Unraveling Israeli Identity: Construct or Continuity?
Three Mondays
1-2 PM ET
June 3, 10, 17
This three-week course will explore the intriguing debate surrounding Israeli identity. Is it an invention? Or a continuation of Jewish traditions? Join us to analyze the works of three renowned Hebrew poets - Haim Nachman Bialik, Natan Alterman, and Yehuda Amichai. Their poetry will serve as a lens to unravel the complexities of Israeli identity and its ties to Jewish heritage. Don't miss this opportunity to engage in a thought-provoking journey of culture and identity.
Instructor: Rabbi Osnat Eldar
Location: Zoom Classroom
The Zoom link will be sent to all registrants before the first session.
REGISTRATION RATES
This course is offered on a sliding payment scale. Both tiers receive identical access to the program.
Standard Class Rate: $90
Base Rate: $60 (Subsidized by Haberman Institute donors)
All interested students are encouraged to join our classes. Should the registration rates become a barrier to enrollment, please reach out to our Executive Director, Matthew Silverman.
Rabbi Osnat Eldar has a B.A. in Hebrew Literature and Bible, an M.A. in Hebrew Literature and a teaching certificate in Bible Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 2020, she was ordained as a Reform Rabbi. She is the head of Eshkolot program in Cerem Institute, training students to teach Jewish Texts, and Rabbi of the Sulam Yaakov Congregation. She is working on a second Masters Degree at the University of Haifa in the field of Jewish Peoplehood Studies.
A poet, she has published two poetry books, Miriam’s Well and Bless Your Soul, and is currently working on her third book which has been affected by the threats of the current war.
She lives on Kibbutz Ramot Menashe in the north of Israel, with her husband, Daniel and three daughters, Naama, Hagar, and Adi.
Thank you to Americans for Ben-Gurion University for helping bring this course to our community.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is home to some of Israel’s most influential authors, both modern-day and its earliest Hebrew writers.
BGU’s Department of Hebrew Literature is cultivating the next generation of Israeli writers through its creative writing program taught by the country’s top writers, including Etgar Keret. It also houses the works of the “first Israelis,” writers who began their work after the establishment of the Jewish state, which reflect the historical and cultural currents of the time. They include renowned writer and BGU professor Amos Oz, Holocaust writer Aharon Appelfeld, poet Yehuda Amichai, and others. The archive is part of Heksherim – The Research Institute for Jewish and Israeli Literature and Culture.