalem
Tickets NIS 40 HERE

‘Britain and Zionism: Balfour to Thatcher and Beyond’
Azriel Bermant & Elliot Jager

Author Elliot Jager (Ariel Jerozolimski)

The Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917. Soon after, Britain backtracked on its commitment to foster a national home for the Jewish people. Even under Margaret Thatcher, an avowed friend of Israel, British ambivalence continued. Why?
Book launch and discussion with Azriel Bermant, author of “Margaret Thatcher and the Middle East,” and Elliot Jager, author of “The Balfour Declaration: Sixty-Seven Words – 100 Years of Conflict.”

7:30 p.m., Tuesday February 27
Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Jerusalem
Tickets NIS 40 HERE

To make sure of your seats and to be the first to hear about all our events, join our priority mailing list. Email the word “subscribe” to: events@timesofisrael.com

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