November 28, 2014 article in the Claremont Courier on a talk by Ambassador Edward Marks at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona. Mr. Marks summarized global affairs since World War, noting that, while chaotic is the new normal, the future of the US is not currently at stake. Written by Sarah Torribio
*My apologies for the misattribution of a quote by FDR!
Talk by Ambassador Edward Marks
November 28, 2014 article in the Claremont Courier on a talk by Ambassador Edward Marks at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona. Mr. Marks summarized global affairs since World War, noting that, while chaotic is the new normal, the future of the US is not currently at stake. Written by Sarah Torribio
*My apologies for the misattribution of a quote by FDR!
Talk by Ambassador Edward Marks
November 28, 2014 article in the Claremont Courier on a talk by Ambassador Edward Marks at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona. Mr. Marks summarized global affairs since World War, noting that, while chaotic is the new normal, the future of the US is not currently at stake. Written by Sarah Torribio
*My apologies for the misattribution of a quote by FDR!
Talk by Ambassador Edward Marks
Ambassador expounds on global issues at special service
ast Friday, Temple
Beth Israel held the first event in its Brenda Rosenfeld Shabbat Scholars Series, which brings highly-regarded speakers to the temple. The series has been launched in memory of Ms. Rosenfeld, who died earlier this year after a lifetime of commitment to tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning healing the world. Midway through a service marked by song, community and prayer, Ms. Rosenfelds brother, Edward Marks, took to the podium. Mr. Marks is an ambassador who has spent his illustrious career in foreign relations and diplomacy. From 1976 to 1986, he served as the US Ambassador to the republics of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. He went on to become the State Departments deputy coordinator for counter-terrorism, followed by a tenure as deputy chief of mission and charge daffaires in Sri Lanka and deputy US representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Mr. Marks hasnt slowed down much since his retirement. He is a speaker and a consultant in the areas of terrorism, interagency coordination, the United Nations and complex international emer-
Photo courtesy of Picasa
Ambassador Edward Marks speaks at Temple Beth Israel.
gencies. He also recently co-authored a
book called US Government Counterterrorism: Who Does What. In his talk, he managed to summarize the worlds shifting political climate since World War I, divided into three acts, in less than an hour. But first he expressed his gratitude at being the inaugural speaker in a series devoted to Ms. Rosenfeld.
The opportunity to be here is a gift
from my sister, he said. He quipped that he felt a bit like Teyve in Fiddler on the Roof, who in the song If I Were a Rich Man fantasizes about expounding on the Torah and the problems of the world as if he really knew. Jokes aside, he went on to demonstrate that he knows quite a lot.
His career has given him a long view
of global affairs, one which has led to a few notes of pessimism. The USs attempts at nation-building in the Middle East in recent years have been futile, despite a great toll in terms of blood and money. We made a really bad mistake, he said, adding that we are still facing the consequences. You cannot create someone elses country. He also holds little hope for a peaceable two-state solution between Israel and Pakistan. It looks highly unlikely at the moment and thats a tragedy and the problem because if that doesnt work, what are the alternatives? I cant think of any good solution, he said. There are six to seven million Jews in Israel and some six to seven million people in Palestine. You have two people who want the same piece of land. Due to the United States waning prosperity and international influence, Mr. Marks said, Americans have to get used to collaborating with other countries as opposed to calling the all the shots. Its hard for Americans to relinquish the role of leader of the free world, he said. Weve always considered our counSHABBBAT SCHOLARS/next page