Our Chicago Regional J Street Clergy & Communal Professional Gathering will be held at Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue (1224 Dempster Street, Evanston, IL 60202). Program details and information will be emailed to you before the event.
If you have any questions or experience any technical difficulties attempting to register, please get in touch with Emily Kaiman at [email protected].
Wednesday, March 26 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6pm – 7pm | Registration Open | |||
| 7pm – 8pm | Dinner and Welcome by Rabbi Andrea London. | |||
| 8pm | Keynote Address from Amb. Rabbi David Saperstein What It Means to Be ‘Pro-Israel’ in America Today |
|||
Thursday, March 27 |
||||
| 8:30am | Breakfast & Roundtables Conversations with J Street Staff | |||
| 9:30 – 11am | Perspective from journalist Barak Ravid A Path to Peace |
|||
| 11am – 12:30pm | Safeguarding Democracy Speaker TBD |
|||
| 12:30 – 1:30pm | Lunch. | |||
| 1:30pm | Professional Development Training with the One America Movement Rabbi Fred Reeves |
|||
| 4pm | Closing Remarks | |||
Rabbi David Saperstein serves as Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy for the Union for Reform Judaism (his portfolio includes Israel policy issues) and Director Emeritus of the Religious Action Center. Described by The Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” and by Newsweek Magazine in 2009 as the most influential rabbi in America, for 40 years Saperstein directed the Center, representing the Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the Administration. He later served as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (2015-2017) and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (2019-2020). An attorney, he taught both church-state law and Jewish law for 38 years at Georgetown University Law Center and at GU’s School of Foreign Service and its Center for Jewish Civilization.
Barak Ravid is a political reporter and Middle East expert for Axios. He is also a CNN political and foreign policy analyst and writes for Walla News in Israel. For almost 20 years, Barak covered extensively the Middle East – mainly Israel’s foreign relations and national security policy in addition to its political system. Covering the U.S.-Israel relationship, The Iran nuclear crisis, The Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the Middle East during the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations in America and the Olmert and Netanyahu governments in Israel Barak has reported from more than 30 capitals in 5 continents, published numerous scoops which influenced foreign policy and drove the debate in Washington, Jerusalem and across Europe and the Middle East.
Rabbi Andrea London is a nationally recognized Jewish leader who has served at Beth Emet since 2000 and was named the congregation’s Senior Rabbi in July 2010
Social justice activism is an integral part of Rabbi London’s rabbinate. She has led several social action trips, including two congregational trips to hurricane-devastated areas on the Gulf Coast, Rabbi London is committed to continuing the work of racial justice.
Rabbi London has long promoted learning, dialogue and action on Israel and Zionism. At her initiative, Beth Emet raised more than $80,000 to aid Israelis seeking refuge during the 2006 Lebanon war and was a leader in local efforts to promote the 2003 Geneva Initiative crafted by Israeli and Palestinian politicians and diplomats.
Rabbi Frederick Reeves is the Director of Jewish Programs at the One America Movement, whose mission is to organize faith leaders to eliminate toxic polarization in American society.
Fred served pulpits in Atlanta and Chicago before coming to the One America Movement. He also was the president of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Interfaith Council, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis. In those roles, he has been active Jewishly and across faith lines working to bring positive change to our society.
Fred graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in French Literature. He completed a Master’s in Hebrew Letters and received rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Disclaimer
The J Street Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization. The total cost of goods and services for each ticket is $100. Donor Advised Funds (DAF) are not allowed to be used for payments where goods and services are provided.
Be sure to scroll within the module to see all available ticket options. If the ticket module does not load you can register for the event by clicking on this direct link here.