Gail McCarthy | Gloucester Daily Times

An Israeli peace activist who has been hailed for his “immense courage” and accused of demonizing his adopted nation will be the guest speaker at a special Cape Ann Forum on Sunday.

Jeff Halper will speak on “The Key to Peace in Israel/Palestine: Dismantling the Matrix of Control.” The free event takes place at Gloucester City Hall from 7 to 9 p.m., and includes a question and discussion period.

Ellen Solomon, a Forum spokeswoman, said Sunday’s event will likely spark some heated conversation.

It has already caught the attention of a local rabbi, who said he is “less than enchanted” by the Halper’s appearance here because of his views on Israel, including likening its policy on Palestinians to apartheid.

Halper’s appearance in Gloucester is part of his “Constructing Peace Speaking Tour” of the United States, which also includes several stops in Greater Boston next week.

Halper is an anthropologist who grew up in Minnesota and emigrated to Israel in 1973. He is the cofounder and director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, formed to fight the demolition of homes of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

In Halper’s view, Israel seeks to isolate Palestinians in what amount to a “prison state.” Like inmates in a prison, he says, Palestinians might occupy 95 percent of the territory but remain powerless before the authorities who hold the remaining 5 percent - the prison walls, cell bars and locked doors. Israel’s checkpoints, regulations, settlements and other measures form its “matrix of control.”

With Ghassan Andoni, a Palestinian peace activist, Halper was nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee. In its nomination, the group said Halper, in his work with the Committee Against House Demolitions, “often displays immense courage, confronting Israeli soldiers and risking arrest by sitting in front of bulldozers targeting homes for destruction.”

Rabbi Samuel Barth of Temple Ahavath Achim in Gloucester describes Halper as an ethical man and agrees with him that there are moral questions about the home demolitions. But he said Halper goes too far when he compares Israel, the only democratic country in the Middle East, to the racist regime of South Africa.

“It disturbs me greatly that in recent years, (Halper) has associated Israel with apartheid,” said Barth, a member of Rabbis for Humans Rights, which works to defend the human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis. “I don’t believe his motives are evil or wicked, but I will no longer support his appearances because he crossed the line from reasoned criticism to demonization of Israel.”

Barth said he plans to attend the forum and express his concern.

“I love the idea of the Cape Ann Forum bringing local people together in a very serious way to hear people reflect on important issues; I find myself in agreement with some and disagreement with others,” he said. “In that context, I’m less than enchanted with the invitation to Halper.”

The Cape Ann Forum was organized in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to encourage discussion of international issues and the place of the United States in the world.

Solomon, the Forum spokeswoman, said she believes it is important to hear the voices of Israelis who oppose official Israeli policies because too often in the United States only the official voice of the Israeli government is heard.

“Israel is a vibrant democracy, and there is a noisy and wide spectrum of public opinion - you can find it in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz - about how to interpret and make policy about Palestinian-Israeli issues,” she said. “I hope the Forum will bring Israeli speakers from all along that range of opposing voices, and I hope Americans will listen and try to understand the situation more complexly and truly than we usually do.”