October 31: Night Witches: Jewish Combat Pilots in the Soviet Air Force during WWII
The real night witches were the first female combat pilots — who terrorized and destroyed Nazi military forces from the sky.
This seminar will introduce the world's first female combat pilots — the forgotten "night witches" of WWII.
Presenter: Beth Lilach, executive director of the Konar Center for Tolerance & Jewish Studies
Location: Golisano Academic Center 375
November 7: African Jewry: Indigeneous Africans, Jewish Lives
Dr. Marla Brettschneider is Professor of political and feminist theory at the University of New Hampshire. She has published more than 15 books in the field of Jewish Diversity Politics, using the co-constituted critical tools of feminist, queer, anti-racist, class-based, de-colonial, and Jewish theory.
Professor Marla Brettschneider discusses the diversity of indigenous Jewish communities living in various countries across Africa, and will present their histories, cultures, and identities along with the intersection of multilevel oppressions.
September 5: Mort Skirboll Memorial Lecture on Antisemitism
January 23: Annual Konar CHAI International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The speaker is Dr. Bernice Lerner, the daughter of a Bergen-Belsen Survivor and author of All the Horrors of War. Dr. Lerner will address the issues of liberation and remembrance.
February 1-7: UN Harmony Week: Including keynote speaker Ruth Messinger on Feb 1.
March 7-8: Seeking Solutions to Femicide and Misogynistic Violence in Hispanic and Latinx Communities. This interfaith, multinational conference will mark International Women's Day.
Sephardic Shabbat Discussion and Dinner: a short program on Spanish-language Jewry and a Shabbat service. Nov. 17
November Pogrom (Kristallnacht) Shabbat & Learn, November 10
Resilience Through Generations: Understand Multigenerational Trauma Through the Lens of Holocaust Survivors, November 2, 2023
The Konar Center for Tolerance & Jewish Studies partnered with the Jewish Federation of Rochester to bring a panel of speakers to Nazareth University discussing topics including: the role of social workers in the aftermath of the Holocaust; the framing of trauma in social work education; Rochester's 1st and 2nd generation survivors; and the effects of antisemitism and other forms of hatred on trauma.
Burma Summit II, Oct. 10
International Holocaust Remembrance Day: A Tribute to WWII Liberators, co-sponsored by CHAI. Speakers included descendants of American and Soviet soldiers. Held January 26, 2023, on campus.
Bridging the Black/Jewish Divide: A Dialogue: View the video recording. At a time when white supremacy is on the rise, hate speech has become normalized, and hate crimes against Blacks and Jews have reached an all-time high, we examine the complex history of these two groups in the United States and explore current day issues that serve as roadblocks to deep, trusting relationships. Professors Berlinblau and Johnson, authors of Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue, will unpack the myths, misconceptions, and shared history of these two minority groups and model effective dialogue that creates a foundation for understanding and allyship. Co-sponsored by the Konar Center for Tolerance & Jewish Studies, the Monroe County Bar Association and the Levine Center to End Hate. Held February 16, 2023, on campus.
Celebrating Passover & Ramadan (Iftar) with a Shared Dinner -- Intersecting Cultures of Sephardic Jews & Turkish Muslims: Food, Understanding, & Friendship. Co-sponsored with the Turkish Cultural Center. Held on March 28, 2023, on campus.
Racism and Antisemitism: Personal Memories and Political Reflections on the Struggle for Social Justice by Dr. Bettina Aptheker, distinguished professor emerita at the University of California-Santa Cruz, on her 60+ years as a civil rights activist from her leadership in the Free Speech Movement to countering today's white supremacy and neo-Nazism. Aptheker is a prolific author, renowned scholar and prominent advocate for social justice. Seminar for grad students, faculty, and staff: Archives: Segregation, Omission, Erasure and Finding Our Stories (view the video recording). And Main presentation (view the video recording).
Communists in Closets: Queering the History 1930s-1990s by Dr. Bettina Aptheker, distinguished professor emerita of feminist studies, University of California-Santa Cruz, will read from and discuss newest publication, Communists in Closets: Queering the History 1930s–1990s (2022).
The March: Bearing Witness to Hope is a study tour of Holocaust-related sites in Germany and Poland for undergraduate and graduate students. The trip, in partnership with Hobart and William Smith Colleges, is led by experienced faculty and employs expert international guides. This multicultural, interfaith trip will change your life.