jewish and israel studies

Yaniv Feller is the Jeremy Zwelling Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and assistant professor of religion. Feller specializes in Jewish philosophy, Jewish-Christian relations, post-Holocaust theology, material culture and museum studies. His current book project is titled "Leo Baeck and the Tradition of Dialogical Apologetics.” Prior to Wesleyan, Feller worked as an exhibition curator for the new permanent exhibition project at the Jewish Museum Berlin. In this Q&A, Feller speaks about his time working at a renowned Jewish museum, the importance of incorporating the lives and histories of objects into his courses and woodworking. Q: You just joined the faculty at Wesleyan this year.…

On Oct. 14, Wesleyan’s Jewish community constructed a sukkah near the Center for the Arts. The dwelling provides a shelter for students to celebrate the festival of Sukkot. For eight days, students study, socialize, mediate, eat, host events and occasionally sleep in the religious building. (more…)

(Story by Lily Baggott '15) Last spring, filmmaker David Fisher presented his film, Six Million and One, at the Wesleyan Israeli Film festival. After viewing Fisher’s film and presentation, Director of the Center for Jewish Studies Dalit Katz subsequently invited the filmmaker to teach a course as a scholar in residence this spring. Currently the Silverberg Scholar in Residence at the Center for Jewish Studies, Fisher teaches When Private Meets Public, a course focusing on Israeli documentaries. “[In this course,] I’m trying to decipher with my students the development and consequently the success of the Israeli documentary films worldwide,” Fisher…

In early March, Magda Teter, the Jeremy Zwelling Professor of Jewish Studies, gave the opening talk at a symposium in Poland on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration "Nostra Aetate" issued by the Second Vatican Council, which changed the tone and relations between Jews and the Catholic Church. Teter spoke on "Continuity and Change in 'Nostra Aetate.'" Teter also is chair and professor of history, professor of medieval studies. Teter has been involved in Jewish-Catholic dialogue in Poland for the past three years. Her research into post-Reformation Europe led her to meet with a bishop in the southeastern Polish town of Sandomierz, a town long…

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The Center for Jewish Studies is presenting the Eighth Annual Ring Family Wesleyan University Israeli Film Festival. Five contemporary Israeli films and one television show will be screened; each will be commented on by an expert, including a script writer, a film professor, a director, a critic and others. All screenings are at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema in the Center for Film Studies. Admission is free. Below are a list of films, dates and speakers: Feb. 12 Hunting Elephants, commented on by Isaac Zablocki, director of film programs at the JCC in Manhattan. (more…)

On Oct. 19, members of Wesleyan's Jewish community gathered to celebrate a fundraising effort spearheaded by David Rabban '71 to raise gifts in memory of Rabbi George Sobelman. Sobelman was Wesleyan's first Jewish Chaplain from 1969-1973. In addition, the Sobelman family is donating 43 volumes of the Babylonian Talmud with translation and commentary by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to Olin Library. Rabbi Sobelman died Sept. 11, 2010 in Rehovot, Israel. During his time at Wesleyan Sobelman taught Modern Israeli Literature. The event was hosted by University Relations. (Photos by John Van Vlack) (more…)

Historians will tell you that the past can often have a direct and profound effect on the present age. Take Magda Teter, for example. A scholarly probe into post-Reformation Europe recently led the professor of history and director of Jewish Studies at Wesleyan to an event that may have changed the course of Jewish and Christian relations in Poland. “This is how scholars can sometimes play a role in getting people to talk to each other,” she said. “It didn’t start that way, but that was the good result.” Sandomierz, a sleepy Renaissance town in southeast Poland, (now known in…

Magda Teter, the Jeremy Zwelling Professor of Jewish Studies, professor of history, professor of medieval studies, is the co-editor of a book titled, Jewish-Christian Relations in History, Memory, and Art: European contet for the paintings in the Sandomierz Cathedral, published in Polish by Wydawnictwo Diecezjalne, Sandomierz in 2013. A large painting known as Infanticidium on the western wall of the Cathedral church in Sandomierz, Poland depicting scenes of Jews killing Christian children, has been frequently viewed as an example of Polish anti-Semitism and a troubling symbol of Jewish-Catholic relations. The painting became a site of memory (lieu de mémoire), crystalizing…

Seven films, all with English subtitles, will be screened during the annual Israeli Film Festival this spring. The festival aims to educate and explore the richness, diversity and creativity of Israeli culture as witnessed through the flourishing of contemporary Israeli cinema. Each film screening is followed by a guest speaker or Wesleyan faculty who comments on the film from a particular perspective. FIlms this year include Fill the Void, Wherever You Go, Welcome and our Condolences, Zaytoun, By Summer’s End, Six Million and One, Back by Popular Demand: Eyes Wide Open. Films run every Thursday at 8 p.m. from Jan. 30 to March 6 in the Goldsmith…

Former Curator Feller Expert on Jewish Philosophy, Museum Studies

Sukkah Constructed to Celebrate Jewish Holiday

Filmmaker Fisher is Silverberg Scholar in Residence at the Center for Jewish Studies

Teter’s Talk Opens Symposium on 50th Anniversary of Vatican II Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate”

Jewish Community Makes Hamantaschen Cookies to Celebrate Purim Holiday

Eighth Annual Israeli Film Festival Begins

Jewish Community Celebrates the Life of Wesleyan’s First Chaplain

Jewish Community Celebrates Rosh Hashanah with Shofar Factory

Students Bake Matzo Outdoors in Honor of Passover

Symposium in Poland Encourages Jewish-Christian Dialogue

Teter Co-Edits Book on Jewish-Christian Relations in Art

Explore Israeli Culture during Spring Film Festival