So welcome everyone.

Good evening.

My name is Jonathan Silver.

I'm the director of academic programs at the Tikva Fund.

It's nice to see so many old friends, nice to see so many new ones.

I'd like to just say a couple words about who we are and welcome you before we begin the

tonight's proceedings in earnest. Tickf's mission and guiding spirit is to advance Jewish excellence

and the Jewish flourishing in the modern age.

Tikva's politically Zionist, market-oriented, culturally traditional,

theologically open-minded, yet in all these issues, we welcome vigorous debate and big

arguments. And there's really no one better to help us understand the serious alternatives facing American foreign policy in the state of Israel than tonight's guest, William Crystal.

Mr. Crystal is editor of the Weekly Standard, a leader at the Emergency Committee for Israel, having previously led the project for the Republican future and the project for a new American century.

Mr. Crystal served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and to Secretary of Education William Bennett.

Before coming to Washington in 1985, Crystal taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania

in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

He's published widely in areas ranging from foreign policy

to constitutional law to political philosophy.

His commentary on public affairs itself

has been a form of political education to so many and to myself too.

Bill, I'm grateful that you're here to kick off this winter event series, and I thank you.

Thanks, John. Good to be here.

So I thought I'd begin with just a very simple question.

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