Fairfield University’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies presents free lecture: “Living in the Occupied Territories: A Liberal Academic Wrestles with ‘Israeliness,’ Jewishness and Nationalism”

Fairfield University’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies presents free lecture: “Living in the Occupied Territories: A Liberal Academic Wrestles with ‘Israeliness,’ Jewishness and Nationalism”

Media Contact: Teddy DeRosa, tderosa@fairfield.edu , 203-254-4000 ext. 2118

Dr. Teddy Weinberger, an American Jew who moved to Israel nearly 20 years ago, will discuss complex issues of identity as they play out in contemporary Israeli society. He is a journalist and columnist on life in Israel.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (February 17, 2016) — On Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. , Fairfield University’s Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies will present a lecture, “Living in the Occupied Territories: A Liberal Academic Wrestles with ‘Israeliness,’ Jewishness and Nationalism,” by Dr. Teddy Weinberger , an Israeli journalist who was born and raised in the United States. Free and open to the public, the event will take place in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room.

Seating is limited to this lecture. Please call the Bennett Center to reserve your seats at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066 or email bennettcenter@fairfield.edu .

Drawing upon the more than 300 columns that he has written over the past 18 years for American Jewish newspapers, Dr. Weinberger, a columnist on life in Israel, 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 was an assistant professor of religious studies at Florida International University in Miami before moving to Israel with his wife and five small children nineteen years ago. Since 1998, he has written a bi-weekly column on life in Israel for Jewish newspapers throughout the United States.

Between 2002-2006, Dr. Weinberger was director of resource development for the Israel Religious Action Center, the social action and public policy branch of the Reform Movement in Israel. In recent years, he has worked as a freelancer in development for several Israeli non-profit organizations.

He is married to Sarah Jane Ross, an investment professional. They live in a suburb of Jerusalem that is a few miles over the Green Line.

For information about other free lectures, visit www.fairfield.edu/bennett .

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Vol. 48, No. 96

Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.

Posted On: 02-17-2016 03:02 PM

Volume: 48 Number: 96