2021 Fall

“Serves No Purpose: Spinoza’s Denaturalization of Sovereignty,” with Dr. Gilah Kletenik

For our third BUJS Forum of the year, Dr. Gilah Kletenik, a Postdoctoral Associate at the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, spoke about Spinoza and the “denaturalization of sovereignty,” the subject of her current book project Sovereignty Disrupted: Spinoza and the Disparity of Reality. In her talk, titled “Serves No Purpose: Spinoza’s Denaturalization of […]

The Climate Crisis: A Catalyst for Cooperation with Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed & Dr. David Lehrer

On November 10th, 2021, the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies hosted a well-attended hybrid event with The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a leading environmental studies and research institute in the Middle East. ​​The Arava Institute houses accredited academic programs, research centers, and international cooperation initiatives focusing on environmental concerns and challenges.  In a […]

“The Human Rights Legacy of Elie Wiesel” with Elisha Wiesel

On November 8, 2021, Mr. Wiesel delivered the last of the 2021 Elie Wiesel Memorial Lectures in a speech dedicated to the memory of his father, Nobel laureate, long-time BU Professor in the Humanities, and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. Elisha Wiesel started his lecture by reminding the audience that to understand his father’s legacy; one […]

“Middle Eastern Post-Conflict, Cross-Border Environmental Cooperation: The Work of the Arava Institute,” Featuring Dr. David Lehrer

The 2021/22 Boston University Jewish Studies Research Forum (BUJS Forum), opened on Thursday, October 21, 2021, with a lecture by Dr. David Lehrer.  In his presentation titled “Middle Eastern Post-Conflict, Cross-Border Environmental Cooperation: The Work of the Arava Institute,” David Lehrer spoke about the work of the Arava Institute. In his talk, Lehrer specifically focused […]

The Jewish Human Rights Legacy with Rabbi Sharon Brous

In her talk titled “We Belong to Each Other: a Jewish Framework for a Just Society,” Rabbi Sharon Brous spoke on October 6, 2021, about the foundation of the Jewish commitment to human rights in the Torah. She argued that the story of the Exodus from Egypt, a source of hope in the darkest hours […]

Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies’ Open House

On Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies celebrated the start of the 2021-22 academic year by hosting its annual Open House. This event offered a unique opportunity for new and continuing students to meet faculty and staff members and ask any questions they had in real-time. Additionally, students were provided […]