Israel Civil Discourse Series

Opening Session
Sunday, April 8, Dinner: 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM, Session: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Two Wednesday Evening Sessions
Wednesdays, April 11 & 18, Dinner: 6:15 PM – 7:00 PM, Session: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Click here to sign up!
Fee: $50 for the series (including all dinners)

We live in an increasingly polarized society. Across America, friends and family have stopped speaking with each other over political differences. In the American Jewish community, Israel once galvanized and united us. In recent years, Israel has been a source of increasingly contentious debate among us. Jews have always disagreed about important moral issues. This is our strength. But, lately, the disagreements about Israel have become intensely personal and increasingly destructive. We live in an increasingly polarized society. Across America, friends and family have stopped speaking with each other over political differences. In the American Jewish community, Israel once galvanized and united us. In recent years, Israel has been a source of increasingly contentious debate among us. Jews have always disagreed about important moral issues. This is our strength. But, lately, the disagreements about Israel have become intensely personal and increasingly destructive.

How can we change the level of our discussion? In this series, we invite members of our community from across the political spectrum to discuss our feelings about Israel in an atmosphere of mutual respect. We will focus not only on the content of what we believe, but on the process of how we can learn to speak more civilly to each other and listen more openly.
Our goals are to increase our empathy for one another, to identify common ground where we can work together and to strengthen our community by learning that there is value in understanding each other more deeply even if it doesn’t lead to agreement.

Among the questions we will explore:

• What does Israel mean to us?

• When we think about Israel today: What inspires us? What are we most proud of? What concerns us?

• What is the nature of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors?

• What are the boundaries of legitimate criticism of Israel within the American Jewish community?

• How should we respond to criticism of Israel from outside the Jewish community?

• What would we like Israel’s future to look like? What gives us hope?