Hanukkah, Jewish Power, and the Future of Israel Education

Dec 16, 2024 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture | Hanukkah

Every year at Hanukkah, Jews everywhere celebrate the Maccabees’ military uprising against oppression. But in our day, many younger American Jews are experiencing discomfort with some of the ways that Israel uses power to fight its enemies and defend its interests, which has led to decreased support and weakened connection to the State.    

How should education about Israel— and advocacy on behalf of Israel—change in coming years? What lessons should Jews take away from events on and off campus in the wake of October 7, 2023?

Communicating Across Divides

Dec 9, 2024 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Argument is essential to Jewish life—it forms the basis of the Talmud and the classic Jewish joke about two Jews, three opinions. Yet today the challenge of talking across differences often seems insurmountable.

Rabbi Jan Uhrbach, director of the Block Kolker Center for Spiritual Life, shares insight into how to communicate with those whose opinion differs from yours. She will include tactics for creating structures that enable civility and explore the traps to avoid in your community.

Gleanings from “Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond”

Dec 2, 2024 By Gordon Tucker | Public Event video | Video Lecture

How is Zionism finding expression in our communities? What are the challenges and opportunities in educating younger generations around these ideas? Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor of Religious Life and Engagement, shares his thoughts from the convening and the new models of engagement with Israel that emerged from our conversations. 

The Origins of the Nation Israel: Biblical, Historical, and Archaeological Data

Nov 25, 2024 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Public Event video | Video Lecture

What can we learn from the Bible’s narratives about the emergence of the nation Israel? Some streams insist on the literal infallibility of biblical history, while others assert that the Jews are not indigenous to Canaan/Israel/Palestine.

Considering biblical texts and archaeological evidence, this session examines the origin of the Israelites as an ethnic and political unit. How does the debate on biblical authority resonate both within and outside academic circles?

Power in Pluralism: Jewish Community Organizing after October 7

Nov 18, 2024 By Rabbi Ayelet Cohen | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In American and Israeli societies, we often focus on what divides us and the differences in how we respond to tragedies. This session focuses on activism and organizing in Jewish religious communities across denominations, both in Israel and the US. How have we pulled together and what are the outcomes of this work?

Henrietta Szold’s Zionism and Ours

Nov 11, 2024 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Henrietta Szold, JTS’s first female student, was the most learned Jewish woman in America in the first half of the last century. Attracted to the Zionist dream as a teen in Baltimore, she channeled her intellect and love for the Jewish people into Hadassah. Defying gender norms and expectations, she transformed the way Jewish women thought about their capabilities and the way many Jews approach their relationship to Zionism.

Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond – Expanding the Conversation

What does it mean to be a Zionist in 21st Century North America? The JTS Convening, “Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond” is a two-day program which will explore this and other questions. In this webinar series, we expand on these conversations, presenting both the significant insights and debate that emerged, as well as enhancing the context that is informing contemporary issues. JTS faculty will highlight the political, religious, and philosophical perspectives that shape the current landscape for Jews in North America in relationship with Israel.