Terror and Resilience, Past, and Present
Presenter: Oren Kessler
Sunday, January 5, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale

Oren Kessler will present on Palestine 1936 his first major book on the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in British-controlled interwar Palestine, revealing how Jewish-Arab relations were altered forever after. Using English, Hebrew and Arabic sources it finds human stories in the battle for the Holy Land, providing rare insight into the grim pattern of conflict that grinds on today.

About the Presenter
Oren Kessler is a writer and journalist based in Tel Aviv. He has served as deputy research director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London, Arab affairs correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, and an editor and translator at Haaretz.

Kessler’s work has appeared in media outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post. Palestine 1936, his first book, was named winner of the 2024 Sami Rohr Prize, among the Wall Street Journal’s 10 Best Books of 2023, and a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award.

Namaste and Shalom: A Virtual Tour of Jewish India
Presenter: Rahel Musleah
Sunday, January 12, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N 90th St, Scottsdale

Take a trip to Jewish India! India's Jewish heritage is a rich cultural and historical saga that stretches from biblical times until today. Explore each of India's Jewish communities as we visit sites and synagogues in Bombay, Calcutta and Cochin. Led by Rahel Musleah, who was born in Calcutta, the seventh generation of a Calcutta Jewish family that traces its roots to 17th-century Baghdad. Today, Rahel is a New York-based award-winning journalist, author, singer, speaker and educator. She brings her personal and spiritual perspective to her in-person Jewish heritage tours of India every November and February. In the meantime, we are bringing India to you!

About the Presenter
Through the vivid prism of her family's story, Rahel Musleah introduces audiences to the distinctive heritage of the Jews of India and Iraq. The seventh generation of a Calcutta family, she traces her roots to 17th-century Baghdad. Her multifaceted visual, song and story presentations offer a rare and intimate view of a rich culture little-known to most. Rahel is an award-winning journalist, author, singer, storyteller, and educator. Her articles have appeared in publications from The New York Times to Hadassah magazine. Her books include Apples and Pomegranates: A Family Seder for Rosh Hashanah and Why On This Night? A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration. She is a pioneer as a female prayer leader in the Sephardi/Mizrahi community and has recorded a CD of Shabbat and holiday melodies. Rahel leads Jewish heritage tours to India every November and February, which she infuses with her personal, spiritual, and musical insights as well as her knowledge of India's Jewish history.

Learn more at www.explorejewishindia.com.

Advocacy in the Age of Bullshit
Presenter: Ryan Bellerose
Sunday, January 26, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Congregation Beth Tefillah, 6529 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale

Israel is the best example of decolonization in the modern world. This lecture will be about the Jewish connection to Israel, the importance of Jewish identity in this struggle and how to overcome the mainstream narratives being pushed against Jewish people.

About the Presenter
Ryan Bellerose is a Metis indigenous rights activist currently living on a ranch in Paddle Prairie Metis settlement in Northern Alberta, He has a pretty diverse work and life experience having worked in the far north building Ice bridges, operating heavy machinery, worked as a security contractor and at one of Canada's largest Telecommunications companies as an analyst. At last count Ryan has traveled to over 30 countries and has written internationally published articles on indigenous status.

The Dangers of Moral Relativism
Presenter: Marianne Jennings
Sunday, February 2, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Temple Kol Ami, 15030 N 64th St, Scottsdale

The actions always seem justified – "It's not lying if you have a good reason." "It's not stealing if they owed you money anyway." "It's just this one time." "The rules are not always right." We make our decisions based on circumstances, not ethical principles. Circumstances, emotions, pressures, and often personal concerns dictate our choices. But there are consequences to flexible ethical standards – for everyone. A look at the pervasiveness of circumstantial ethics, their costs, and how to avoid their either/or tug.

About the Presenter
Emeritus Professor Marianne Jennings taught legal and ethical studies in business at the W.P. Carey School of Business (Arizona State University) from 1977-2015. She also served at ASU as an associate dean, director of the Executive MBA program, and director of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics. She was inducted into the WP Carey School of Business Faculty Hall of Fame in 2020.

Professor Jennings has published hundreds of articles in academic, professional, and trade journals. She was named a Top 100 Thought Leader by Trust Across America and one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere. She has served a contributing editor for Ethikos, the Real Estate Law Journal, and Perspectives. In 2022 and 2023, her columns on ethical perspectives received bronze excellence awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

The twelfth editions of her Real Estate Law, Business: Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment, and Anderson’s Business Law were published in 2021. Business Ethics: Case Studies and Readings (10th Ed.) was published in 2022. Her book. Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse, is used an audit tool and a primer on corporate culture.

The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and Washington Post have published her work. She has served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Arizona Commission on Character. She served on the Arizona Public Service board from 1987 through 2000. She currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators.

The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton
Presenter: Andrew Porwancher
Sunday, February 23, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Congregation Kehillah, 5858 E Dynamite Blvd, Cave Creek

Andrew Porwancher debunks a string of myths about the origins of this founding father to arrive at a startling conclusion: Hamilton was probably raised Jewish in his Caribbean youth. With a detective’s persistence and a historian’s rigor, Porwancher reveals the untold story of our most enigmatic founding father —and its revolutionary consequences for understanding the republic he fought to create.

About the Presenter
Andrew Porwancher is a professor of history at ASU. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has held research fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford. He is the author of The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, published by Princeton University Press and winner of the Journal of the American Revolution Book-of-the-Year Award. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Porwancher's first book, The Devil Himself, was adapted for the stage in Ireland.

Nosh with Micah: Manischewitz Reimagined
Presenters: Micah Siva
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Pardes Jewish Day School, 12753 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale

Sweet Kosher wine is synonymous with Jewish holidays. This program celebrates the rich cultural heritage and culinary applications of Jewish cuisine using Kosher wines in unexpected ways. From Sunday brunch, to festive cocktails, and savory dishes, learn cooking techniques that enhance flavors and bring out the best in kosher wine, while exploring the history of kosher wine in America.

Recipes:
Manischewitz Blueberry Compote
Mulled Manischewitz
Wine Poached Pears
Sweet & Sour meatballs OR Glazed Tofu

About the Presenter
Micah Siva is a trained chef, registered dietitian, recipe writer, and food photographer, specializing in modern Jewish cuisine. After graduating from the Natural Gourmet Institute of Health & Culinary Arts, she pursued a career in nutrition and later worked for global brands, media outlets, and publications in food media. She shares Jewish-inspired, plant-forward recipes through her blog, Nosh with Micah.

The Jews of Spain: Past, Present, Future?
Presenter: Moisés Hassán-Amselém
Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 4:30 PM
Chabad of North Phoenix, 22044 N 44th St Suite 100, Phoenix

The history of the Jews of Spain is a remarkable story that begins in the remote past and continues today. For over 1300 years, Sepharad was the home to a large Jewish community noted for its richness and virtuosity. From their arrival to the Golden Age, they enjoyed under Islam and Christianity. Spanish Jewry thrived for many centuries. That all came to a thundering conclusion in the 15th century with the creation of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478 and the final expulsion in 1492. Their absence prevailed for hundreds of years until they began to trickle back to the iberian peninsula in the 19th century. Today, the Jewish community there is still small in size but always growing in stature. Will the growing tide of Anti-Semitism in Europe turn back the clock on Jewish progress in Spain? Join us for this interesting talk that traces the last 2,000 ears of Spanish Jewry and whether their future will be as turbulent, albeit successful, as their past.

About the Presenter
Moisés Hassán-Amselém, born in Seville of Moroccan and Algerian heritage, is an honorary lecturer on Holocaust-Shoa Studies and Antisemitism at the University "Pablo de Olavide" in Seville, Spain. He also collaborates on a regular basis with “Universidad Loyola”, a private institution owned by the Jesuits with campuses in Sevilla and Cordoba.

Raised in a very traditional Sephardic family, he was an exchange student in California during his senior year in High School. After his graduation, Moises returned to Spain and attended University of Seville, obtaining a law degree in 1995, and later, a Master in European Union Law (known in Spanish as “Derecho Comunitario y de las Instituciones Europeas”). However, and after several years working in many different fields (Telecom industry, legal consultancy, scrap metal industry....) in 2010 he decided to make a complete career change and focus on Jewish studies and mainly in the history of the Jews in Spain and the Sephardic diaspora.

In addition to his role at the Universities "Pablo de Olavide" and “Loyola de Andalucia”, Moisés is also involved in informal Jewish education and lectures all over the globe about these topics. He has also led several programs to Spain, Portugal & Morocco as Scholar in Residence.

Moreover, Moisés participates in a weekly program called Ruta Mediterránea, broadcasted by Canal Sur Radio y Televisión, the public TV and Radio station in Andalusia, where he provides the Jewish approach to the different topics that the program treats every week.