Topic: A Conversation on Zionism and Anti-Zionism in a Time of Political Turmoil

Presenters: Sandra Lubarsky, Emily Schneider, Sean Parson, Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev

Referring to the current Israel-Gaza conflict, Michelle Goldberg of the NYTimes spoke of a “fanatically Manichaen moment.” It is a moment that can be compressed into the two words, “Zionism” and “anti-Zionism.” How are we to understand these terms, their multiple forms, their relation to nationalism, and the possibilities for a political solution that they open up or close down? In what ways do they help or hinder us from moving to a humane future in this region of the world and internationally? John Cobb asked Sandra Lubarsky, President of Flagstaff College and Communiversity and emeritus faculty in Sustainable Communities at Northern Arizona University to help us reflect on Zionism and Anti-Zionism from a Jewish perspective.  She will moderate the conversation with these colleagues.

Dr. Emily Schneider is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and she was previously a visiting assistant professor of sociology at Colorado College.  Prior to her academic career, Dr. Schneider served as the Director of Development at a joint Israeli-Palestinian NGO, Windows – Channels for Communication, where she founded one of the first tour programs to bring young Jewish Americans to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2010. She is completing a manuscript on the role of Jewish allyship and tourism in the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

Sean Parson is a professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs and the Program in Sustainable Communities at Northern Arizona University. He is the author of Cooking Up a Revolution: Food Not Bombs, Homes Not Jails, and Resistance to Gentrification, co-author of Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies: The Heroic Beasts of Total Liberation, and serves on the editorial board for Abolition: A Journal of Insurgent Politics. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oregon.  See his website here.

Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev is the author of The Liberating Path of the Hebrew Prophets: Then and Now (Orbis Books), described as “a great gift at a crucial moment in human history” (Susannah Heschel). He is founder and leader of Beit Midrash of Santa Fe, a multi-faith sacred learning community. He holds an MA in Hebrew Education, Ordination and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Hebrew Union College and is a Fellow of the Rabbis Without Borders Initiative.

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