Zionism and the Challenge of Power

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman

The event was co-hosted by Temple Solel

About the Event: 

Israel did not only establish the homeland of the Jewish people. It established the Jewish people as a people of power. This power, which enabled Israel’s survival, and was a primary source of attraction and identification with Israel, is increasingly becoming a source of criticism and at times alienation. For Zionism to play a central role in contemporary Jewish life we need to develop a new narrative of power. How do we understand power? Is it a value? What is its role in 21st-century Jewish life?

About the Speaker:

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman is president of the Shalom Hartman Institute and holds the Kaufman Family Chair in Jewish Philosophy. He is the author of the highly regarded 2016 book, Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself, and is the host of “For Heaven’s Sake,” one of the most popular Jewish podcasts in North America.

Donniel is the founder of some of the most extensive education, training, and enrichment programs for scholars, educators, rabbis, and religious and lay leaders in Israel and North America. He is a prominent essayist, blogger, and lecturer on issues of Israeli politics, policy, Judaism, and the Jewish community.

He has a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy from Hebrew University, an M.A. in political philosophy from New York University, an M.A. in religion from Temple University, and a Rabbinic ordination from the Shalom Hartman Institute. Donniel is the author of The Boundaries of Judaism, co-author of Spheres of Jewish Identity, and co-editor of Judaism and the Challenges of Modern Life. His new book entitled Who Are The Jews and Who We Can Become, will be published by JPS in the fall of 2023.

He is married to Adina and is the father of three children and five grandchildren.