Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies

Anat Hoffman (Executive Director, the Israeli Religious Action Center) Thursday, March 10, 2016 / 7:30 PM Congregation B’nai B’rith, 1000 San Antonio Creek Road, Santa Barbara Jerusalem is a harsh city to live in. It is a city in struggle, a struggle between narrow-minded Judaism and pluralistic Judaism,...

Paul Mendes-Flohr (Modern Jewish History and Thought, University of Chicago Divinity School) Monday, February 9 / 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Hillel, 781 Embarcadero del Mar, Isla Vista One of the most significant Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century, Martin Buber was born in Vienna (1878) and died in...

Ambassador Dennis Ross (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Ghaith al-Omari (Executive Director, the American Task Force on Palestine) Wednesday, March 5 / 5:00 PM UCSB Campbell Hall Veteran Middle East peace negotiators, Ambassador Dennis Ross (counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington...

Barbara Mann (The Jewish Theological Seminary) Thursday, January 23 / 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Hillel, 781 Embarcadero Del Mar, Isla Vista This event has been cancelled due to illness. Jews have historically been considered “the people of the book,” a rootless, diasporic collection of communities whose true “place” is...

Martin S. Indyk (Vice President, Director for Foreign Policy, the Brookings Institution) Sunday, November 4 / 3:00 PM Corwin Pavilion Ambassador Martin S. Indyk will analyze the dramatic developments in the Arab world and their impact on Iran’s bid for dominance in Israel’s neighborhood, including through its nuclear...

Helmi Kittani  (Executive Director, the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development) Eytan Biderman,  (Director, the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development) Sunday, October 16 / 3:00 PM UCSB Campbell Hall Fifteenth Anniversary Inaugural Event Helmi Kittani, an Arab Israeli economist, became Executive Director of the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic...

Judy Klitsner (Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem) Sunday, February 6 / 8:45 AM Congregation B'nai B'rith, 1000 San Antonio Road, Santa Barbara What do the infertile, tent-dwelling mothers of Genesis have in common with the military and spiritual leaders of the book of Judges? In...

Sue Fishkoff, National Correspondent for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Thursday, November 11 / 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Hillel, 781 Embarcadero Del Mar, Isla Vista In this captivating account of a Bible-based practice that has grown into a multibillion- dollar industry, journalist Sue Fishkoff travels throughout America and to...

Moshe Halbertal & Raghida Dergham Sunday, October 17, 2010 / 3:00 PM UCSB Corwin Pavilion A dialogue between Moshe Halbertal, noted Israeli pholosopher, award-winning author, and Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy at Hebrew University and Raghida Dergham, columnist and senior diplomatic correspondent for the London-based newspaper, Al-Hayat,...

Russell Steinberg, composer/pianist Mitchell Newman, LA Philharmonic violinist Monday, October 11 / 8:00 PM Geiringer Hall Featuring music by Russell Steinberg and text by Daniel Pearl, performed by LA Philharmonic violinist Mitchell Newman and composer/pianist Russel Steinberg. Limited seating, reservation required: please call (805) 893‐2317. Presented in conjunction with...

Michael Fishbane (Jewish Studies, University of Chicago) Tuesday, March 2 / 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Hillel, 781 Embarcadero Del Mar, Isla Vista Michael Fishbane will discuss the role of spiritual practices in Judaism -- through ritual and meditation -- which cultivate different types of consciousness and awareness. He...

Ethan Bronner (Jerusalem Bureau Chief, New York Times) Monday, February 8 / 8:00 PM UCSB Campbell Hall - Free Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for The New York Times will combine diplomatic and political analysis with behind-the-scenes stories from his reporting to explore the challenges faced by a...

Rabbi David Saperstein Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, DC Sunday, March 22, 2009 / 3:00 p.m. / Free Victoria Hall, 33 West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara Co-presented with the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion and Public Life at UCSB as part of its...