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PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS 

Interactive sessions, many engaging participants through the use of texts. All are adapted to the specific audience, venue and context of the program.

 

A sampling of topics appears below, grouped by subject area. 

  • How Jewish the Jewish state?
    My wife is a bigamist: Reflections on the women in my life Personal anecdotes illuminating the complexities of living Jewishly in the Jewish state ​ Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish people The inherent tension in striving to create a society simultaneously Jewish and democratic A stranger no more? The conversion conundrum in Israel today: Who’s in, who’s out and who decides?
  • Israel and the Jewish world
    The Great Divide: Israel and American Jewry – Are we really one? What's to blame for the distancing of Diaspora Jews from the Jewish state and what we can do about it Putting Israel in its place: The Jewish state and the Jewish people The centrality of Israel in Jewish life is a cornerstone of Zionist ideology. Is it in any way reflected in reality?
  • Jerusalem
    Why is Jerusalem always two? Delving into the city’s celestial and earthly dimensions through the poetry of Yehuda Amichai Next Year in Jerusalem: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy or Farce? Exploring our bond to this magical city through texts ranging from the Biblical to the contemporary
  • Reclaiming and reframing the Zionist idea
    From Altneuland to Tel Aviv: Herzl’s vision, our challenge Relating to an Israel that is yet to meet the expectations of its founders that it become an exemplary society From Mt. Sinai to Mt. Herzl The Biblical and Zionist commandment to build a society in the Land of Israel that would serve as a light unto the nations Herzl’s Jewish Journey: Out with the Christmas tree, in with the Menorah From flirtation with conversion to Christianity as a solution to the Jewish problem to a passionate embrace of Judaism An interview with Theodor Herzl Contemporary reflections from the visionary of the Jewish state on the state of the state he imagined into being
  • All in the family
    Those we’ve left behind The ongoing saga of the remnants of Ethiopian Jewry languishing in Gondar and Addis Ababa Black Lives Matter – Do Jewish Black Lives Matter too? The fascinating story of the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda, and Israel’s refusal to recognize them It’s Greek to me From highpoint to Holocaust in the Hellenic Republic and the challenges of the here and now Family Matters: Our brethren in Poland, Greece, Panama and Uganda A glimpse into the diversity and vitality of small Jewish communities around the world
  • Israel education
    Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, Torat Yisrael: A conceptual model for Israel education Approaching engagement with Israel as making sense only if it helps make sense of who one is A visit to Altneuland and its implications for Israel Education Issues that Herzl tackled in his utopian novel120 years ago remain remarkably relevant for Jewish educators today Teaching Israel from B to Y: An Incomplete Guide for the Jewish Educator B is for Birthright, Y for Yerushalayim shel Zahav. What about A for Aliyah and Z for Zionism?
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