Colloquium 2012: Half Jewish? The Heirs of Intermarriage

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?

“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.

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.

Maya Escobar -A “Half-Jewish” Life
This video begins with an introduction to Colloquium 2012: “Half Jewish?” The Heirs of Intermarriage by Rabbi Adam Chalom. Maya Escobar, a Latina-Jewish artist and activist, then presents her visual and performance art as a representation of her experience of being Jewis.

Key Questions for “Half Jewish?” The Heirs of Intermarriage
At the opening session of Colloquium 2012, Rabbi Adam Chalom explored the context and key questions for the adult children of Jewish intermarriage. Can you be Jewish AND rather than Jewish or? How will the heirs of intermarriage change Judaism?

Lynn Davidman – Which Half? Identity Formation for Children of Intermarriage
How do the children of intermarriage define their Jewish identity? Lynn Davidman, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, explores the internal process of this crucial demographic.

Paul Golin – An Optimistic Jewish Future
Paul Golin, Associate Executive Director of the Jewish Outreach Institute (www.joi.org) presents his vision of an optimistic Jewish future that celebrates the reality of intermarriage.

In Between: Emerging Adulthood, Shifting Identity
Yoni Sarason, Midwest Regional Director of Birthright Israel NEXT, and Dan Libenson, Director of jUChicago, explore the dynamics of young adult children of intermarriage and their connections (or disconnections) with the Jewish community.

“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.

Rabbi Sivan Malkin Maas – “Half Jewish,” Israel & the Jewish World
Rabbi Sivan Malkin Maas, Dean of Tmura-IISHJ (Israel), addresses the issues relating to the “heirs of intermarriage” from an Israeli perspective.

Rabbi Adam Chalom – The Power of “Half Jewish”
As the conclusion of Colloquium 2012, Rabbi Adam Chalom explores some of the lessons learned through the conference’s exploration of the “heirs of intermarriage.”

PRESENTERS

Rabbi Adam Chalom
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.

Professor Lynn Davidman
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.

Maya Escobar
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.

Paul Golin
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.

Dan Libenson
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.

Rabbi Sivan Malkin Maas
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.

Yoni Sarason
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.