Modern Judaism: Through the Lens of October 7

The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel was the worst massacre suffered by Jews since the Holocaust. Unleashing waves of anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the Jews’ right to a national homeland has been challenged; Israel stands accused as a colonialist, genocidal state denying the rights of native Palestinians.
Led by Dr Miri Freud-Kandel, this lecture series explores critical questions faced by various strands of Jewish life and thought in the aftermath of October 7, such as:
* How did we get to this point?
* How did Zionism emerge?
* What were the formative influences shaping modern Jewish identity construction?
* The French Revolution promised a society in which religious discrimination would be eliminated. How did Jews respond to the opportunities heralded by Emancipation?
* At what cost to Jewish life, faith, and thought?
* Against a centuries-old legacy of Christian anti-Judaism, Enlightenment thought seemed to promise new beginnings. How did that play out?
Type: Seminar Series
Series organiser: Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Timing: Mondays at 11am weeks 1-8 Michaelmas Term in Clarendon Institute
Organising department: Faculty of Theology and Religion

Talks:

Monday 21 October 2024 (2nd Week, Michaelmas Term)

Debates on Jewish eligibility for citizenship: shaping moves towards Reform
Date: 21 October 2024, 11:00 - 12:00 (Monday, 2nd week, Michaelmas 2024)
Speaker : Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Venue: Clarendon Institute, Walton Street OX1 2HG
Organiser: Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Monday 28 October 2024 (3rd Week, Michaelmas Term)

Judaism as a Religion: Reform Judaism in the shadow of universalism
Date: 28 October 2024, 11:00 - 12:00 (Monday, 3rd week, Michaelmas 2024)
Speaker : Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Venue: Clarendon Institute, Walton Street OX1 2HG
Organiser: Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Monday 4 November 2024 (4th Week, Michaelmas Term)

Orthodoxy: Same challenge, altered context. Judaism as more than a religion
Date: 4 November 2024, 11:00 - 12:00 (Monday, 4th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Speaker : Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Venue: Clarendon Institute, Walton Street OX1 2HG
Organiser: Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Editor: Miri Freud-Kandel