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About 100 years ago, Columbia University pioneered anti-Jewish admissions measures, which quickly spread around the Ivy League. Ever since, the welcoming of Jews has been a litmus test for the openness of a college campus — never more than today. Come learn about the history of Jews in higher education, from the alleged quotas of a century ago through the sense of unease after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

Dr. Mark Oppenheimer is professor of practice at the John Danforth Center of Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Previously he served as Vice President of Open Learning at American Jewish University. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale where he was the founding director of the Yale Journalism Initiative. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Beliefs” column, about religion, for The New York Times, and he has also written for publications including The New Yorker, The Nation, GQ, Slate, and many more. He created Unorthodox, the world’s most popular podcast about Jewish life and culture, with over 7 million downloads to date. More recently, he hosted an eight-part podcast called Gatecrashers, about the history of Jews and antisemitism at Ivy League schools. He is the author of five books including his most recent, Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting & the Soul of a Neighborhood.

Federation Knosh and Knowledge programs are held monthly and take place at Hevreh of Southern Berkshires.