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Judaic Studies Newsletter
Fall 2003 / Spring 2004 | No. 1
Fundraising Drive Establishes an Endowed Professorship
The Judaic Studies Program at the University of Central Florida has completed a special fundraising drive intended to enhance and strengthen the program - the Judaic Studies Advisory Board has announced.
The drive has accomplished the goal of raising over $100,000 with many members of the community giving their gifts to the UCF.
Members of the Advisory Board, Tess and Abe Wise, took the initiative in starting the drive in May 2003. They themselves have contributed over half of the total, and were the driving force in finding friends and supporters to participate in the drive and help Judaic Studies reach its goal.
As a result of the drive, an Endowed Professorship in Judaic Studies named in honor of Tess and Abe Wise will be established in the Judaic Studies Program.
Consequently, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Kathryn Seidel, wrote in a letter to Abe and Tess Wise: "Allow me to express my deepest gratitude for the generosity you have shown for your gift to the Judaic Studies Special Endowment Fund. The establishment of Endowed Professorship in Judaic Studies will enhance the reputation of the program and allow us to honor a prominent scholar in this area."
The Dean has now taken steps to establish a second faculty position in Judaic Studies and has authorized to start a process of appointing a full-time tenure-earning assistant professor in Judaic Studies.
Dr. Moshe Pelli, Director of Judaic Studies, thanked Abe and Tess Wise, saying, "We are grateful to you for initiating the fundraising drive, and in effect for contributing over half of the total. In addition, you were instrumental in getting friends and supporters to participate in the drive and helping us reach our goal. Your vision, commitment to Jewish Higher Education, and as builders of community institutions will impact the Orlando community and the University of Central Florida for a long time. For this we are indebted to you and to your family."
Friends of the Program
The Following Individuals and Families Have Given Graciously to the Program:
Benefactors:
- Abe & Tess Wise (Abe O. Wise & Tess Wise Philanthropic Fund)
- Barbara Weinreich
Sponsors:
- David & Judy Albertson
- Hy & Harriett Lake
- Sherman, Jordan & Barry Miller
(Thelma Shefner Miller
Memorial Fund)
- Abe & Tess Wise and Zelig & Bobbi Wise
(O Z Wise Family Trust)
- Robert & Judith Yarmuth
Donors:
- Siegmund & Marilyn Goldman
- Sy Israel
Contributors:
- Roy & Patricia Ambinder
- Hal & Victoria Kantor
- Seymour Weiner
Friends:
- Victor & Ronit Eyal
- Marc & Henrietta Katzen
- Eli & Ina Porth
- Gerald & Beth Rutberg
- Stephen & Judy Schreiber
- Marvin & Sonia Shey
- Robert L. Zlatkiss
Distinguished Lecturer Series on Modern Israeli Hebrew
"Bible and Archaeology: Unearthing the 'Truth'?" was the topic of a public lecture in the UCF Judaic Studies Distinguished Lecturers Series this Fall semester. The speaker was Dr. James F. Strange, Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of South Florida. The lecture was presented on Monday, November 3, 2003, at 7:30PM, in the UCF Communication buildings Auditorium. The lecture dealt with the controversy regarding the validity of the Hebrew Bible as an historical document and the tension between the Bible and archaeology.
Professor Strange also conducted a seminar on "Biblical Narrative and Archaeological Contexts: The Case of Abraham and David" on Tuesday, November 4, 2003, at 12 noon, in the Business Administration Building, room 212.
The UCF Judaic Studies Program sponsored this lecture in cooperation with the Honors College, Liberal Studies, and the Office of International Studies.
Shanks: Biblical Archaeology: Looting and Forgeries
Archaeology. Mr. Hershel Shanks will speak on "Biblical Archaeology: Looting and Forgeries," Jan. 12, 2004 at 7:30 PM.
Mr. Hershel Shanks, noted writer and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, and Archaeology Odyssey, will speak on "Biblical Archaeology: Looting and Forgeries" on Monday, January 12, 2004, at 7:30 PM in the Visual Arts Auditorium, (VAB room 132).
Hershel Shanks is the founder and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, Bible Review, and Archeology Odyssey. He is the president of the Biblical Archaeology Society and Jewish Educational Ventures and is also the editor of Moment Magazine.
Shanks earned his B.A. in English Literature (cum laude) in 1952 from Haverford College, his M.A. in Sociology in 1953 from Columbia University, and his LL.B. (cum laude) in 1956 from Harvard Law School.
Shanks has written such books as The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1999), Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography (1995), The City of David: A Guide to Biblical Jerusalem (1975), and others. He has edited such books as Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls (1993), Feminist Approaches to the Bible (1995), Recent Archaeology in the Land of Israel (1985), and others.
His legal positions include the United States Department of Justice, Washington D.C., from 1956 to 1959 in the Civil Division; Glassie, Pewett, Beebe and Shanks, a twenty-lawyer law firm specializing in real estate and commercial litigation, from 1959 to 1987.
Kertzer: The Vatican and Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism. Prof. David Kertzer will speak on "The Vatican and Anti-Semitism," Feb. 12, 2004 at 7:30 PM.
David I. Kertzer is the Paul Dupee University Professor of Social Science at Brown University, where he is also professor of anthropology and Italian studies. His Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (Knopf, 1997) was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1997, and he has twice received the Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies for the best work on Italian history (1985, 1990). His most recent book, The Popes Against The Jews (Knopf, 2001), a look at the Vatican's role in the rise of modern anti-Semitism, has been published in Italian, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Brazilian, and British editions. A Vintage paperback edition appeared in September, 2002. Dr. Kertzer is an authority on Italian politics, society, and history; political symbolism; and anthropological demography. He is co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Modern Italian Studies. "Edgard Mine," a play based on The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, by Pulitzer and Oscar award winning playwright Alfred Uhry, had its world premier at Hartford Stage in October, 2002.
Fall 2003 Lecturers
Dr. Sheffer: "The Genetics of the Israeli Language" & "The War in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli Conflict"
On November 17th and 18th, 2003, Dr. Gabriel Sheffer of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, presented two lectures on "Palestinian-Israeli Relations Now and in the Future," and "The War in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli Conflict," as part of the UCF Judaic Studies Distinguished Lecturers.
The security fence in Israel was a hot topic discussed during the lecture. Culture, religion, language, and politics were all made relevant as well. American interest in the Middle East was presented as key background information in terms of the military operations taking place in Iraq. During the lectures, Dr, Sheffer entertained questions presented by the audience.
Dr. Gabriel Sheffer is a professor in the Political Science Department at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a member of the editorial board of Israel Studies, he is on the Senate at Hebrew University, and serves as a consultant to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Prof. Sheffer was the recipient of the Prime Minister of Israel Prize for his book Moshe Sharett, Biography of a Political Moderate (1994).
A prolific scholar and writer, Dr. Gabriel Sheffer's edited and co-authored books include Can Planning Replace Politics (1980); Modern Diasporas in International Politics (1986); The National Security of Small States in a Changing World (1998); Israeli Relations at the Crossroads (1996); At Home Abroad: Diaspora Politics (2003); "Israel and the Liberalization of Arab Regimes" (1995); "Ethic Radicalization" (1995), to name just a few.
Prof. Sheffer continues his research on globalization and ethnic politics and their effect on ethnic conflicts, terrorism and nationalism.
This lecture was sponsored by the Judaic Studies Program at UCF, with the cooperation of the Honors College, Liberal Studies, and the Office of International Studies.
Dr. Zuckerman: The Genetics of the Israeli Language
Linguistics. Dr. Ghil'ad Zuckermann lectured on the Israeli language.
Dr. Ghil'ad Zuckermann of the University of Cambridge, England, presented a lecture on "The Revival and Survival of Hebrew: The Genetics of the Israeli Language" as part of the UCF Judaic Studies Distinguished Lecturers Series on Tuesday, October 28, 2003.
Dr. Zuckerman is an expert of the Hebrew/Israeli language. He is a Research Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England, and he is affiliated with the Department of Linguistics and Faculty of Modern Medieval Studies at the university. He is currently visiting professor at Miami University.
Dr. Zuckermann's lecture was well attended and many people expressed their satisfaction with their experience. The lecture centered around the differences between Hebrew and what Zuckermann called Israeli, or Modern Hebrew. He went into great detail discussing the origins of Israeli, being born from classical and traditional Hebrew in the beginning of the 20th century.
An argument was presented that Israeli-Hebrew is nothing more than Yiddish with some Ancient Hebrew mixed in. Zuckermann dismissed this immediately with an explanation of the morphology of Yiddish and Modern Hebrew. Lexical differences rather than grammatical differences allow for complete dismissal of such arguments. Shortly afterward, Zuckermann expressed his own belief about the formation of Israeli Hebrew. Yiddish and Hebrew, argues Zuckermann, are both equal mother tongues to Israeli or Modern Hebrew.
During the formation of the State of Israel, explained Zuckermann, Eliezzer ben Yehuda, the father of Modern Hebrew, had wanted Israelis to speak Biblical Hebrew so that the Israeli language would be more Semitic. Zuckermann argued that because of the mixture of both Biblical Hebrew and Yiddish, Israeli Hebrew is not as similar to Biblical Hebrew as Modern English is to that of Chaucer's English.
Dr. Zuckermann has published in English, Israeli, Italian, Yiddish, Spanish, German and Russian, and is currently publishing a book entitled "Language Contact and lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). Dr. Zuckermann has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Cambridge, the University of Miami and the National University of Singapore. He has been a research fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, and the National Language Research Institute of Tokyo.
After studying at the United World College of the Adriatic (Collegio del Mundo Unito Del'Adriatico; Duino, Trieste) and completing several years of national service, Dr. Zuckermann was selected for the Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Programme for Outstanding Students of Tel Aviv University, where he studied philosophy, psychology, classics, law, mathematics, and specialized in linguistics, receiving his M.A. from the Department of Linguistics in 1997. As Scatherd European Scholar of the University of Oxford and Denise Skinner Graduate Scholar of St. Hugh's college, Oxford, he earned his D.Phil. in 2000.
Professor James F. Strange on the Bible and Archaeology
Archaeology. Prof. James F. Strange lectured on Biblical Archaeology.
Professor Strange is a world-renowned authority on biblical archaeology. He has served both as Chairperson of Religious Studies Dept. at USF(1990-93) and as Dean of the College of Arts and Letters (1981-89). He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Rice University in 1959, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1964, and a PhD in New Testament Studies from Drew University in 1970. He was Montgomery Fellow at the W.F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem in 1970-71 and NEH fellow at the same Institute in 1980.
Dr. Strange has participated in field archaeology annually since 1969 and has directed the excavations at Sepphoris, Israel, annually since 1983.
Dr. Strange's research interests are in Biblical Archaeology, New Testament Studies, Christian Origins and post-Biblical Judaism.
Dr. Stange's articles have been published in professional journals such as the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, The Biblical Archeologist, The Israel Exploration Journal, and The Anglican Theological Review.
Academic Profiles of Judaic Studies Faculty
Prof. Moshe Pelli is Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Judaic Studies, and a professor of Judaic Studies. His major area of specialization is Modern Hebrew Literature, especially Hebrew Haskalah (Enlightenment) in the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, he has written extensively on the Literature of the Holocaust, and has lectured on Literature of the Bible. He has taught courses in these areas. Professor Pelli has published seven scholarly books on Hebrew Enlightenment and 146 research papers, 2 novels, 8 children books, 3 text anthologies, 38 review articles, 59 book reviews, 4 bibliographies and indices, and 15 short stories. Awarded the Friedman Prize for his contribution to Hebrew Culture in USA in 1991, he was also the recipient of the Researcher of the Year award for 1996 at UCF, and many other awards and grants. He was Fellow of the prestigious Moses Mendelssohn Center at the University of Potsdam in Germany in May 2000. He is listed in many Who's Who books in USA, Europe and Israel. He is on the editorial board of Lamishpacha, Hebrew Monthly, and a member of the Executive Council of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew in the USA.
Dr. Kenneth Hanson is a visiting assistant Professor in the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program. He has published three books, which are in their second printings, including Words of Light: Spiritual Wisdom from the Dead Sea Scrolls, released in March 2000, Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story, Treasures in Earthen Vessels: The Legacy of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Words of Light is featured (with a seven page essay) in the August 2000 issue of Jewish Book News. Dr. Hanson also continues to give public lectures. In the coming months he will be speaking in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Michigan, North Carolina, and Miami. He teaches History, Culture, Dead Sea Scrolls and Bible. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Rollins College in the Department of Religion and Philosophy.
Rick Sherwin received a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and a B.H.L. degree from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He received an M.A. in Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Rabbi Sherwin currently serves as the spiritual leader of Temple Israel in Orlando. He is married to Elissa Abelson and two of their four children are students at UCF.
Dora Avni is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies program. It is her first year of teaching the Hebrew language I and II courses and the Conversational Hebrew course at the University of Central Florida. Ms. Avni has been teaching the Hebrew language and the history and culture of the Jewish people and the State of Israel at The Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Dept. in Ohio State University and in Jewish Youth summer camps in the US. In 1985 she was a member of a board in Ohio that organized an exhibition of Anne Frank's diaries and photographs. For ten years Ms. Avni served as a board member of the Israeli Forum which facilitated connections and activities with Jewish youth and Jewish communities in the Diaspora. Holding a Master degree in Information and Public Relations from Ohio State University, Ms. Avni worked with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli Parliament members, organizing conferences for Israeli impaired groups in Israel and in Germany and locating donors in Switzerland, the US and Germany for the AIDS Treatment Center in "Kaplan" Medical Center in Rehovot, Israel.
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