University Synagogue Podcasts

Friday February 17, 2012 - Valerie Plame Wilson

Valerie Plame spoke about her haunting betrayal by the government as described in the book and film “Fair Game.” Valerie Plame Wilson, former covert CIA agent, and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide “Scooter” Libby, and presidential adviser Karl Rove, claiming that they had conspired to destroy Plame Wilson's career by leaking her identity to the media. Wilson discredited the claim that Saddam Hussein was pursuing a nuclear weapons program by seeking to obtain uranium from Niger. Shortly after Wilson publicized his views, columnist Robert Novak identified Plame Wilson as a CIA agent.

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Friday January 27, 2012 - Clive Lawton

British Jewish leader, social activist and educator Clive Lawton spoke on “The Truth About Europe And The Jews.” Clive Lawton,longtime commentator on the Jewish scene and lead columnist for the London Jewish News, will present an overview of trends in the Jewish world and discuss whether things are getting better or worse for Jews. Mr. Lawton is a founder and Senior Consultant to Limmud, the internationally renowned Jewish Adult Education movement, and a scholar-in-residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. He is on the faculties of the European Centre for Leadership Training and the London School of Jewish Studies, a patron of the Jewish AIDS Trust, on the Editorial Board of Jewish Renaissance and a trustee of the Jewish Community Centre of London. He has recently published books on the ethics of six world religions, the Holocaust and Hiroshima.

 

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Friday December 9, 2011- Peter C. Goldmark

Former Rockefeller Foundation President  Peter C. Goldmark spoke on "Time To Get It Right: Climate, Energy and Security Policy in the 21st Century.” Peter Goldmark currently works as an independentconsultant in the areas of philanthropy,environmental policy, international affairs and development, and organizational development in the social change field. He formerly directed the Climate Air program for Environmental Defense and was Chairman and CEO of the International Herald Tribune. Healso served as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, encouraging its involvement in environmental issues, particularly as they related to energy. Mr. Goldmark has taught courses at Harvard, Yale, The New School, Brandeis and Princeton.

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Rabbi Barbara Aiello - The Secret Jews of Italy October 21, 2011

Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the first woman rabbi in Italy and also has served the progressive Jewish community in Milan as the country's first non-Orthodox rabbi. She continues to travel throughout Italy as a spokesperson for modern, pluralistic Judaism. As founder and director of the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria, Rabbi Aiello's mission is to help Italians, whose ancestors were forced into conversion from Jewdaism, to discuver and connect with their Jewish roots.

Rabbi Barbara Aiello on 10-21-2011

Danielle Berrin September 9, 2011

 

Danielle Berrin writes the “Hollywood Jew” blog, a cutting edge, values-based take on the entertainment industry for jewishjournal.com. An LA Times profile dubbed her “a natural born provocateur” for her commentaries on the business, culture and characters of Hollywood.

What is the impact of the Jewish presence in Hollywood? How have Jewish values informed and influenced the industry from its inception through today? And how do Hollywood Jews express those Jewish impulses in their lives and in their work? After all, Jews hail from a culture of storytelling, beginning with the Bible, which has become the most influential story in the Western canon.  Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, British Esquire and The Huffington Post.

Danielle Berrin 09-09-2011