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JCC Greater Boston

JCC Greater Boston is the primary destination for Jewish engagement, a hub of learning and celebration, and a connector to Jewish life. Whether it's in an early learning classroom, on the fields of one of many camps, or on stage at a public lecture, the JCC is a place where individuals and families encounter Jewish ideas and values. Serving more than 50,000 people in the Greater Boston area, the JCC offers innovative programs for children, youth, and adults.

http://www.bostonjcc.org/Home.aspx

Israel: 50 Years After the 1967 War

Wed, May 3, 2017

Since the Six Day War, history has unfurled in the Middle East at a rapid pace, impacting generations of Israelis, Palestinians and, indeed, the entire region. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer will moderate a discussion among several Israeli thought leaders and activists on the social, political and religious challenges - and opportunities - for Israel in the next 50 years. Co-presented by CJP and JCC Greater Boston as a program of the Comm**UNITY** Israel Dialogue and the Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations Discussion Series. Photo: [Six day war. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin, Gen. Rehavam Zeevi (R) And Gen. Narkis in the old city of Jerusalem.](http://http://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05 ) CC BY-SA 3.0, via [Wikimedia Commons](http://http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

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JCC Greater Boston
Cyber Trolls, Death Threats and the First Amendment

Wed, Mar 15, 2017

In October 2016, Politico reporter Hadas Gold wrote an article about the presidential campaign and was met with a litany of Naziesque death threats. She received a photoshopped image of herself with a bloody bullet hole to her forehead and a yellow “Jude” star, as Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany, on her chest. From journalists and activists, to doctors and politicians, death threats, and particularly anti-Semitic and anti-women cyber threats, have become common fodder on social media. The mechanisms of the internet – its global reach, immediacy and anonymity – have exposed an ugly underbelly of targeted hate. As they consider user rights and First Amendment freedoms, social media platforms are grappling with whether to police, or even prosecute, these threats. On the internet, the push and pull between hate speech and freedom of speech reflects a new frontier in the pursuit of an ethical society. Is there a road back to civility? How far can the First Amendment be reasonably stretched? Should journalists and others under threat simply double down, or is self-censorship the way forward? (Photo: [Pixbay](https://pixabay.com/en/hacker-hacking-cyber-security-hack-1944688/ ""))

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The Future of Gender

Mon, Dec 5, 2016

What is gender and how do we relate to it? There are entire cultures for which gender is a different conversation than it is in the US. Nine countries – Germany, Australia and India among them – allow their citizens to have non-binary gender identities on legal documents: male, female, other. And yet, in today’s American cultural landscape, the conversation about the human rights and dignities of transgender individuals seems to be just beginning. This panel will look at the fluidity of gender through many lenses – historical, cultural, biological – to understand how societal bias takes root. We will look particularly at the Jewish relationship with gender identity. Ultimately we will ask: What is the future of gender? How do we speak of gender for future generations – as parents, as Jews, as a society – so that all members of the community can live fully as who they are, and every voice can be included? Image Credit: [Wiki Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Symbol,_Johannes_Jansson.jpg "")

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JCC Greater Boston
Mind the Gap: Income Inequality in America

Mon, May 2, 2016

Seven years after the depths of the financial crisis, Wall Street and the 1% have mostly recovered. Indeed, it was recently reported that the chairman of JPMorgan Chase received a 35% raise in compensation to $27 million. Yet wages for the ordinary American have barely risen at all. Indeed, adjusted for inflation, the typical American household does not earn as much as it did in the year 2000. As Madeline Albright put it, reducing income inequality is no longer just an economic issue; it is a "moral imperative." Or is it? The issue of inequality is front and center in the 2016 presidential campaign as it moves past the primaries and into the general election. A panel consisting of **Dean Baker**, **N. Gregory Mankiw**, and **Dr. Kim Weeden**, all experts from various persuasions, discusses what inequality means for America and how the country should address it. Author and former _Wall Street Journal_ reporter **Roger Lowenstein** moderates the discussion. (Image: [Flickr/L. Whittaker](https://www.flickr.com/photos/angelic0devil6/4389776934/in/photolist-7FUKKd-91Eui1-btRkxC-hpuAon-94EcJg-ftUwAV-phpE8Y-3UN759-6LfMVo-e12Hdi-tEsAP-dz6k4z-3Lbvy-pqpane-62fiTf-r1gweX-bfvXv4-gc64SQ-6jbUjk-5SsJWe-91Vpww-edmf1y-m1NfMs-gRrKL6-9mMqHx-6jY96C-a7Vbsy-7Pn9tH-nC1F2J-3brkWN-7sS39E-9hR3h5-4dmoDJ-fVcWta-m1NdDu-8zvFtT-qD9BEp-6RhZJg-8MBDdG-atFWGp-edfASk-71c89W-7Vu6cq-813G9V-9vPscZ-7G1hpd-6ZJwL2-ecAE7i-9vSuVQ-6fuRdh "Oh dear me income inequality"), image cropped)

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JCC Greater Boston
Scapegoating: And Then They Came For Me

Wed, Mar 16, 2016

Front and center in the news during the most unusual 2016 campaign for U.S. President was the growing rhetoric of hate and xenophobia. Digging beyond emotional reactions, it is critical to take a step back and get a broader view of how fear, blame and hate speech impact people through a constructive and historical lens. Drawing on the experiences and analysis of a diverse panel of speakers, this event takes a look at the personal, the policy, and the politics surrounding this complex issue. The panel includes **Dr. Donna Hicks**, a bestselling author, professor of conflict resolution, and facilitator of diplomatic dialogues in the Middle East, Libya, and Syria; **Jasmina Dervisevic-Cesic**, an author, businesswoman, and human rights advocate who was the first Bosnian refugee granted permission to seek medical care in America; and **Ken Gude**, a Senior Fellow with the National Security Team at the Center for American Progress and expert on the intersection of law and security in the fight against terrorism. **Dr. Aleisa Fishman**, historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., moderates as the panelists offer their perspectives and their visions for the future. (Image: [Flickr/Ejaz Asi](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejazasi/255484340/in/photolist-ozqAq-7Jue7-cvmexQ-7AnJ5K-5Rpp1P-5Rpp28-6gqzJf-5PBdWy-5PHHyp-5PHxxr-5PB9wh-5PwMX4-5PBn2G-6YJDrj-9u7fUZ-5PwUNt-5PBp1L-9g55dZ-cvPfJb-6ehLSG-5PBkq3-6YJEnh-6YEBZK-6YJD4E-6YJE2E-5PwYYB-5PBqUQ-ptAqZt-dvVYje "Scapegoating Pic"))

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JCC Greater Boston
Anti-Semitism Today in Europe

Thu, Nov 19, 2015

This past year, worldwide outrage followed the events at Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market in Paris. As #JeSuisCharlie flooded the twitter-sphere, the supermarket attack brought European anti-Semitism into sharp focus. It is a critical time to look at the challenges facing world Jewry. Is anti-Semitism on the rise? What can be done about it? And, perhaps most hauntingly, are the Jews of Europe still safe? Image: A member of the French Jewish community holds a sign reading in French 'I am Jewish from France' during rally after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Jerusalem on January 11, 2015. (GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty)

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Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations

Partner:

JCC Greater Boston
How Judges Judge: The Role of Personal Values in Judicial Decisions

Tue, May 19, 2015

Do judges bring their personal histories to bear when ruling on cases? With rulings that can change lives, shift policy or alter the course of history, what is the role of personal experience and perspective in judicial decisions? (Photo: [Pixbay](http://pixabay.com/en/justice-judgmental-justitia-justitia-9016/ ""))

Forum Network

Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations

Partner:

JCC Greater Boston
Journalists in Jeopardy: Risking it All to Get the Story

Tue, Apr 7, 2015

Journalists face extraordinary peril to report on the prevailing issues of the day. Facing a global attack on their livelihoods – and sometimes their very lives – journalists are being forced to recalibrate and reassess. Even in this digital age, there is no lens that can replace human observation – on the ground, in the trenches and on the front lines of the war for information. What challenges do today’s journalists face, and how has their industry changed over the decades? Why are today’s journalists more at risk, and why are they risking it all to bring stories to light? How can investigative reporting survive in this challenging and often dangerous environment? Moderated by The World's Editor Aaron Schachter. (Photo: Osprey plates from body armor by [Coliningrad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Osprey_plates_COB2009.jpg#/media/File:Osprey_plates_COB2009.jpg ""))

Forum Network

Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations

Partner:

JCC Greater Boston

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