Father of Daniel Pearl will speak at T.O. synagogue

Dr. Judea Pearl will be the guest speaker during the Selichot Eve observance at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 at Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks.

The event will include a Havdallah ceremony, a complimentary buffet dinner, a late night Shelichot service and a book signing by Pearl following the lecture.

The Selichot service marks the beginning of the High Holy Day period. The public is invited, and there is no charge to attend.

Pearl is the president and co-founder of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which strives to continue Daniel Pearl's lifework of dialogue and to understand and address the root causes of his death.

Daniel Pearl lived in Mumbai, India, as the South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. He was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002.

Judea Pearl and his wife, Ruth, are co-editors of the book "I am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl." The book, the winner of the 2004 National Jewish Book Award for Anthologies, gives a view of how Jews define themselves in the post-9/11 era.

Judea Pearl is a professor of computer science at UCLA and director of the Cognitive Systems Laboratory.

He is known internationally for his contributions to artificial intelligence, human reasoning and philosophy of science.

Temple Etz Chaim is a conservative synagogue. For more information, call (805) 497-6891.