November 6 Panel Discussion: Israel and American Jews

Professor Dov Waxman 

The 20th Author’s Cafe of the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills will feature a panel discussion on one of the most controversial issues within the American Jewish community.  For over a generation, solidarity with Israel was one of the bonds that brought American Jews together across their differences.  Now, in a fundamental shift in recent years, American Jews are sharply divided on the topic of support for Israel.  

On Sunday, November 6 panelists Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the complex reasons for this shift.  

The panel discussion, Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, at 106-06 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills.  Advance tickets are $16 and can be purchased online at www.cqy.org/tickets or at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or pkurtz@cqy.org.  Group & student discounts are available.

In some communities, Prof. Waxman writes in his new book, the debate about support for Israel has become so heated, that a moratorium on these discussions has been put in place.  Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the underlying reasons for this divide, including important changes in the makeup of the American Jewish community itself and increasing disagreement over Israel’s policies, among other factors.  Professors Waxman and Cohen will discuss the impact this fractious debate is having on Jewish communities and organizations and what this means for the future of the American Jewish community.  

Author of several books on Israel, Prof. Waxman teaches Israel studies at Northeastern University. Prof. Steven M. Cohen is Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at HUC-JIR and has participated in leading demographic studies of how the American Jewish community is being reshaped today.  The 20th Annual Author’s Cafe, which includes kosher dessert and coffeee, is a benefit for the Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Programs

This program is the headline event in the Fall Speaker Series of the Central Queens Y.  More information is available online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 

Hear US Ambassador Dennis Ross 10/25 in Forest Hills

DOOMED TO SUCCEED:
The U.S. - Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama

Sunday, October 25, 3 p.m.

At the Forest Hills Jewish Center

with Prof. Mark Rosenblum,
Director of Queens College Center for Jewish Studies

For almost three decades, Ambassador Dennis Ross has been one of the leading figures in Middle East peace negotiations.

In his ultimate insider’s account, Ambassador Ross tells the story of the close but troubled relationship between the U.S. and  Israel over six decades, from 1948 through the current administration.  Through both Democratic and Republican administrations, Dennis Ross has been the lead U.S. negotiator in the Middle East, at Camp David and at Oslo, as well as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama.

Dennis Ross is one of the key figures who has shaped American policy in the Middle East for over thirty years. Today Dennis Ross is a Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University.  

Speaking of Ross, President Clinton said “No one worked harder for peace than Dennis. He gave it everything he had and served our nation very well.”

 

19th Annual Author’s Cafe Event to Benefit the Hevesi Jewish Heritage Library!
Co-sponsored by the Forest Hills Jewish Center, the Queens Jewish Community Council, and Queens College Center for Jewish Studies & Center for Ethnic, Racial & Religious Understanding.

Kosher Desserts & Coffee!

Minimum donation: $18 in advance/$25 at the door
Donations at $75 will receive a copy of the book, autographed by Ambassador Ross.  

Student and group discounts available in advance. Click here for more information on discounts.
RSVP by October 23.

Please consider becoming a Friend of The Library at $45 to support the library programming you enjoy all year long!

For information or tickets, call (718) 268-5011, ext. 151, or reserve online at www.cqy.org/tickets.   You can also mail a check, payable to the Central Queens Y to the address below.

The Hevesi Jewish Heritage Library is a free public library of Jewish culture, open to all, and located in the Central Queens Y.

Central Queens Y
67-09 108 Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-5011, ext. 151
pkurtz@cqy.org
www.cqy.org
 


    

Forest Hills Jewish Center In Talks with Developers

Photo by Michael Perlman

I've been hearing for the past several weeks rumors about some development deal on the block where the Forest Hills Jewish Center is located. And I was made aware this morning that the FHJC is moving foward with a developer for its site which takes up the entire block along 69th Road from Queens Blvd. to Austin Street. I don't know any more than that at this point. If anyone has additional information, please email it to the blog at edgeofthecity@gmail.com

It's funny - I spent the afternoon in Williamsburg yesterday and as we walked around that amazing 'hood and experienced the miracle of urban renewal that it is, the conversation of course eventually turned to Forest Hills. And one of the things that came up was how the car dealer across from the Forest Hills Jewish Center location would make an awesome site for redevelopment for shopping, a condo, what have you. "What is a car dealership and garage doing in the middle of a prime New York City neighborhood?" we were pondering. And then I hear this news today...

Talk on Muslim/Jewish Relations at Forest Hills Jewish Center

In the wake of September 11, two of the most prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders in NYC forged an unlikely friendship. As the city reeled from the events of the day, many people reacted with anger and bitterness. Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali instead made the courageous decision that they would bring their communities together to work for peace. 

On Sunday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m.., Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali will discuss their new book, which grew out of their conversations, Sons of Abraham, at the Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens. 

In their new book, Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali confront the differences between Muslims and Jews with great honesty, while also looking for the values that unite us.  They challenge both Jews and Muslims to step outside their comfort zones to find common ground. 

Tickets to this event, which also includes kosher desserts, are available through the Central Queens Y, at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or online at www.cqy.org/tickets.  Advance tickets are $15, with tickets at the door at $21. 

Rabbi Marc Schneier was born in NYC into a community wary of outsiders.  Son of a distinguished rabbinical dynasty, his passion for Israel made him suspicious of Muslims. Imam Shamsi Ali grew up in a small farming village in Indonesia and attended Muslim schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where he was taught that Jews intended to destroy Islam and its practitioners. Despite such extraordinary differences, these two men become close friends, as well as passionate advocates for mutual understanding between the world’s most bitterly opposed religions. Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali confront such difficult questions as the legitimacy of both Israel and a Palestinian state, the idea of the chosen people, the meaning of jihad and shari’a. Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali do not agree on everything, but when they disagree, the manner in which they do so sets an example for this necessary dialogue. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.