Past program. Recordings from this series can be found on the Katz Center’s YouTube channel. 

7:30 pm ET
FREE. Register here to receive Zoom link.

This program is part of “Jews and the America to Come” series presented by Penn’s Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

The year 2020 has been a transformative one for American society, but what is it becoming?
Even as the country struggles with a pandemic and massive unemployment, many Americans have at the same time been newly awakened to racial injustice and economic inequality. Much of the change now underway has been tragic; some of it is hopeful; and the combination may yet produce a very different America.The aim of this online series is to draw on the insights of scholarship to explore the implications of all these changes for American Jews—their role in the changes underway, and/or the stake they have in them as a community. Through presentations by experts from the fields of Jewish Studies, Religious Studies and Political Theory, the series will address the implications for Jews of the #Metoo movement, the continuing struggle against racism, the prospects for freedom of speech, the fight against economic injustice, and the future of America’s relationship with Israel.No one can be certain about what the future brings, but in certain ways, the future is already here. The aim of this series is to encourage reflection about the America to come, and what Jews can do to help shape it.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs’ career is distinguished by a combination of leadership, intellectual engagement, and an abiding passion for justice. In this talk, she will reflect on the Jewish community’s role in America’s ongoing and mounting struggle with economic inequality.