Fellowship Archive
In an historic move, for the first time since its inception in 1987, the MFJC chose Germany as the location for the 30th International Nahum Goldmann Fellowship.
The Fellowship was appropriately themed: “From Generation to Regeneration: Engaging Memory, Culture & Identity” and aimed to explore some of the issues arising from mass migration, rising nationalism and the role that the history and memory of the Holocaust plays within contemporary Jewish life.
Program
A large and diverse faculty of esteemed scholars from the United States, Israel and Europe engaged the Fellows in a series of challenging presentations and workshops. The program aimed to confront the reality of the receding memory of the ‘Shoah’, and locate it within the broader context of some of the challenges facing contemporary Jewish life. Sessions included:
Trauma & Transition: Return to Germany
Migration, Mobility & Memory
Are we a Global Jewish People?
Faculty
Prof. Yael Zerubavel, Professor of Jewish Studies & History, Rutgers University, USA
Dr. Steven Bayme, Director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department of the AJC and of the Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations, USA
Rabbi Prof. Ismar Schorsch, Past President, MFJC, Chancellor Emeritus, JTS and Herman Abromovitz Prof. of Jewish History
Prof. Steven Windmueller, Professor of Jewish Communal Service, Hebrew Union College, USA
Dr. Channa Pinchasi, Director, Be’eri School for Teacher Education at the Shalom Hartman Institute, Israel
Prof. Saul Berman,Professor of Jewish Studies, Stern College of Yeshiva University, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University School of Law, USA
Dr. Svetlana Jebrak, Scientific Associate, Department of International Affairs, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Germany
Prof. Eric Goldman, Adjunct professor of cinema at Yeshiva University, USA
Prof. Jonathan Schorsch, Professor of History, University of Potsdam and Founder & Creative Director, JASS – The Jewish Activism Summer School, Germany
MORE ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
The 30th International NGF had a very particular and powerful ethos and trajectory. The chosen location of Germany formed an integral part of the educational arc of the Fellowship. The faculty was selected very carefully, with world-renowned scholars engaging with the very complex issues of memory, identity and history. The Fellowship also included a visit to Bergen-Belsen and an evening hosted by the Hanover Jewish Community.
Video Gallery
Image Gallery
Testimonials
It was a wonderful week of learning and creating togetherness.
Oren Drori, USA
I have no doubt that this trip changed me forever. I would have never crossed paths with the majority of the participants, and for that I am truly grateful for having this opportunity.
Tali Cheses, USA
It is an honor and great privilege to learn, connect, and grow within an ever expanding network of mentors and friends all over the world.
Sienna Girgenti, USA
By sharing the experience with friends and co-workers, clear points of interest arise and I want to continue studying and deepen my knowledge about some issues related to Jewish life.
Gabriel Feldman, Argentina
I want to take the opportunity to once again thank everyone involved in delivering a powerful and meaningful way to engage with Jews from across our spectrum to butt heads together in a safe space where anything can be intellectually discussed and challenged.
William Nemesh, Australia
I thought SHabbat was wonderful and that the Fellowship managed to strike a balance between the various needs of the participants.
Isaac Landes, Israel
I felt so deeply inspired on a personal level to be celebrating Shabbat among young Jews from all over the world in Germany. It was one of the most powerful shabbos’s I have ever experienced.
Gabriela Mendelsohn, South Africa
It is a wonderful opportunity to break down perceived walls of difference and build new walls of commonalities.
Daniel Rosenbaum, New Zealand
I have no doubt that this trip changed me forever. I would have never crossed paths with the majority of the participants, and for that I am truly grateful for having this opportunity.
Tali Cheses, USA
The memorial service [At Bergen-Belsen] was extremely touching and I am very happy to have been able to share such a meaningful experience with the NGF group.
Diana Selechnik, Guatemala
If you would like to submit any photos or testimonials please contact us at ngf@mfjc.org
