October 3, 2006

(San Francisco, CA) – Yael Dayan, deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, will be in San Francisco next week to discuss the situation in Israel. She will be available for interviews on the mornings of Tuesday, October 3, Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6.

Beginning with the 1992 elections, Dayan served three terms as Labor Party Member of Knesset. She has chaired the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women, which she founded during her first term, as well as the Subcommittee for Gay and Lesbian Rights. Dayan was also a member of the Defense and Foreign Affairs and Constitution, Law and Justice Committees. Additionally, she has promoted equality and women’s rights, equal pay and “choice” abortions. Dayan has initiated and completed revolutionary legislation protecting minorities, women’s and gay rights.

Dayan served in an active leadership role of the grassroots organization “Peace Now,” which represented a call for the end of occupation, evacuation of settlements and active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. For this work, she was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Award (1991) and the Olof Palme Award for Peace (1998). Dayan was chosen by the French weekly, L’express for their 100 Women Who Make the World Move” (1995) and was honored by the State of the World Forum’s “Women Redefining Leadership” (1997).

Dayan studied political science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and biology at the Open University in Tel Aviv. She is the author of eight books (six novels), including New Face in the Mirror, Death Has Two Sons, Sinai Diary - 67 and My Father - His Daughter. Dayan has been a journalist for 40 years, writing political commentary in both the Israeli and foreign press. Residing in Tel Aviv, she married to the late General (Reserves) Dov Sion and has two children and three grandchildren. Dayan is the daughter of the late General Moshe Dayan.

Dayan is scheduled to speak at the following locations throughout the Bay Area October 3-6, 2006:

Tuesday, October 3, 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, corner of Webster St. @ 28th St., Oakland.
Wednesday, October 4, 7:30 p.m. Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California, San Francisco.
Thursday, October 5, 7:30 p.m. Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Board Room, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City.
Friday, October 6, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.
Saturday, October 7, 12:30 p.m. Discussion following the screening of "Can You Hear Me: Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace.” 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley.
Saturday, October 7, 7:00 p.m. Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, 290 Dolores St., San Francisco.

Israel Update is sponsored by the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties; Jewish Community Relations Council; the Jewish Community Federation of the East Bay; the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Congregation Emanu-el; the Peninsula Jewish Community Center; the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center; and Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael.

The Jewish Community Federation is the central organization for fundraising, planning, outreach and leadership development for Jewish communities in San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Marin and Sonoma counties. In fiscal year 2004-05, the Federation’s annual campaign allocated $16.9 million to some 60 agencies providing social services, educational and cultural programs in the Bay Area, in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere in the world. In fiscal year 2005, the Federation’s Endowment Fund, with assets exceeding $1.05 billion, provided more than $215 million for a variety of grants, seed projects and emergency needs. For more information, call 415.777.0411 or visit www.sfjcf.org.