Israel

The David H. Sonabend Center for Israel at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan offers members of our community across the spectrum of beliefs and backgrounds a home for serious cultural and intellectual exploration of Israel. We foster an open and respectful dialogue on cultural, political, social, and religious issues while encouraging a diverse array of perspectives and opinions.


Israel and the UAE Part III:
Understanding Palestinian Public Opinion on Arab-Israeli Normalization



Israel Forum: Israel + the UAE:
An Exclusive View Into Their Peace Deal with Udi Dekel


Israel Forum: Israel + the UAE:
An Exclusive View Into Their Peace Deal with Ambassador Nusseibeh


Israel Forum: 2020 Candidates + Israel
- Where the Democratic Party is heading


Israel Forum: Anti-semitism, Israel + The New Politics

What happens to the Jewish community in an era in which Americans are "becoming more contemptuous of each other in ways that are both dire and irreversible," asks Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Bari Weiss, opinion writer and editor at The New York Times, wonders, "Does safety come from contorting ourselves to look more like everyone else?" Join them for these questions and more in the latest installment of The Israel Forum, moderated by Zachary Schaffer, executive director of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents.


Israel Forum: Millenial Voices


Is anti-Zionism anti-Semitism? Does being a good progressive increasingly require opposition to Israel? Is BDS a legitimate political strategy or something far more sinister? Is there a coming divorce between the two biggest Jewish communities in the world? All of this and more will be on the table in a discussion featuring Simone Zimmerman (co-founder, If Not Now), Avi Mayer (assistant executive director, American Jewish Committee), and Carly Pildis (senior associate at RESULTS and contributing editor, Tablet Magazine) in a conversation moderated by New York Times journalist Bari Weiss for this installment of the Israel Forum.


Israel Forum: Refugees and The War of Return

 

The need for policy decisions around recent refugee crises compounds the decades-long conversation about Palestinian refugees, and the heart and soul of Israel. Join Einat Wilf, member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the 18th Knesset and author of six books, including The War of Return, in conversation with Ghaith Al-Omari, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, in a conversation moderated by journalists Jodi Rudoren (New York Times) and Amir Tibon (Haaretz).


Israel Forum: Prime Minister for Life?

Benjamin Netanyahu is either about to become Israel's longest-serving prime minister in history or, perhaps, its first to be indicted for corruption while in office. How has he managed to hold on to power despite swirling investigations? What is likely to happen to Israeli politics ­­ and the Palestinian conflict in a post-­Netanyahu era? Anshel Pfeffer, a Haaretz columnist and author of a new Netanyahu biography, and Dan Senor, co­author of Start­Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle and a former advisor to Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, and the administration of George W. Bush, will join journalists Amir Tibon (Haaretz) and Jodi Rudoren (New York Times) for the discussion.The Israel Forum is a seated cocktail party encouraging open dialogue around multiple topics, views, and opinions while deepening our community's understanding of and connection to Israel.


Donniel Hartman - The Politics of Jewish Power

 

The two centers of Jewish life—Israel and Diaspora—have introduced two complicated expressions of Jewish power in the modern era. Both communities and their use of power are responses to and byproducts of recent history. The Holocaust, anti-Semitism, assimilation, and Zionism have all shaped Jewish power within the United States as well as on the world scene. Jewish politics, in the modern world, means both a comfort with power— hard and soft —and the rejection of the myth that we as a people are purer outside politics.


Israel Forum: Behind the Hugs:
Is President Trump Good News or Bad News for Israel

What will US–Israel diplomacy look like in the Trump administration? Hear Martin Indyk, U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton administration, and Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General of Israel in New York, in conversation moderated by best-selling author, MSNBC host, and former co-host of ABC's The View, Nicolle Wallace. The Israel Forum is a signature program of the David H. Sonabend Center for Israel. This series seeks to change the tenor of the discussion around Israel by inviting luminary thinkers across arrange of perspectives to address the real issues facing Israel today. We create an intimate environment for nuanced and sophisticated civil discourse, in which presenters and participants can engage directly in conversation. Join us to learn, be inspired and challenged, and deepen our relationship with Israel.