Lectures & Conversations

This year’s mayoral election has had an outsized impact on the Jewish community in New York City and around the country, shining a spotlight on the place of Judaism and Zionism in local politics. The race raised the already-high levels of tension and polarization in our NYC Jewish community, and with the election over, many of us are asking: Where do we go from here? Is a greater sense of unity possible? How can we go about healing the fractures among New York’s Jewish communities?

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, offers reflections and analysis in conversation with Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor at large of the New York Jewish Week.

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Organized by B’nai Jeshurun, Congregation Beth Elohim, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, and New York Jewish Agenda, this forum offers a critical opportunity for New York City’s Jewish community to hear directly from the 2025 mayoral candidates about the issues that matter most to us and to engage with those vying for our city’s leadership.

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Each and every member of our Israeli delegation has been deeply impacted by the events of October 7 and all that has come after. For all that has been lost and destroyed, each member of the delegation has been a part of trying to heal society, plant new seeds, and rebuild. Listen to their stories and hear about their work.

This event was part of Voices of Partnership: A Week with BJ’s Israeli Partners and Friends, generously sponsored by Steve Stulman as part of BJ’s bicentennial celebration. https://bj.org/programs/voices-of-partnership/

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With Israel celebrating its 77th year in the midst of an ongoing war, with 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, and profound questions about the future of its democracy; we will hear reflections from the 14 members of the Israeli delegation about the purpose and meaning of Zionism.

This event is part of Voices of Partnership: A Week with BJ’s Israeli Partners and Friends, generously sponsored by Steve Stulman as part of BJ’s bicentennial celebration. https://bj.org/programs/voices-of-partnership/

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For the past 30 years, BJ has cultivated a meaningful and transformative relationship with leaders and members of several Israeli organizations that have helped shape a vibrant, pluralistic, and authentic expression of Israeli Judaism. In this special conversation with the visiting Israeli delegation, we reflect on the impact we’ve had on one another, what we have learned from one another, and the journey we have taken together—through both the highs and the lows.

This event is part of Voices of Partnership: A Week with BJ’s Israeli Partners and Friends, generously sponsored by Steve Stulman as part of BJ’s bicentennial celebration. https://bj.org/programs/voices-of-partnership/

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In this session with Dr. Rachel Korazim, we will read and discuss poetry written during and in response to the calamity of October 7 and the war that has followed, leaving Israel and the Jewish world in shock and despair. The poems come from different parts of Israeli society and reflect a variety of voices.

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Join the Tel Aviv Review of Books as we kick off Israel at 76—a new series of captivating lectures and eye-opening conversations with teachers, thinkers and activists who are thoughtfully wrestling with some of the most essential questions about Israel’s future at this moment.

The Israel at 76 series is generously sponsored by Helena Diamant Glass, in cherished memory of her beloved parents, Regina Landwirth Diamant and Karl Diamant, and in honor of Yom Ha’atzma-ut 5784.

Hamas’ offensive on October 7, 2023, threw Israel into turmoil. Vulnerable as never before, Israelis were made to revisit old assumptions about their society, the political system, the meaning of living in a Jewish state, and their relationship with the Palestinians. Join Professor Clemence Boulouque (Jewish and Israel studies, Columbia University) and American-Israeli author Oren Kessler (Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict) for a conversation exploring these complexities with Gilad Halpern, the founding co-editor of the Tel Aviv Review of Books, which is also a co-sponsor of this kick-off event.

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In the months that have passed since October 7, BJ has hosted several Israeli-Palestinian groups working toward peace and a shared society, as we continue our commitment to lift up the courageous voices of those working together, advocating for a solution to the decades-long conflict.

In February, in partnership with the New Israel Fund, we hosted May Pundak and Dr. Rula Hardal, the inspirational Israeli and Palestinian co-executive directors of the rapidly growing “A Land for All” peace movement.

“What we have not had in 20 years is a political vision that will give A: hope, B: realistic horizon, and C: a commitment to an end game,” May Pundak said at the February 12 event.

“We provide the last two elements, vision and hope,” said Dr. Rula Hardal. “But we need on both sides as well as here in the States, the right political leadership who are able to make a decision to start this shift and to decide that we can have another way of life and another reality for both people in Israel and Palestine.”

Through the voices of those who refuse to accept the status quo, we will continue to advocate to transform the current landscape into one of hope and change.

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In the months that have passed since October 7, BJ has hosted several Israeli-Palestinian groups working toward peace and a shared society, as we continue our commitment to lift up the courageous voices of those working together, advocating for a solution to the decades-long conflict.

In February, in partnership with the New Israel Fund, we hosted May Pundak and Dr. Rula Hardal, the inspirational Israeli and Palestinian co-executive directors of the rapidly growing “A Land for All” peace movement.

“What we have not had in 20 years is a political vision that will give A: hope, B: realistic horizon, and C: a commitment to an end game,” May Pundak said at the February 12 event.

“We provide the last two elements, vision and hope,” said Dr. Rula Hardal. “But we need on both sides as well as here in the States, the right political leadership who are able to make a decision to start this shift and to decide that we can have another way of life and another reality for both people in Israel and Palestine.”

Through the voices of those who refuse to accept the status quo, we will continue to advocate to transform the current landscape into one of hope and change.

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