The Middle East has been in our headlines a great deal lately with the recent elections in Israel and the on-going talks about Iran.
Go beyond the news with three new programs that feature writers who are exploring the Jewish experience from biblical times through to today.
From ancient history explore the perplexing and enigmatic David:
David: The Divided Heart
“If you read through the bible you read about Moses and you read about Abraham but then you come to David and you say: this is a human being, this is a full-blooded portrait of a person.”
– Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles
From more recent history learn about nine Holocaust survivors who went on to change the course of the 20th century:
The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler
and Changed the World
“They had started life on a calm and prosperous voyage and then things changed very quickly. After they were uprooted for the crime of being Jews from their native Budapest they never felt really at home anywhere else.”
– Kati Marton, Hungarian-American author and journalist
From the present, a discussion on contemporary Israel:
21st Century Zion: America, Israel, and
the Challenges of a New Era
“It’s so needed to have a candid, intelligent, civilized discussion about Israel, about the Middle East and about the Israeli-American relationship.”
– Ari Shavit, Israeli reporter and columnist
The programs are presented by Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies at UC Santa Barbara. The entire archive of past talks is available here.