Israel and Overseas Committee

By Myra Benedikt, Chairperson

For December, the Israel and Overseas Committee (IOC) has engaged Dr. Scott Lasensky, a lecturer at University of Maryland’s Center for Jewish Studies and Institute for Israel Studies.

Lasensky served as a senior policy advisor on Israel, the Middle East and Jewish affairs in the Obama Administration from 2011-2017, serving in Washington and in Israel. He represented U.N. Ambassadors Susan E. Rice and Samantha J. Power in the interagency policymaking process. In Israel, he served with Ambassador Daniel Shapiro and was involved in all aspects of the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship.

Besides briefing us on the fluid situation in Israel, Lasensky will share the latest developments and debates about a big idea — Jewish Peoplehood — which is seeking to reshape Jewish belonging, cross-communal relations and Israel-Diaspora ties. Lasensky is senior advisor with ENTER: the Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, an initiative co-founded by philanthropist Charles Bronfman that is devoted to ensuring the Jewish people remain a global community that is united, secure and inclusive.

Lasensky’s topic will be: Can 'Jewish Peoplehood' Save the Jewish People? In an age of polarization, disruption and fractures erupting all across the Jewish world, can the idea and practice of Jewish Peoplehood, a uniquely Jewish American ideology, meet the challenges World Jewry face today?

Please join us Dec. 4, 7 p.m. at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples. Registration for this free program is found at www.jewishnaples.org.

Please save these dates

• On Monday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m., we will bring Jonathan Ornstein, the CEO of JCC Krakow, to the community.

• On Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m., Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum, will join us to discuss Israel in this Moment: A Crisis of Policy and Politics.

• On Thursday, March 28 at 2:30 p.m., our own Karen Ezrine will update us on the medical innovations happening at Hadassah Hospital. Ezrine is chair of Hadassah International.

These free programs for the entire community are brought to you by the IOC of the JFGN.

The mission of the Israel and Overseas Committee (IOC) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is to educate about, engage with and advocate for Israel and global Jewry. The committee provides opportunities for our Naples community to experience Israel and Jewish life around the world through a variety of events, lectures, cultural programs and missions.