ZEICHICK FAMILY LECTURE: Eilu v’Eilu – A Debate on Jewish Values and American Politics

As the 2024 elections loom, America and the Jewish community have rarely felt as divided over politics and policies as it does today. Are Jewish interests better served by conservative or liberal approaches to America’s domestic and global challenges? Are the values and lessons of Jewish tradition and history more resonant with the approach of conservatives or liberals to today’s issues? Are the interests of Jews in the U.S., Israel, and the world better served by the Republican Party or the Democratic Party?

On issues like abortion, church-state relations, civil right claims v. religious freedom claims, climate change, economic justice v. economic freedom, autocratic countries that support Israel, immigration, and religious freedom — what are the merits of their respective views? Are bipartisan/cross-ideological comity, compromise, and common ground possible?

Dr. Tevi Troy (best-selling presidential historian, former senior Bush White House aide, Deputy Secretary of HHS, and former White House Liaison to the Jewish Community) and Rabbi David Saperstein (former Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom in the Obama Administration) will debate these issues and model how even political protagonists with differing political, religious, and ideological views can debate respectfully and constructively.