CURA Conference on the Jewish Left
On May 3, 2024, members of the Boston University and larger Boston community gathered at Agganis Arena for the first of a series of conferences on The Jewish Left. Presented by the Institute for Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), the oldest center for the study of religion and world affairs in the United States, this all-day event invited academics, journalists, and organizers to speak about the historical and contemporary Jewish Left. Originally conceived as an intimate conference, CURA moved the event to Agganis Arena after registration skyrocketed. Despite a Friday event date on the eve of busy finals week, over four hundred attendees filled BU’s signature sports and entertainment arena for this academic occasion.
“It shows just how much interest there is around this topic,” said CURA director Jeremy Menchik. The conference drew an eager audience, including BU faculty and undergraduate and graduate students, as well as academics and organizers from around the Boston area. BU faculty and students played an active role in the discussion with faculty and undergraduates acting as moderators, posing poignant questions to each of the speakers. The event organizers stressed the importance of creating space for intergenerational conversations, encouraging participants to mingle and discuss the questions brought up during the conference with those from other age groups.
Speakers included Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies Shaul Magid from Dartmouth College, whose recent book, The Necessity of Exile, examines the relationship of Zionism, Diaspora, and Jewish identity and asks how exile might serve as a useful position from which to examine contemporary issues. Also present was Andy Izenson, Senior Legal Director of the Chosen Family Law Center and staff attorney at the LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic at Harvard Law School. Izenson discussed the assumed separation between definitions of Jewish identity as nationalist versus religious and emphasized the role of building connection within communities on a personal, rather than a state, level. Izenson also discussed the long-standing history of the Jewish Left, including the Jewish Labor Bund. Professor Atalia Omer (Notre Dame) offered up an international perspective on the Jewish Left, reimagining what it means to talk about Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, Jewish history in a time of ethnic and religious tension.
Representatives from media outlets and NGOs on the Jewish Left included Daniel May, publisher of Jewish Currents magazine, who discussed how to best cultivate conversation within a political community and build spaces for productive organization. A panel featuring representatives from Boston Worker’s circle, Jewish Voice for Peace, and If Not Now highlighted the role of grassroots organizing and direct action on the Jewish Left. The organizers once again emphasized the importance of working across generational lines.
The day ended with a presentation by poet and academic Irena Klepfisz, who interweaves personal experience and history in her poetry and her work as a Yiddishist. Born in Poland in 1941, Klepfisz discussed growing up in a community deeply impacted by the Holocaust and Yiddish culture as a culture of resistance. She stressed the importance of education on the Holocaust and history more broadly to build a better future.
Director Jeremy Menchik expressed his enthusiasm for the impact of the event and noted that CURA will continue to provide impactful programming at the intersection of politics, culture, and religion. The Center encourages students, faculty, and others to seek out spaces designated for research and academic discourse related to these contemporary challenges.