The Jewish Federation Connecting with Community presents "Birthright Israel: Questions and Answers about the Jewish World's Largest Education Program" with Professor Leonard Saxe.
Birthright Israel is celebrating its "Chai" (18th) year. Over 650,000 Jewish young adults have participated in FREE Birthright sponsored, ten day educational trips to Isarel.
Learn about who participates in Birthright, what happens on trips, and what are the short and long term effects of participation. Questions are welcome about Birthright's role in promoting connections between diaspora and Israeli Jewry and engaging young Jews in discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Professor Leonard Saxe (Brandeis University), has studied Birthright since its inception. He and his research team have interviewed and surveyed hundreds of thousands of participants.
Leonard Saxe, Ph.D., is Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Social Policy at Brandeis
University where he directs the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute. Professor Saxe is a social psychologist and since 2000 has led a program of research on the impact of Birthright Israel on Jewish young adults. He is the author of more than 300 articles and books, including Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity (with B. Chazan) and How Goodly are Thy Tents: Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experience (with A. Sales). He has been a Fulbright Professor at the University of Haifa, a science fellow for the United States Congress and received the American Psychological Association’s Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions in the Public Interest. In 2012, he was awarded the Marshall Sklare prize for his lifetime contributions to the social scientific study of Jewry. He currently serves as President of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewrynent Israeli authors David Grossman, Ayelet Tsabari, and Dorit Rabinyan.
This free program is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community Series and will be followed by a kosher hot lunch. Lunch is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age or $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.