Agoura resident to reflect on year in Iraq

RETURN TO BABYLON-Lt. j.g. Laurie Zimmet will share her experiences serving in Iraq as part of he Navy Reserve during a lecture at the Conejo Jewish Academy. Zimmet made national news when she organized the lighting of a giant menorah in Saddam Hussein's former palace last December. Above, soldiers quietly reflect during the holiday ceremonies last year. Lt. j.g. Laurie Zimmet will speak at the Conejo Jewish Academy at 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 6 at 30345 Canwood St. in Agoura Hills.

Zimmet serves in the Navy Reserve. In Sept. 2005 she was sent to Baghdad and spent one year in Iraq, her second tour of the war. In her lecture, "Return to Babylon-An American Jewish Military Officer Speaks after a Year in Iraq," she will discuss her perspective of participating firsthand in the war and what it was like to serve alongside antiSemitic Iraqi officials, as well as the safety measures needed as tensions rose between Israel and Hezbollah this past summer. She will also talk about what steps she took as a Jew to ensure her safety, as well as what she refused to do.

Laurie Zimmet Zimmet made national news last December when she organized the lighting of a giant menorah in Saddam Hussein's former palace. The photo of a group of Jewish soldiers celebrating Hanukkah in the palace made the news wires and was posted on websites and published in newspapers throughout the world. She also organized a Passover seder in Saddam's hunting lodge.

The lecture is open to the community. The fee is $12 in advance, $15 at the door. For reservations, call (818) 991-0991 or visit www.jewishacademy.com.