YIVO Presents: Israel at 60: The Strange Experience of Jewish Sovereignty: April 6, 2008

Keynote Address: Bernard-Henri Levy, Philosopher, Journalist, Author
Moderated by Paul Berman, writer in residence, New York University

After the Exile, Jews did not experience sovereignty for thousands of years until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.  Levy brings his formidable intellect to the questions: Why does the new Jewish sovereignty rattel man Gentiles?  Why does it rattle many Jews? 

LBI Presents: Jewish Daily Life in Germany, 1618-1945: April 2, 2008

Edited by Professor Marion Kaplan
German (C.H. Beck Verlag, 2003), English (Oxford University Press, 2005), and Hebrew (The Zalman Shazar Center, 2008)

This book portrays the drama of German-Jewish history by examining the everyday lives of ordinary Jews. It traces the gradual ascent of Jews scattered throughout Germany, in rural areas as well as in more urban ghettos, from impoverished outcasts to comfortable bourgeois citizens, and their dramatic descent during the Nazi era. Using a wide variety of original sources, the authors focus on the qualitative aspects of ordinary life – emotions, impressions, and perceptions that provide insights easily overlooked in more traditional studies.

The program presented lectures by the contributing authors:

Steven Lowenstein, University of Judaism, Los Angeles, Changes in the Jewish Family in Germany 1780-1870.

Marion Kaplan, New York University, Friendship on the Margins: Social Relations between Jews and other Germans in Imperial Germany.

Trude Maurer, Universität Göttingen, Germany, Interactions between Jews and non-Jews in Weimar and Nazi Germany.

LBI Presents: Close Encounters: Jews and Germans in Occupied Germany: March 31, 2008

Dr. Atina Grossmann discussed the story of the "close encounters" in Allied occupied Germany between Jewish survivors of the Nazi Final Solution who found themselves on "cursed German soil" after the German surrender, and the defeated Germans with whom they continually interacted.

YIVO Presents: Churchill and Zionism: Not By Sufferance: March 27, 2008

Winston Churchill was a pivotal figure in modern Jewish history, particularly in his relation to Zionism.  Like the great statesmen of the 19th century - Disraeli and Palmerston, for example - Churchill was immensely stirred by the idea of the Jewish return to Palestine. Still, he contrived the excision of Trans-Jordan from Palestine and did very little to curtail the British ban on Jewish migration to Palestine after the White Paper of 1939.  Nonetheless, the Jews were one of Churchill's great romances in a very romantic life.

This evening featured a presentation by Michael Makovsky (Foreign Policy Director,  Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, DC, Harvard University, Ph.D., Diplomatic History) about the clarity and ambiguity of Churchill's relationship to Jews and Zionism. This was followed by a discussion of the topic with Sir Harold Evans (Editor, The Times (London, 1981-1982); The Sunday Times (London, 1967-1981)), and the audience.  

YIVO Presents: The Rise and Fall of the Yiddish Empire: March 13, 2008

Benjamin Harshav, J & H Blaustein Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, Yale University, author of Language in the Time of Revolution and The Moscow Yiddish Theatre: Art on Stage in the Time of Revolution, explored the complex relation of Yiddish and Hebrew in the 19th century Russian Empire.  Jewish majorities were found in towns and shtetlakh of the vast terrortories, where 98% of Jewry declard Yiddish as their language.  This was the time that entailed the total transformation of the Jews their languages, professions, education, and their place in general history.  It was also the time when the base was laid for the emergence of a new Hebrew society which founded the state of Israel 60 years ago.

YIVO Presents: The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe: A Celebration: March 12, 2008

On March 12, 2008, YIVO held an event and reception celebrating the completion and publication of The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, a two-volume, 2,500-page reference edited by Gershon Hundert of McGill University. The event emphasized the breadth and diversity of the work’s coverage with a series of brief presentations by scholars associated with the project that led into or included performances, recitations, and readings that served as examples. The program was as follows:

Part 1:

Opening Remarks:  Jeffrey Edelstein, Project Director
Cantorial Music:  Wendy Heller, presenter
    “Ve-‘Al Yedey ‘Avodekho” (Zavel Kwartin, composer; Jack Baras, arr.)
    Jacob Ben-Zion Mendelson, performer
    Linda Hall Gerson, accompanist
Literature and Pogroms:  Alice Nakhimovsky, Presenter
    Hayim Nahman Bialik, Be-‘Ir ha-haregah / In shkhite shtot (In the City of Slaughter; 1903/1906)
    Jacob Ben-Zion Mendelson, Hebrew reciter
    Yankl Salant, Yiddish reciter
Yiddish Theater and Song:  Michael C. Steinlauf, presenter
    “Dos Bahtshl Kreln” (The Necklace of Beads; Yitskhok Perlov, lyrics;
    Lola Forman, music)    Rebecca Joy Fletcher, performer
    with Spencer Chandler
    Conrad Winslow, accompanist
Chairman's Remarks:  Bruce Slovin, Chair, YIVO Board of Directors

Part 2:

Publisher’s Remarks:  Jonathan Brent, Editorial Director, Yale University Press
    Introduced by Carl J. Rheins, YIVO Executive Director
Visual Arts: Olga Litvak, presenter
Traditional Instrumental Music:    Mark Slobin, presenter
    Medley—Doyne/Nign from the Beregovskii collection:
    “A Vivat far di Mekhutonim” (Congratulations to the In-Laws; from a 1919
    recording by Abe Schwartz); “Heymish Freylekh” (from a 1919 recording
    by Max Leibowitz)    Lisa Gutkin (violin) and Paul Morrissett (tsimbl), performers
Jewish Writers and the Soviet State:  Alice Nakhimovsky, presenter
    Excerpts: Isaac Babel, “Karl-Yankel” (pub. 1931); and Vasilii
    Grossman, Zhizn’ i sud’ba (Life and Fate; pub. 1980)
    Alexander Nakhimovsky, reader
Closing Remarks: Gershon David Hundert, Editor in Chief

YIVO Presents: The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe: A First Look: March 11, 2008

A celebration of the publication of the YIVO Encyclopedia. Chaired by editor-in-chief Gershon Hundert, with novelist Allegra Goodman, historians Marsha Rozenblit (University of Maryland) and Leo Spitzer (Dartmouth), and librarian Edward Kasinec (New York Public Library), who presented their initial impressions of the work.

YIVO Presents: Rabbis and Rebbes, Artists and Intellectuals: Roundtable Conversations on the Culture of Eastern European Jewry 19th–20th Centuries: March 9, 2008

While certain topics such as Hasidism and Jewish Haskalah have been dealt with extensively by scholars, there has been relatively little discussion of the varieties of rabbinic, intellectual and artistic activity. We examined these activities in three panels, in which the invited scholars engaged in animated discussion.

This conference was co-sponsored by the Touro College Graduate School of Jewish Studies.

YIVO and AJHS Present: Jews and Basketball: Alan Dershowitz in Conversation with Jeffrey Gurock: January 31, 2008

An evening with two distinguished intellectuals as they discuss their passion for and the American Jewish experience with basketball.

Alan Dershowitz, a member of the Brooklyn Talmudic Academy basketball team, developed a deep love for the sport.  An ardent fan of the Boston Celtics, he was a friend of the late Red Auberbach, the team’s legendary head coach, son of immigrants from Minsk and a Brooklyn high school player. Over the many years of their friendship, Dershowitz and Auberbach shared reflections and nostalgic stories. Jeffrey Gurock, American Jewish historian and athlete, is the author of Judaism’s Encounter with American Sports (2005) and for over 25 years, has been Yeshiva University’s assistant men’s basketball coach.

These two well-known scholars shared their common passion, the popularity of basketball among Jewish men and women, and why basketball is a metaphor for larger issues relating to the Jewish experience in America.

YIVO Presents: The Annual Sidney Krum Concert: The Klezmatics: Up Close: A Special Pre-Concert Discussion  Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Prior to their first concert at YIVO, The Klezmatics engaged in a lively and in-depth discussion with the audience about their creative process. Later in the evening, The Klezmatics performed their irresistible, eclectic, and provocative music embracing klezmer and blending multi-cultural sounds drawn from YIVO's Max and Frieda Weinstein Sound Archives.

Seen in this video are (l-r): Lorin Sklamberg, Richie Barshay (special guest), Lisa Grant, Matt Darriau, Frank London. 

YIVO Presents: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy - A Critical Response: November 5, 2007

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s new book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, has understandably generated an enormous response in the Jewish community. This evening’s response provides a rigorous focus on two issues - the long history of the debate over Jewish power and the role of AIPAC and other members of the Israel lobby in American foreign policy and military policy. The program featured a panel discussion moderated by Nicholas Lemann, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

YIVO Presents: Who Will Write Our History?: October 23, 2007

Who Will Write Our History? (Indiana University Press : 2007) - the new monograph by Samuel D. Kassow, the Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College, which tells the gripping story of Emanuel Ringelblum and his determination to use historical scholarship and the surreptitious preservation of Jewish documents to resist Nazi oppression.

A panel discussion with Professor Kassow and Robert Shapiro, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College and author of Lodz Ghetto: A History (Indiana University Press with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum : 2006) explored the historical significance of ghetto archives in occupied Poland and the relationship between Emanuel Ringelblum, Isaiah Trunk and the YIVO. Joanna Michlic, Associate Professor and The Helene and Allen Apter Chair in Holocaust and Ethical Values at Lehigh University, discussed the recent turn of historians toward Jewish testimonies, in particular the publications of the testimonies from the Ringelblum Archives. 

AJHS Presents: Jewish Lawyers in the Civil Rights Movement: September 19, 2007

Jewish Lawyers in the Civil Rights Movement – part of Jews and Justice, the longest running program series at the Center for Jewish History – featured a blue ribbon panel that explored the Jewish community's involvement in this important historical movement in the United States.

Panelists included:
Jack Greenberg, Alphonse Fletcher Jr., Professor of Law at Columbia University
Mr. Greenberg has been at the forefront of many of the landmark civil-rights cases of the 20th century, including serving as co-counsel with Thurgood Marshall in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. He succeeded Mr. Marshall as director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, a position he held until in 1984.

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
During his 30-year tenure as Director of the RAC, Rabbi Saperstein has advocated on a broad range of social justice issues emphasizing civil rights concerns. For over two decades, he has served on the executive committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and has been the only Jewish member of the National Board of the NAACP.

Anne Roiphe, an American Jewish journalist and author
Ms. Roiphe writes about many issues – including civil rights and Jewish relations with other communities, their collaborations and their struggles.

Jews and Justice is made possible by the David Berg foundation.

Leo Baeck Institute Presents: a performance by Marta Eggerth: June 3, 2007

Marta Eggerth was a child prodigy and remains a wonder of the 21st century. She was already one of the most popular stars of operetta movies in Germany and Austria when she made a film with the dashing singer and actor, Jan Kiepura. They fell in love, were married, and were welcomed through out Europe as a dazzling pair. After the Nazis came to power Marta’s Jewish extraction became an issue, leading them to emigrate to the United States. All these years later, Ms. Eggerth has not lost her voice, her glamour, or her popularity. Still singing to sold-out audiences. Leo Baeck Institute is delighted to host this concert for Ms. Eggerth.

YIVO Institute Presents: Are We a People: The Anomalies of Jewish Identity: February 20, 2007

A People and Community of Faith; a Unique Coincidence of Nation and Religion

Considered one of America's pre-eminent political thinkers, Michael Walzer will offer new insights into age-old, provocative questions. How does being both affect how Jews describe and define themselves to themselves and others? In the diaspora and Israel, are the descriptions different? Given the new realities of the 21st century, what difficulties arise from these differences?

YIVO Institute Presents: Galicia Mon Amour: Leon Wieseltier in conversation with Daniel Mendelsohn: January 16, 2007

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research presents a conversation between Leon Wieseltier, author of Kaddish, and Literary Editor, The New Republic; Daniel Mendelsohn, author of THE LOST: A Search for Six Of Six Million, and Charles Ranlett Flint Professor of Humanities, Bard College. Martin Peretz, Chairman, YIVO Board of Overseers and Editor-in-Chief, The New Republic, introduces the program.

For the first time last fall, Leon Wieseltier travelled to the remains of his parents' towns in Galicia. As it happens, Daniel Mendelsohn's family, also largely destroyed in the Holocaust, came from a town only a short distance away. These two distinguished Galicianers discuss the torments and the exhilarations of their pilgrimages to the past, and compare notes on the ruins of their common origins.

Freud's Jewish World Conference: Sunday, December 2-4, 2006

YIVO, LBI and The Freud Archives invited an outstanding group of academics and psychoanalysts to consider Freud in the context of his upbringing, including the bourgeouis culture of Vienna in the early 20th century, the anti-Semitism of central Europe, and the overall anxiety of his time.

December 02, 2006

December 03, 2006

December 04, 2006

Between Klezmer and Sepharad: Meditations in Cartoon by Joann Sfar: Sunday, November 08, 2006

After the success of "The Rabbi's Cat", Joann Sfar's new book, "Klezmer", explores the odds and ends of the Eastern European side of his family. "Klezmer" is profane, messy, and wildly enthusiastic, much like the music itself. It’s the story of Noah, who narrowly escapes the massacre of his bandmates by rival musicians, and goes on to put together a new band with some yeshiva students exiled for theft. Also in the tale is his voluptuous love interest, Chava and Tshokola, a less than truthful gypsy on the run from Cossacks. Mr. Sfar is interviewed by David Shasha, Director of the Center for Jewish Heritage.

YIVO Institute Presents: From Heretic to Hero: A Symposium on the Impact of Baruch Spinoza: Sunday, October 29, 2006

A one-day symposium presented by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research dedicated to exploring the historical reasons, and current implications, of what many scholars consider the most notorious and repercussive excommunication in all of Jewish history: the banishment of Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza from the Jewish Community of Amsterdam in 1656.

This program was made possible in part by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

YIVO Institute Presents: Jews and Money: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Jews and Money For centuries, Jews have been associated with capitalism and particularly with finance. The association has been both positive - a story of over-achievement in the face of discrimination - and negative - a source of fuel for anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish power. Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University, Professor, Harvard Business School, is the author of The House of Rothschild and the forthcoming Warburg, as well as The Cash Nexus and, most recently, The War of the World which have dealt more generally with questions of money and power. Professor Ferguson is well placed to offer some new thoughts on an old and often vexed question.

YIVO Institute Presents: Morality and Strategy in the War on Terror: The Israeli Experience: Tuesday, October 10, 2006

What are the moral limitations and challenges to fighting a war on terror? What are consequences of the enemy attacking one set of civilians and, by disguising itself within its own civilian population, completely obliterating the distinction between combatants and non-combatants? What can be learned, both morally and strategically, from ordinary war that is applicable to this very different condition? Moshe Halbertal, Professor of Philosophy, Hebrew University and Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, will examine the approach adopted by the Israeli defense forces in facing these challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn -- perhaps, for the United States -- from this approach.

YIVO Institute Presents: Jewish Journalists, American Journalism: Tuesday, September 26, 2006

With Franklin Foer, Editor, The New Republic; J.J. Goldberg, Editor in Chief, The Forward; Clyde Haberman, Columnist, "NYC", The New York Times; William Kristol, Editor, The Weekly Standard; and others. Moderated by David Margolick, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair.

In the wake of events in the Middle East, explore with some of the most influential American Jewish journalists provocative questions. How do Jewish journalists respond to news with a Jewish interest? What are the pulls and tugs on them? Are Jewish journalists afraid/comfortable with stories with a Jewish angle? At one time "all" Jewish journalists were considered liberal. Is this so today? How does this impact their perspective on "Jewish" news?

YIVO Institute Presents: Jews, Genes, and Intelligence: A Lecture by Steven Pinker: Thursday, December 1, 2005

This was a lecture prepared especially for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research by the renowned psychologist and cognitive scientist, Steven Pinker, author of six books including The Blank Slate, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in non-fiction. A recently publicized study claims that Ashkenazi Jews have been biologically selected for high intelligence and tend to suffer genetic diseases as a by-product. Steven Pinker discussed this claim in the context of current debates on nature, nurture, intelligence and race.

	Video	Audio
The Lecture	wmv	mp3
The Question and Answer Session	wmv	mp3

YIVO Institute Presents: Jews and Medicine Conference: Sunday, November 06, 2005

This historic and groundbreaking multi-disciplinary national conference, presented by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, explored the distinctive history of Jews in medicine and their roles and responsibilities today. Some of the nation's most outstanding experts in medicine and related fields examined these issues.

The Making of Luminous Manuscript

Sculptor Diane Samuels, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and winner of an international competition sponsored by the Center for Jewish History, created a 22' high by 20' wide mosaic tablet. Entitled Luminous Manuscript, this monumental sculpture, unusual in scale, materials, and construction, contains 170,000 alphabet letters and numbers that Ms. Samuels researched from the archives of the Center's five partners and collected from handwriting samples of hundreds of individuals from the Center's community. The sculpture is made of 44,000 separate pieces (tesserae) of engraved crystal clear Starphire glass, individually hand-mounted over 440 Jerusalem Stone tiles. This short film highlights the process and making of Luminous Manuscript.
Click here to view the short.

Jewish Costumes in the Ottoman Empire

On March 31st the Consul General of Turkey in New York and the American Sephardi Federation in collaboration with the Jewish Community of Turkey and The Assembly of Turkish American Associations presented an evening of Sephardi history in the Ottoman Empire.  Aron Rodrigue, Stanford University, and Eva Chernov Lokey Professor in Jewish Studies spoke about the history and culture of the Sephardi Jews of the Ottoman Empire, the arrival of sephardim in Ottoman lands, their place in Ottoman society, the evolution of their communities, and their socio-cultural transformation in the modern period. Vivian B. Mann, Morris & Eva Field Chair in Judaica at the Jewish Museum in New York spoke about clothing worn on ceremonial occasions and its afterlife.
Click here to view the discussion.

Nicholas Rostow: International Justice After Nuremberg

Mr. Rostow is General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In that capacity he is constantly being asked why, in the aftermath of Nuremberg, has the United States refused to participate in the International Criminal Court which, unlike the International Court of Justice at the Hague, can bring individuals, and not just nations, to justice. What makes the United States so reluctant to join a court that is supported by so many other nations?  This event took place on March 10, 2004.  Click here to view the discussion.

Just & Unjust Wars: Catholic and Jewish Perspectives

On March 9, 2004 a symposium discussion of the religious perspectives of Catholic and Jewish standards by which 'Just and Unjust Wars are Distinguished' took place at the Center for Jewish History. This event was moderated by Joseph Becker, Vice Chair of the CJH Board of Directors, and featured an exchange of ideas between Father Drew Christiansen, S.J. the associate editor of America Magazine; Darrell Cole, professor of religion at Drew University; and Suzanne Last Stone, professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.   Click here to view the discussion.

Religion, Responsibilities and Relations: Responses to Mel Gibson's Film, The Passion

“Religion, Responsibilities and Relations: Responses to Mel Gibson’s The Passion,” has raised serious issues in the Jewish, Christian, academic and artistic communities. Speakers include, Professor Paula Fredriksen, the William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of the Appreciation of Scripture at Boston University and author of the article, “Mad Mel: The Gospel According to Gibson” featured in The New Republic; Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn, convener of the scholars’ commission to study the screenplay of The Passion and consultant on Jewish-Christian relations; Sister Mary Boys, the Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology at the Union Theological Seminary and Dr. Deal W. Hudson, Publisher, Crisis Magazine, Washington, D.C.  This event took place on February 26, 2004.  Click here to view the discussion.

Writing As Roots

"The Jewish Writer in the 21st Century: What’s Left to Say?” – a conversation with authors Helen Epstein, Samuel G. Freedman, Tony Kushner, and Thane Rosenbaum, moderated by Joseph Berger.  This event took place on January 26, 2004.  Click here to view the discussion.

Parallel Lives: Growing Up Black & Jewish in the Mississippi Delta in the 1950's

The American Jewish Historical Society in association with The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding presents the conversation, "Parallel Lives: Growing Up Black and Jewish in the Mississippi Delta in the 1950s," a commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Taking part in the celebration are two authors from the Delta region of Mississippi Clifton Taulbert and Eugene Dattel.  Click here to view the discussion.

Richard Sonnenfeldt: More Than Life

Richard Sonnenfeldt, chief interpreter and youngest member of the American prosecution team at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, has just completed an extraordinary memoir. Beginning with his escape from Nazi Germany at age 15 to his schooling in England, his deportation to Australia, and his arrival in New York via Bombay, South Africa, and Cuba, this is an amazing story.  Mr. Sonnenfeldt spoke to all defendants and most key witnesses in the Nuremburg Trials. As chief of the interpretation section, he had conversations with everyone from Hermann Goering to Hitler's secretary.  Returning to America after the war, Mr. Sonnenfeldt studied electric engineering at John Hopkins University. He became a principal developer of color television, computer and space electronics, and received 35 U.S. patents. On October 15, 2003, he shared his thoughts with us.  Click here to view the lecture.

YIVO Institute Presents: Old Demons, New Debates

In response to the swift and chilling rise of anti-Semitism in the West, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research sponsored a conference which ran May 11–14, 2003. 

Sunday, May 11, 2003

The Plenary Session 7:00pm-10:00pm

Speaker	Audio
Leon Wieseltier	mp3
Alain Finkielkraut	mp3
Simon Schama	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Monday, May 12, 2003

Session 2: What's Old, What's New 9:30am-11:30am

Speaker	Audio
Hillel Halkin	mp3
Pierre Birnbaum	mp3
Prof. Carlebach	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Session 3: Anti-Semitism in the Americas 1:30pm-3:30pm

Speaker	Audio
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.	mp3
Nathan Glazer	mp3
Enrique Krauze	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Session 4: Anti-Semitism & Anti-Democracy 4:30pm-6:30pm

Speaker	Audio
Paul Berman	mp3
Christopher Caldwell	mp3
Josef Joffe	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Session 5: The Problem of Otherness 8:00pm-10:30pm

Speaker	Audio
Ian Buruma	mp3
Jane Kramer	mp3
Azar Nafisi	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Session 6: European Intellectuals 10:00am-12:00pm

Speaker	Audio
Anthony Julius	mp3
Jaroslaw Anders	mp3
Mark Lilla	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Session 7: Jewish Responses 1:00pm-3:00pm

Speaker	Audio
Mortimer Zuckerman	mp3
David Harris	mp3
Konstanty Gebert	mp3
Abraham Foxman	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Session 8: Anti-Semitism After the Holocaust 3:30pm-5:30pm

Speaker	Audio
Deborah Lipstadt	mp3
David Kertzer	mp3
Daniel Jonah Goldhagen	mp3
Q&A	mp3

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Closing Session: Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism, & Israel 9:30am-11:30am

Speaker	Audio
Martin Peretz	mp3
David Pryce-Jones	mp3
Fiamma Nirenstein	mp3
Irwin Cotler	mp3
Robert Wistrich	mp3
Q&A	mp3

A Little More Than 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace

On April 30, 2003, The Dialogue Forum Series and the American Jewish Historical Society presented a dialogue between Rabbi William Berkowitz and co-Editor of CBS News 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace at the Center for Jewish History.
Click here to view the interview.

Dialogue Forum Series: Elie Wiesel

On March 19, 2003, the Center for Jewish History and the American Jewish Historical Society presented a dialogue between Rabbi William Berkowitz and renowned author Elie Wiesel.  In freewheeling interviews, Rabbi Berkowitz poses questions that have not been seen or reviewed by his guests before the event. He probed Elie Wiesel’s views on recent topics such as Anti-Semitic attacks, the latest headlines on Israel and the Palestinians and life in the 21st-Century post-Holocaust period.  Click here to view the discussion.

Jews & Justice Presents: Professor Alan M. Dershowitz

On March 10, 2003, the Center for Jewish History and the American Jewish Historical Society presented a panel discussion entitled “Jewish Lawyers and Justice” as part of its continuing Jews and Justice Series. Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School presided as the keynote speaker.  Click here to view the discussion.

Oh, Fortuna

On December 9, 2002, renowned Brazilian vocalist, Fortuna performed a series songs in Ladino; or Djudeo Espanyol as it is also often referred.  Fortuna’s strong and melodious voice unravels colors and stories from the most genuine Sephardic tradition. The repertoire she has selected for this concert will showcase popular Sephardic ballads and liturgical chants. This concert was presented by the Center for Jewish History.  Click here to view the concert.

A Night on the Couch with Dr. Ruth Westheimer

On December 4, 2002, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, famed sex therapist, was the guest of Rabbi William Berkowitz, as part of the Dialogue Forum Series, presented in association with the American Jewish Historical Society, at the Center for Jewish History.  Click here to view the interview with Dr. Ruth.

Dialogue Forum Series: Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg

On November 5, 2002, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg was the guest of Rabbi William Berkowitz, as part of the Dialogue Forum Series, presented in association with the American Jewish Historical Society, at the Center for Jewish History.  Click here to view the interview with Rabbi Hertzberg.

An Interview with Shimon Peres

On September 12, 2002, Shimon Peres, Israel’s Foreign Minister and a major figure in the Israeli government for half a century, was the guest of Rabbi William Berkowitz, as part of the Dialogue Forum Series, presented in association with the American Jewish Historical Society, at the Center for Jewish History.  Click here to view the Shimon Peres Interview.

Days of Awe: Reflections from Ground Zero

On Wednesday, September 11, 2002 Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, State Staff Chaplain of the New York Army National Guard; Rabbi Alvin Kass, New York City Police Chaplain; and
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, New York City Fire Department Chaplain, gathered at the Center for Jewish History, to reflect on the year that has passed, the tragedy that was, and the
future that may be.  Click here to view the panel discussion.

Jews & Justice: Aharon Barak

On September 9, 2002, Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court of Israel, spoke on "Israel as a Jewish and a Democratic State," before a sold-out house at the Center for Jewish History. This program was presented in association with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.  Click Here to view the speech.

A Tribute to Cardinal John O'Connor

• Click Here to view the tribute by Edward I. Koch
• Click Here to view the tribute by Professor Elie Wiesel
• Click Here to view the tribute by Edward Cardinal Egan.

Center for Jewish History Gala Opening Keynote Address 10/26/2000

Dr. Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, was the keynote speaker at the Opening Gala. Dr. Botstein paid tribute to the vision and tenacity that spearheaded the creation of the Center for Jewish History, and then spoke about the Center's importance to the Jewish and wider world.