Donor Briefing and
Israel@60 Luncheon
for President's Cabinet and Lions of Judah

Speaker: General Ruth Yaron
The Media and the War on Terror: The Battle for the Narrative in Low Intensity Conflicts

Tuesday, February 4th      12:00 - 1:30

Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
524 Chapala St., Santa Barbara
For information or RSVP: David Harris, 957-1115

The changes in the Nature of Warfare in Low Intensity Conflicts will be analyzed, including the lessons learned in The War on Terror. The unique characteristics of the role of the Media in this special battlefield will be discussed. This discussion will be used to review the relations between the Media and the Military.

General Ruth Yaron rose to the position of the IDF Head of Media and Communication's Division after a distinguished carrier in Israel's Diplomatic Service.

Born in Algeria and immigrating to Israel at a young age, Gen. Yaron grew up in the southern city of Beer-Sheba.  After completing a military service of three years as an Officer, and graduating from the Hebrew University with a B.A in Political Science, she was admitted to the prestigious Israeli Foreign Service.   Her overseas postings include Africa (Ivory-Coast), Canada and the USA.  General Yaron represented Israel in Washington (1989-1995) where she served as the Embassy's Spokeswoman during the Madrid and Oslo Peace Talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors.  Upon her return, General Yaron was nominated Head of the Jordanian Desk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she was instrumental in fostering the Peace Treaty and the relations between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

In January 2000 General Yaron was nominated as the Chief Instructor of The National Security College, thus becoming the first woman civilian to head this prestigious military college for high-ranking officers and senior officials.  In July 2002 she was appointed by the Chief of Staff, Major-General Yaalon, as Head of the Media & Communications Division and Chief Spokeswoman of the IDF - the first ever woman in this post.   General Yaron's tenure in this difficult post was throughout one of the most painful and challenging periods Israel has ever known - the War on Terror (known as the Intifadah). In this capacity, General Yaron was a part of Israel's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

General Yaron is married and has two children (age 24, 18).