Memory is a central element in defining modern Jewish identity. As we look to Israel's future, we also explore the meanings and consequences of its past. Through the consideration of major historic moments, we shall grapple with the different ideas and values that shape the meaning of modern Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity today.

This innovative course developed by the Shalom Hartman Institute, follows upon Rav Baruch's High Holy Day sermons last year and the lectures of Professor Stephen Berk in the past spring. We shall explore the pivotal events of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the UN partition vote of 1947 and the 1967 War as key moments when Zionism unleashed new thinking about the meaning of Jewishness for generations to come. 

We shall use video lectures, primary sources and background readings to engage participants in challenging discussions about Jewish identity, peoplehood, ethics, and theology, as well as nationhood, land, sovereignty, Jerusalem, occupation, and moral red lines.