Our guest today Gary Ratner, the National Director of the Zionist Organization of America, and our subject is the Mid-East Peace Process and what is his organization’s perspective on the new Obama peace initiative.

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Mr. Ratner was raised in Chicago and received his Masters Degree in International relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies in Washington. He has taken courses at the Sorbonne in Paris, Georgetown University and George Williams College in Montreal. In his early career, he was involved as a business entrepreneur, a community activist and a political fundraiser. Since the mid 1970’s, he has served in many high level positions with a number of Jewish organizations. He has also taught history at the Junior College level, and co-hosted a radio, “The Mid-East Forum” show in NYC and Washington from 1991-5.

As National Director with the ZOA, which was founded in 1897, and is the oldest pro-Israel organization in America, Mr. Ratner oversees fundraising, programming, membership development and policy direction. Just prior to his current position he was the Western regional Director of the American Jewish Congress.  He has been involved in the fight against anti-Semitism on American campuses, has investigated the possible misuse of Federal Title VI monies to Centers of Middle East studies, has worked against the outbreak of anti-Semitic violence in France, and has brought the to the forefront Muslim inspired anti-Semitism in America. While he was with the American Jewish Congress he worked tirelessly in the effort to create the US-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, which funds alternate energy research. He can be reached at both gratner@zoa.org and www.zoa.org