A capacity audience of Israeli diplomats, journalists, students and scholars filled the World Jewish Congress conference room in Jerusalem to hear internationally recognized terrorism expert, Prof. Yonah Alexander speak on the “Ticking Time Bomb: Understanding the Challenge of International Terror”.
Prof. Alexander, the Israeli-born director of the international Center for Terrorism Studies of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, VA, was introduced by WJC Institute for Research and Policy Chairman, Ambassador Mordechai Palzur.
Ambassador Palzur stressed the importance of the issue of terror which has so affected the quality of life of people around the world and which continues to be an international menace. Prof. Alexander noted that although the al-Qa'ida central may be dying, its tentacles around the world live on, and that the decentralized structure of the organization has added to its resiliency. These will remain a force to be reckoned with for many years to come and will continue to have the power of inflicting major damage on Western institutions' and individuals. "We know how quickly al-Qa'ida metastasized after 9/11 and the internet has been used fuel the growth of radicalization." Prof. Alexander also spoke about the significance of Islamic radicalism as a factor in motivating terrorists especially among youth.
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Among those who took the floor during the spirited discussion that followed the lecture were retired Supreme Court justice Gabriel Bach, BESA researcher Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Dr. Yosef Govrin, Ambassador Mordechai Arbell, Polish honorary counsel Ze'ev Baran, Jerusalem Post correspondent Oren Kessler, and UCLA PhD candidate, Ari Barbalat. Institute Board Member Nir Boms presented the concluding remarks drawing upon his own research on the Arab world.
