UNEARTHING STORIES PAST & PRESENT MELBOURNE

The Role of DNA Forensics in Identifying October 7 Victims

Prof. Gila Kahila Bar-Gal in conversation with Zeddy Lawrence.

Join us for a fascinating and enlightening evening as Prof. Kahila Bar-Gal explains to Zeddy Lawrence how she used her expertise in wildlife forensics and ancient DNA to become a key figure in the extraction of DNA from badly burnt bones to identify hundreds of victims of October 7.

Professor Gila Kahila Bar-Gal is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, serving as the head of the Molecular Evolution Laboratory, at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, within the The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Additionally, she holds the position of Director of the National Natural History Collections of the Hebrew University and is certified by the Society of Wildlife Forensic Science (SWFS) as a Wildlife Forensic Scientist. Gila’s research crosses evolution, co-evolution, animal domestication, anthropology, human ecology, conservation genetics, new technologies in research and conservation of cultural heritage and wildlife forensics. Tragically, her unique talents were also utilised after the October 7th massacre, for help in identifying bodies which burned bodies to such an extent that even ancient DNA forensic techniques used to identify remains from millions of years ago were difficult to apply.

Zeddy Lawrence is Executive Director of Zionism Victoria. Before taking up his current position in April 2022, he served as National Editor of The Australian Jewish News for 12 years. A graduate of The Queen’s College, Oxford University, he was previously Editor of the UK Jewish News and also spent a number of years as a broadcast journalist and television scriptwriter

We will also hear from Associate Professor Gil Davis, Director of the Ancient Israel Program at Australian Catholic University. Gil has led several archaeological digs in Israel with Australian students and will detail how these students discover a love for Israel and an appreciation and understanding of the Jewish People’s ancient connection to the land.

Sunday 25 August | 5:00pm - 6:30pm | Venue TBA | $10 pp

Hosted by The Australian Friends of the Hebrew University and Zionist Council of VIC