Journalist and Columnist Dr. Teddy Weinberger to speak on February 23
Dr. Teddy Weinberger, noted Israeli journalist and columnist will present his lecture “Living in the Occupied Territories: A Liberal Academic Wrestles with ‘Israeliness,’ Jewishness and Nationalism” on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dolan Business School Dining Room. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Dr. Weinberger, a former assistant professor of religious studies at Florida International University in Miami, has written more than 300 articles about his and his family’s experience living in Israel on assignment for various American Jewish newspapers. For this lecture, Dr. Weinberger will discuss complex issues of identity as they play out in contemporary Israeli society.
“Paradoxically, when I moved to Israel in 1997, I discovered that I was now living in a country, far though it is from the United States, where my religious Jewish identity is always in complete harmony with my American identity,” Dr. Weinberger said. “My children, on the other hand, grew up to become Israelis who happened to have been born in America. The crucible of the Second Intifada in 2000 made inescapable issues of nationalism and civic equality. In my talk I will examine these issues of identity as they play out in contemporary Israeli society.”
Dr. Weinberger has written a bi-weekly newspaper column on life in Israel since 1998, and served as the director of resource development for the Israel Religious Action Center, the social action and public policy branch of the Reform Movement in Israel, from 2002-2006. In recent years, he has worked as a freelancer in development for several Israeli non-profit organizations.
Hosted by the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, the event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Please call the Center at 203-254-4000, ext. 2066 or email
bennettcenter@fairfield.edu
to reserve your seat.
For information about other free lectures, visit www.fairfield.edu/bennett.
