"Understanding Israel and the Middle East"
The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Lecture in Judaic Studies

7 p.m., Thursday, April 4, 2013
Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts
Tickets: $20

The 2013Carl and Dorothy Bennett Lecture in Judaic Studies at Fairfield University will be delivered by Bob Simon , the most honored journalist in international reporting who has been contributing regularly to 60 Minutes for over 16 years and reporting for CBS News since 1967. The event will take place on Thursday, April 4, 2013, at 7 p.m., at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts. Tickets are $20 and are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at quickcenter.com .

Mr. Simon's lecture is entitled, "Understanding Israel and the Middle East."

A veteran foreign correspondent, Simon was based in Saigon, London and Tel Aviv for most of his career prior to joining 60 Minutes . He brings his unique Middle East and Israeli expertise to the podium to help audiences get a better understanding of the real situation there. Using humorous anecdotes, authentic perspective and charming wit, Simon connects with his audiences to explain the issues and how they will affect them.

Simon, who was born in Bronx, New York, was named CBS News' Chief Middle Eastern Correspondent in 1987 and is recognized as the premier broadcast journalist in that part of the world. He was captured by Iraqi forces near the Saudi-Kuwaiti border during the opening days of the Gulf War in January 1991. He and the other three members of CBS News' coverage team spent 40 days in Iraqi prisons, an experience Simon wrote about in his book "Forty Days."

Simon's extensive foreign coverage has earned him scores of major awards including 24 Emmys. While at 60 Minutes II , Simon received an Emmy Award (2000) and an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award (2001) for "Shame of Srebrenica," a report on heinous acts of genocide in Europe, and another Emmy Award (2000) for "The Lost Children," a report on orphaned children shipped to Australia. He also received an Emmy Award (2001) and an IRE certificate (2001) for his investigation into the fate of a Navy pilot shot down in Operation Desert Storm. He's been honored with a Peabody Award (2000) for "a body of work by an outstanding international journalist on a diverse set of critical global issues." In 1996, he received an Overseas Press Club (OPC) Award, a Peabody Award and two Emmy Awards for his coverage of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and another OPC Award in 1991 for his coverage of the Gulf War.

His remarkable career was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in September 2003. He has also won Emmy Awards for his reporting from Vietnam, Lebanon, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, India, and China.

His assignments are by no means restricted to the Middle East. In fact, Simon's résumé reads something like a world history book. He has covered the activities of countless major international figures, including Pope John Paul II's historic visits to Poland and Cuba and the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Simon has chronicled dozens of the most important events of the past 30 years for CBS News, including the devastating earthquake in Kobe, Japan and the birth of Solidarity in Poland.

The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Lecture in Judaic Studies Lecture has brought renowned speakers to Fairfield University, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel. Fairfield University's Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies was founded in 1994 with an initial endowment from Carl and Dorothy Bennett of Greenwich, Connecticut. Its goal is to enrich the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual life of Fairfield University through lectures, programs, and other special events. For information, visit http://www.fairfield.edu/judaic/js_lectures.html .

Posted On: 03-12-2013 11:03 AM

Volume: 45 Number: 218