Colloquium 2012
Held April 20-22, 2012 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in cooperation with Newberger Hillel at the University of Chicago and Fiedler Hillel at Northwestern University
How will the heirs of intermarriage change Judaism?
Can you be “Jewish and” rather than “Jewish or”?
Can the Jewish world handle “half-Jewish”?
Is being “half-Jewish” no big deal anymore?
Key Questions for Colloquium 2012
“Half Jewish?” is crucial to the future of American Judaism–an opportunity and a challenge. For two decades, half of the marriages involving Jews have been intercultural. Their children are now young adults, choosing their own identities. Who are they? How do they relate to being Jewish, and to both sides of their families? Is “half Jewish” like “half pregnant,” or can the Jewish world accept multiple identities in an open tent?
Secular Humanistic Judaism has served intercultural families with dignity, respect and understanding for decades. Our cultural Jewish identity meets the needs of many in this diverse community. The IISHJ’s Colloquium 2012: “Half Jewish?” The Heirs of Intermarriage was a fascinating exploration of the future of the Jewish people.
Experience Colloquium 2012
Colloquium 2012 was the first Colloquium to have selected sessions webcast live! Two of those presentations, Maya Escobar’s fascinating and provocative Keynote Address and Rabbi Adam Chalom’s inspirational concluding summation, are available for free viewing on our webcast page. See what you missed, or relive what you enjoyed!
Colloquium 2012 DVDs now available
Want to experience the entire Colloquium weekend, from Keynote to Conclusion? Now you can on 5 high-quality DVDs. All major sessions, panel discussions, graduation, and Shabbat and Havdallah celebrations are included. The complete Colloquium 2012 is available on DVD from the IISHJ (phone order or publication catalog) for only $29.95 – you can also purchase the 5-DVD set from Amazon.com.
Video for each Colloquium presentation and the following panel discussion is now available on the IISHJ YouTube channel. Click here to see the complete playlist.
Presenters
Dean for North America of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism and Rabbi of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in north suburban Chicago, IL. Editor of Jews and the Muslim World: Solving the Puzzle and contributor to the Chicago Tribune’s Religion Blog “The Seeker“, Rabbi Chalom is one of the leaders of world-wide Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Robert M. Beren Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Kansas. Author of Tradition in a Rootless World: Women Turn to Orthodox Judaism and co-editor of Feminist Perspectives in Jewish Studies. Her recent research has specialized on unaffiliated Jews and race and Jewish identity.
Latina-Jewish artist, Internet curator, activist and educator. Art exhibited in Israel, Chile, Germany, and the United States. Former Online Art Editor for Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture, currently Creative Director and Director of Member Engagement at New Futuro in Chicago, Illinois.
Associate Executive Director of Jewish Outreach Institute. Co-author of How to Raise Jewish Children…Even When You’re Not Jewish Yourself (2010). Board member of the Jewish Multiracial Network.
Director of Jewish University at the University of Chicago, former Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Newberger Hillel Center where he was named a Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence, International Hillel’s highest professional award. An AVI CHAI fellow in 2009, he previously taught law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, MN.
The first Israeli rabbi ordained by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. She is Dean of Tmura-IISHJ in Jerusalem and director of “The Secular Library,” publishing works on Judaism as culture. She has previously run a kibbutz educational system, and served as a Jewish Agency emissary to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Midwest Regional Director of Birthright Israel NEXT. Yoni has been involved in a variety of outreach efforts for many years, including the St. Louis Moishe House, Next Dor St. Louis, and the young adult blog The St. Lou Jew.
One, Both or Neither: “Half Jewish” Experiences
Panel discussion with several “heirs of intermarriage,” including voices from The Half-Jewish Network, Jews in All Hues, and The Chicago Interfaith Family School.