At the initiative and organization of Irwin Cotler Institute Research Fellow Antonio Peña, the Institute’s team held, in July, a number of high-profile events in the Andean region.

At the Universidad Finis Terrae in Santiago, Chile, Prof. Uriya Shavit, Head of the Institute, and Dr. Carl Yonker, its Academic Director, led a seminar on radical Islamist movements and the recent geopolitical developments in the Middle East. The seminar was opened by Mr. Peña, who introduced the work of the institute. The event was co-organized by Denise Schlesinger, Coordinator for Civil Society and Academia at the Embassy of Israel in Chile.

Among those in attendance were Pablo A. Castro, director for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in the field of defense within the International and Human Security Division of Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrés Lamoliatte, Director of International and Human Security at Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Cristián Château and Loreto Correa, researchers at Chile’s National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies, ANEPE, Kajsa Lenz, a fellow at the German Embassy in Chile, Luis Lira Camposano, an academic and researcher at the School of Journalism and Communication and the Observatory of International Affairs at Universidad Finis Terrae, Vanessa Cárdenas, Academic Secretary of the School of Journalism and Communication at Universidad Finis Terrae.

At Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Quito, Ecuador, Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker spoke in a roundtable discussion on religion and politics moderated by Daniel Crespo Cuesta, professor at the College of Liberal Arts at USFQ. Some 40 university students and professors attended the event, which also included a Q&A session where the audience raised diverse issues—from the role of values in politics to Israeli demographics. Mr. Peña introduced the work of the Institute and the scholarship options it offers international students who choose to study in Israel.

Among those in attendance were Mario Ayabaca, Álvaro Ledesma, and Micaela Cartwright, professors at the College of Liberal Arts at USFQ, Ramiro Lapeña, lecturer and member of the Ecuadorian Association of International Studies, AEIDE, and Maziar Raja, lecturer, member of Ecuador’s Iranian community, and an opponent of the Iranian regime.

In a separate event in Ecuador, Prof. Uriya Shavit delivered a lecture on “Arab Perceptions of Zionism” that inaugurated the new and impressive Center of Quito’s Jewish Community. The Q&A session involved the means to defend the historical justice of Zionism in the face of growing criticisms. Among others, the event was attended by Vanessa Yossef, Executive Director of the Jewish Community of Ecuador, Rabbi Pablo Gabe, Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Ecuador, and Daniel Treistman, Community Director of the Jewish Community of Ecuador. The leaders of the community expressed their appreciation for the event, noting how meaningful the relationship with Israel is in their lives.

At the end of the visit, Prof. Shavit gave an interview to the social media pages of the Israeli embassy in Quito, stressing the importance of enhancing the scientific relations between the countries and noting the rich study opportunities available for Ecuadorian students in Israel.