Palestine, Israel & Zionism:
Continuing the Conversation
A Two-Part Series
Part 1: American Jewish Support for Israel: Myths, Facts, Controversies:
When: Wednesday, February 26th from 7:30 - 9:30pm on Zoom
What: This session will provide an overview of the history of American Jews’ relationship with Israel and Zionism. It will examine different perspectives on whether—or to what extent—American Jews should publicly support Zionist principles and Israeli policies. After delving into the past, participants will have an opportunity to share their personal opinions about these questions, given current realities.
Pre-session suggested watching:
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Israelism (Erin Axelman, Sam Eilertsen, 2023) click to see streaming platforms.
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Optional group screening: February 19, 7:30pm in Jackson Heights (more details to come)
Session facilitator: Malkhutnik Dan Fleshler, author of Transforming America's Israel Lobby: The Limits of Its Power and the Potential for Change, and cofounder of Third Narrative.
Part 2: Israel/Palestine and the Politics of Collective Memory:
When: Wednesday, May 14th from 7:30 - 9:30pm on Zoom
What: While individual memory is typically seen to be a matter best left to psychologists, in recent decades the theme of “collective memory” has become a major object of study by a range of scholars, who have noted its unique power to shape people’s sense of identity and political belonging. This session, the second in Malkhut’s 2025 Israel/Palestine series, will explore the central role that memory has played in the construction of both Palestinian and Israeli/Zionist national culture and society. We will focus in particular on collective memory of the events of 1948—celebrated by Israelis as their moment of independence but lamented by Palestinians as their nakba (catastrophe)—as the foundational faultline running between Israeli and Palestinian nationalism.
Pre-session suggested watching:
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Tantura (Alon Schwarz, 2022), click to see streaming options.
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Optional group screening: May 7, 7:30pm in Jackson Heights (more details to come)
Session facilitator: Malkhutnik Matthew H. Ellis is a historian of the modern Middle East. He has taught in the History Department at Sarah Lawrence College since 2012, and is the author of Desert Borderland: The Making of Modern Egypt and Libya (2018).
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