For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

Ram Sidi, an internationally respected counterterrorism expert, will speak at the University of Memphis about current terrorist threats and the motivations and goals behind terrorist groups. He will present “Counterterrorism: A Professional Viewpoint” Thursday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m. in Clement  Hall, Room 417. The talk is free and open to the public.

Sidi is a veteran member of Israel’s counterterrorism establishment. While serving as a team commander with a still-classified undercover unit of the Israel Defense Forces, he participated in scores of operations to prevent attacks against Israel by Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorists. Following his military service, Sidi served as a reservist for 16 years with IDF counterterror units in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, including operational activities in Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarem, and other cities under Palestinian Authority control during the first and second intifadas.

As a civilian, Sidi has worked as a vice director for Tel Aviv University’s School for Overseas Students and as a consultant and operational field adviser to the Israel Border Police.

Granted unique access to convicted Palestinian terrorists from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah under the control of the Israel Corrections Service, Sidi lectures on intelligence gathering, interrogation techniques, and the motivations and goals of Palestinian terrorist groups.

The event is sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the International Studies Program and Bornblum Judaic Studies.