Please join us as we welcome author Peter Beinart to Woodstock to discuss the themes of his latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, with Rabbi Emeritus Jonathan Kligler.
REGISTER HERE
In Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, Beinart considers how a story of persecution and victimhood has come to dominate contemporary Jewish life, even as Israel is decimating the conditions of life for millions. That narrative, Beinart argues, both warps our understanding of Israel and Palestine and erases much of the nuance of Jewish religious tradition. After more than a year of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza—and the deployment of Jewish text and history to justify mass slaughter and starvation—Beinart insists that Jews must tell a new story. After this war, whose horror will echo for generations, they must offer a new answer to the question: What does it mean to be a Jew?
We want to discuss these very difficult questions and the WJC is pleased to host this conversation between Peter Beinart and our rabbi emeritus Jonathan Kligler. We will welcome all questions, including the most challenging, while modeling respectful and civil discourse.
Peter Beinart teaches national reporting and opinion writing at the Newmark J-School and political science at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is the editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, an MSNBC political commentator, author of The Beinart Notebook on Substack, a fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and the author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza. https://peterbeinart.substack.com/
Rabbi Jonathan Kligler is rabbi emeritus of Kehillat Lev Shalem, the Woodstock Jewish Congregation. He is a renowned and beloved teacher of Torah, and is the author of Turn It and Turn It, for Everything Is in It: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion. He is now devoting himself to writing, teaching, and sharing the joy of music. You can read his latest essays on his Substack publication: “Turn It and Turn It,” https://jonathankligler.substack.com/
Co-sponsored with Jewish Currents. www.jewishcurrents.org
Books are available at the Golden Notebook in Woodstock and on their website: https://goldennotebook.com/book/9780593803899