IMPACT | Seminars and Workshops
Presentation Topics
ISRAEL, ZIONISM, AND THE JEWISH WORLD
21st Century Challenges for Israeli Society | What are the main challenges facing Israeli society in the coming decades? This session analyzes societal trends, issues within the Jewish world, and long-term national security threats. |
| Am I a Zionist? | This session will delve into the purpose of Israel and the role of Israel in the lives of Jews from outside Israel, exploring how Israel fits into the modern Jewish world. Participants will consider the idea of Jews as a nation and reflect on their personal connections to Israel. |
| Israeli Jewishness and Diaspora Jewishness: Are We One People? | Why is one people’s Jewishness rooted in ethno-nationalism and another in liberal-religious values? This session explores how the two largest Jewish communities understand what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. |
| Israeli Politics: I Don’t Get It | Break down the Israeli political system, debate its pros and cons, discuss where the political currents are flowing, and explore what the Israeli political map may look like in the future. |
| Judaism in Israeli Society | We will tackle the challenge of Israel being a Jewish state for all Jews of different streams, beliefs, and backgrounds. Should buses run on Shabbat in Tel Aviv? Does the future of Torah study require an army exemption for certain yeshiva students? Can the Western Wall be welcoming to all denominations? |
| Religion and State in Israel | This session will focus on the narratives in Israeli society for and against the role of religion in government and broader society and examine its place in the Israel/Diaspora relationship. |
| The US-Israel Relationship | Why are the United States and Israeli governments so close? This session explores the many layers of the U.S.-Israel relationship and where it may be headed in the future. |
| What Does a Jewish Democracy Look Like? | Israel functions as a compromise between different Jewish and non-Jewish groups—secular Jews, national religious Jews, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arabs. This session explores these compromises and their impact on Israeli society today. |
| Zionism – The Jewish Renaissance | What is the Zionist idea? What are its roots? The goal of this session is to familiarize students with a brief history of Jewish nationalism from antiquity to today. |
Conflicts & Geopolitics
Conflicting Narratives of the Conflict | A deep dive into how Jews and Arabs — Israelis and Palestinians — perceive the same land as their own, exploring historical, theological, and national claims. |
Explaining the “Territories” | What are the “territories”? Why do some say they are occupied, while others say they are disputed or liberated? What are Areas A, B & C? This session provides a short introduction to the West Bank/Judea & Samaria. |
Intro to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | This session provides a historical introduction to the century long conflict between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land. |
Israel Update | How does today’s news fit into the local political context and the greater geopolitical challenges and opportunities facing Israel? |
Occupation? Liberation? Annexation? Huh? | Why is the land Israel conquered/liberated/occupied in 1967 still not sovereign Israeli territory? This session explores Israel’s relationship with the West Bank and its implications for Israeli politics, security, and Zionist identity. |
Three Lenses to Understanding the Conflict | There are three major ways to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Geopolitics, Social Justice, and Tribal Identity. Participants will explore these lenses and consider their implications for meaningful discussions and solutions. |
The Israel-Iran Conflict | Why do most people focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when Israel’s current war is against Iran and its proxies? This session shifts the focus to Israel’s broader security concerns. |
The Three Layers of Israel’s Geopolitical Strategy: Political, Military, and Diplomatic | Israeli leaders must consider multiple factors in their strategy, from restoring deterrence to maintaining regional power. This session explores Israel’s strategic objectives across political, military, and diplomatic dimensions. |
What Happened in 1948 & 1967? Narratives of Security vs. Justice | This session examines how Israelis and Palestinians view the wars of 1948 and 1967 differently—one as securing independence, the other as catastrophe and occupation. |
What’s Complex and What’s Not Complex in This Current Conflict | People love to say, “the Conflict is complex.” While some elements are genuinely complex, others are quite simple. This session helps learners differentiate between the two. |
The Israel Conversation and Antisemitism
Anti-Israel Sentiment vs. Criticism: What’s Legit and What’s Not? | Many get confused about the boundary between legitimate criticism of Israel and complete anti-Zionism. This session examines criticisms of Israel within the Jewish community and distinguishes between critique and delegitimization. |
Antisemitism and the Return of the Jewish Question | Antisemitism was once thought to be a thing of the past, yet it persists today. This session helps students understand the historical, societal, and political contexts of rising antisemitism in the West. It examines why antisemitism is unique, persistent, and what can be done about it. |
Navigating the “Israel Conversation” | The “Israel Conversation” is one of today’s most polarizing and complex topics. This session presents a model for engaging with different paradigms and political lenses and introduces the “Rootedness and Respect” approach for productive discussions. |
The Online Israel Conversation | Israel is constantly in the news, yet perceptions of Israel often reflect global social and political issues rather than realities on the ground. This session explores how Israel is understood and misunderstood online. |
Why Isn’t Israel “Woke” Enough? | Why do young Jewish progressives feel pressured to check their Zionism at the door in social justice spaces? This session explores the philosophy, ethics, and culture behind this phenomenon. |
