JPPI’s 2017 Structured Jewish World Dialogue
Jerusalem and the Jewish People: Unity and Division
Project Heads: Shmuel Rosner and John Ruskay
Contributors: Noah Slepkov and Chaya Ekstein
Editors: Rami Tal and Barry Geltman
The Jewish People Policy Institute’s 2017 Dialogue process Jerusalem and the Jewish People: Unity and Division included a number of key research components: a comprehensive survey and in-depth analysis of background literature on definitions and interpretations of Judaism, and on collective identity in our time; several dozen seminars in communities throughout the world, some of which were facilitated by JPPI moderators while others were facilitated locally; distribution of a questionnaire to all discussion group participants; reading and analyzing opinion articles from all over the world on this topic; analysis of the Dialogue survey data and written seminar summaries; and data from JPPI’s 2017 Pluralism in Israel Survey.
Materials produced by the Institute in advance of this year’s Dialogue process included:
- A background report prepared prior to the seminars;
- A PowerPoint presentation to be shown at the seminars, and detailed instructions for moderators on how to utilize the presentation;
- A questionnaire that was distributed to all the discussion group participants (attached above);
- An interim report, presented to Mr. Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem, in May.
Below is a list of the communities that took part in the Dialogue process:
Communities that held seminars facilitated by JPPI fellows
| Seminar location/ Organizing body | Seminar Coordinator, Moderator & Note-taker | Seminar dates | Number of participants |
| Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, USA | Coordinator: David Shtulman
Moderator & Note-taker: Shmuel Rosner |
April 25, 2017 | 24 (2 groups) |
| JUF – Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, USA | Coordinator: Elissa Polan
Moderator & Note-taker: Shmuel Rosner |
April 26, 2017 | 36 |
| Jewish Federation of Cleveland, USA | Coordinator: Erika Rudin-Luria
Moderator: John Ruskay, Bruce Goodman, |
March 30, 2017 | 70 (8 groups) |
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, USA | Coordinators: Jacob Allen and Jennifer Levin
Moderator & Note-taker: Shmuel Rosner |
April 27, 2017 | 13 |
| Federation CJA | 15 | ||
| UJA-Federation of New York, USA | Coordinator: Orly Harel | 32 (4 groups) | |
| Jewish Theological Seminary, NY, USA | Moderators: JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen and John Ruskay
Coordinator & Note-taker: Rabbi Burton Visotzky |
February 22, 2017 | 10 |
| Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, USA | Coordinator: Josephine Gon and Patrice Gilbert
Moderator: John Ruskay Note-taker: Patrice Gilbert |
March 13, 2017 | 13 |
| UJA Federation – Greater Toronto, Canada | 13 | ||
| Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, USA | Coordinator: Lynn Jatlow
Moderator: John Ruskay Note-taker: Naomi Rosenblatt |
April 5, 2017 | 31 |
| Wilmington, Delaware, USA | Coordinator: Russel Silberglied
Moderator & Note-taker: Shmuel Rosner |
March 23, 2017 | 14 |
| Conference of Presidents
Jerusalem, Israel |
Moderator & Note-taker: Shmuel Rosner | February 21, 2017 | 70 (9 groups) |
| Forum Hashlama – for promoting Haredi-Secular connections
Jerusalem, Israel |
Moderator: Shmuel Rosner
Coordinator & Note-taker: Inbal Hakman |
April 19, 2017 | 12 |
Communities that held locally facilitated seminars
| Seminar location/ Organizing body | Seminar Coordinator, Moderator & Note-taker | Seminar dates | Number of participants |
| State Zionist Council of South Australia
Adelaide, Australia |
Coordinator & Moderator: Alison Marcus
Note-taker: Merrilyn Ades |
April 2, 2017 | 13 |
| State Zionist Council of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia |
Moderator: John Searle
Coordinator & Note-taker: Tony Leverton |
May 21, 2017 | 24 |
| The Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo (Fisesp), The National Jewish Confederation (Conib), The Jewish Federation of Parana,
Curitiba, Brazil |
Coordinator & Note-taker: Alberto Milkewitz
Moderators: Sergio Napchan and Alberto Milkewitz Guest Speakers: Rabbi Pablo Berman and Israeli Consul Dori Goren |
March 19, 2017 | 33 |
| Zionist Federation of Australia – the Zionist Council of Victoria
Melbourne, Australia |
Moderator: John Searle
Coordinator & Note-taker: Ariella Birnbaum |
February 19, 2017 | 16 |
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA | Coordinator & Moderator: Rabbi Hayim Herring, Ph.D.
Note-taker: Terri Krivosha |
March 8, 2017 | 21 |
| Hebrew Union College, NY, USA | Coordinator, Moderator and Note-taker: Hillel Gruenberg | March 15, 2017 | 8 |
| Sutton Place Synagogue, NY, USA | Coordinator, Moderator & Note-taker: Rabbi Rachel Ain | April 25, 2017 | 9 |
| Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (CRIF)
Paris, France |
Coordinator, Moderator & Note-taker: Gil Taieb | January 22, 2017 | 15 |
| The Jewish Federation of the State of São Paulo (FISESP); The National Jewish Confederation (CONIB); The Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Coordinator & Note-taker: Alberto Milkewitz
Moderators: Sergio Napchan and Alberto Milkewitz Guest Speakers: Psychoanalyst Dr. Socrates Nolasco and Honorary Consul of Israel in Rio de Janeiro, Journalist Osias Wurman |
March 15, 2017 | 18 |
| The Jewish Federation of the State of São Paulo (FISESP); The National Jewish Confederation (CONIB)
São Paulo, Brazil |
Coordinator & Note-taker: Alberto Milkewitz
Moderators: Ruth Goldberg, Sergio Napchan and Alberto Milkewitz Guest Speakers: Historian Reuven Faingold and Israeli Consul Dori Goren |
March 8, 2017 | 29 |
| Jewish Federation of St. Louis, USA | Coordinator: Cyndee Levy Moderator: Barry Rosenberg
Note-taker: Rabbi Tracy Nathan |
March 13, 2017 | 10 |
| Zionist Federation of Australia
NSW, Sydney, Australia |
Moderator: Dr Ron Weiser AM
Coordinator & Note-taker: Hayley Hadassin |
May 15, 2017 | 20 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | Coordinator and Moderator: Guy Spier and Lory Spier
Note-taker: Julie Fogler |
April 6, 2017 | 8 |
Partial List of participants
JUF /Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
Seminar coordinator: Elissa Polan
Jewish Federation of Clevelandהפדרציה היהודית בקליבלנד
הפדרציה היהודית בדטרויט Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
Forum Hashlama – for promoting Haredi-Secular connections
פורום השלמה לקידום יחסי חרדים–חילונים
State Zionist Council of New South Wales הפדרציה הציונית בסידני
UJA – Federation of New York
Jewish Federation of Palm Beach
State Zionist Council of Queensland
Jewish Federation in Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ), CONIB
Jewish Federation on São Paolo (FISESP), CONIB
State Zionist Council of South Ausralia
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
State Zionist Council of Victoria
Jewish Community in Zurich
| Naama Baram
Elizabeth Kalmin Guy Spier |
Lori Spier
Avital Levi |