Men's Club co-President, Jacob Kovel, suggested we have his brother-in-law, Arthur Lenk, present at a Zoom program. Retired Israel Ambassador Arthur Lenk, who was born in the United States and made Aliyah to Israel in 1982, was very accomplished. Lenk served as Israel's Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini (Swaziland), 2013-2017, and as Ambassador to Azerbaijan, 2005-2009. He also served as Director of the Department of International Law at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010-2013 and at Israel's missions in New Delhi, India and Los Angeles, California.

Ambassador Lenk gladly accepted, and we chose a convenient Sunday to have the program. He presented from Israel where it was early evening, while it was morning throughout the United States. We were able to have attendees from all over the world.

Our synagogue has an Israel Engagement Committee which offers Israel-related programs on a regular basis. Men's Club has often co-sponsored programs with them that would be of interest to both groups. This was such a program, so we co-sponsored this program together.

Ambassador Lenk gave a very interesting and informative presentation. He spoke about his career, particularly his experiences in Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim country, and South Africa, a predominantly Black country, from the Israeli perspective. We learned about his background, and how a "gap" year after college in the early 1980s spent in Israel turned into his making aliyah to Israel where he has lived ever since. An engaging Q+A session followed his remarks.