Come Curious. Leave Wiser.
JCCPGH Israel Engagement Series
This new series, developed by the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, invites participants to go beyond the headlines through dialogue and multiple perspectives featuring leading voices and meaningful community discussion. The series is grounded in the belief that the antidote to polarization is not disengagement, but deeper, more informed engagement. Participants will be encouraged to challenge one another, remain open to perspectives that differ from or directly oppose their own and practice respectful, curious conversation. Through a dynamic mix of live panel discussions, documentary and feature film screenings, interactive workshops and facilitated dialogue, participants will move beyond headlines toward a more nuanced understanding of Israel and the questions it raises today.
We encourage you to come all the sessions if possible.
FALL SESSIONS
Monday, November 2 • Part 4 – Israeli Elections: Fear, Identity and Hope in a Polarized World – REGISTER HERE
• Part 5 – The Wild West: What Should Israel do with the Territories in the West Bank?
• Part 6 – Are we One People? Diaspora Jewry and Israel at a Crossroad
SESSIONS HELD SPRING 2026
U.S.–Israel Relations • March 25, 2026
Understanding Israeli Politics • May 18, 2026
Israel’s Geopolitical Outlook • June 16, 2026
SEE OUR IMPACT: Israel Engagement Impact at the JCC
The JCC of Greater Pittsburgh is committed to a brave, welcoming space for hard conversations about Israel and related issues. This series is educational and nonpartisan; no speaker or program implies endorsement of any political party, candidate, policy, or single viewpoint.
Over the course of the 6-part series, participants will be presented with a wide range of perspectives, some of which they may agree with, and some they may strongly disagree with. That tension is part of the intended learning and ideally will strengthen our communal muscle for constructive dialogue across differences.
If your goal is simply to have your current views reaffirmed, this series may not be for you. If you are willing to engage with new ideas, sit with discomfort, and leave with deeper understanding – and perhaps more questions than answers – we invite you to join us: come curious, engage respectfully, and be open to complexity.
Part 4 – Monday, November 2 • Israeli Elections: Fear, Identity and Hope in a Polarized World
7 pm • Katz Auditorium, Robinson Building, JCC Squirrel Hill
Israelis go to the polls on October 27 for the country’s first national election since October 7, 2023. Just days later, two experts will join us to unpack the results and what they tell us about where Israel is headed.
Join us for Part 4 of the Pittsburgh JCC’s six-part Israel series on November 2. This session will explore the deep societal trends shaping Israeli society in light of the recent election results, including the ongoing tension between Israel’s identity as a Jewish state and its commitment to democratic principles. Featuring speakers representing the full spectrum of Israeli political perspectives, the conversation will examine competing visions for Israel’s future and the forces influencing its evolving political landscape. Together, we’ll engage in thoughtful learning and nuanced discussion to deepen our understanding of contemporary Israel.
Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin is a political strategist and a public opinion researcher who has advised on nine national campaigns in Israel and worked on elections, referendums, and public affairs campaigns in 15 other countries for over 25 years.
She conducts extensive public opinion research for civil society organizations, including joint Israeli-Palestinian surveys.
Dahlia is a Senior Analyst and columnist for Haaretz (English) and a policy fellow at Century International. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian and The Observer, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Financial Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Statesman, The New York Post, among other publications, and she provides regular commentary for international and Israeli media, appearing regularly on CNN, BBC, NPR, CBC, and is quoted widely in leading print media.
Her book, The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise Unfulfilled, was listed on Foreign Affairs’ Best Books of 2024. She is a board member of A Land for All.
Moshe Koppel is the founding director of Dicta, a research institute devoted to developing AI tools for the analysis and processing of modern and classical Hebrew texts, including the automated composition of halachic response.
Koppel is founding chairman of the Kohelet Policy Forum, which Haaretz calls “the most successful initiative of the right in the past decade” and which is widely regarded as Israel’s most influential pro-liberty Zionist think tank. The Wall Street Journal has called him one of the “three American immigrants who have left the biggest mark on Israel”. (The other two are Golda Meir and Meir Kahane.)
He is the author of three books on Jewish thought, most recently Judaism Straight Up: Why Real Religion Endures, published by Koren. He is professor (emeritus) of computer science at Bar-Ilan University and the author of over 100 articles in leading academic journals and proceedings in mathematics, computer science, linguistics, law, economics, political science and other disciplines.
Yisrael Klitsner, Moderator
The series will “cover everything under the sun related to Israel, including politics, culture and history,” says Yisrael Klitsner, the moderator of the series. He is a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) who
has deep connections to our community. He and his family lived in Squirrel Hill but returned to Israel after
October 7 so he could rejoin his IDF unit. Klitsner, who has served as Diaspora Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and worked for AIPAC in Israel, is passionate about educating and building community around the state of Israel and its relationship with the United States.
Featured in the Jewish Chronicle:
New JCCPGH Israel Engagement Series aims for people to ‘come curious, leave wiser’
The JCC’s Israel engagement series, Come Curious. Leave Wiser., is made possible through generous philanthropic support. To learn more about supporting the series or underwriting a future session, please email Fara Marcus, Chief Development and Marketing Officer,
or call 412-339-5413.
Archives
Third Spring Session: Israel’s Geopolitical Outlook
A Bird’s Eye View of Israel’s Rapidly Evolving Geostrategic Concerns
Rescheduled to Tuesday, June 16 • 7 pm • JCC Squirrel Hill Katz Theater • $36/person
WITH:
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Nuriel, former Director of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau at Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office (2007–2012). He served in the IDF for over 30 years, primarily in the Golani Brigade, holding senior positions including Deputy Division Commander in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He played key roles in Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and in operational planning along the northern border.
From 2001 to 2004,he served as Military Attaché to the United States, acting as liaison between the IDF and U.S. defense agencies. Following his military career, he joined Israel’s National Security Council, where
he led national crisis management and counter-terrorism strategy,
including cyber security, border protection, and international
cooperation.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is a nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. He is also an American writer and analyst who grew up in Gaza City, having left in 2005 as a teenage exchange student to the United States. He writes extensively on Gaza’s political and humanitarian affairs and has been an outspoken critic of Hamas and a promoter of coexistence and peace as the only path forward between Palestinians and Israelis.
Alkhatib has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in intelligence and national security studies. His writing has been published in US and Israeli outlets, and his opinions and comments have been featured in international press.
From Gaza to Iran and Lebanon to Yemen, this session will provide a comprehensive analysis of Israel’s regional security landscape.
Participants will gain valuable insights into the strategic dilemmas that Israeli decision-makers encounter, as well as the prospects for regional normalization and renewed peace efforts, alongside the challenges they face in achieving these goals.
With varying assessments and analyses, Nuriel and Efron will illuminate this critical topic, offering a deep and nuanced understanding of Israel’s most pressing concern: security.
Second Spring Session: Understanding Israeli Politics
Monday, May 18 • 7 pm • JCC Squirrel Hill • Katz Theater
Gain insight into the complexities of Israel’s political landscape in this timely conversation featuring leading journalist Tal Shalev, Vice President of the New Israel Fund Dr. Nasreen Haddad- Haj Yahya, and with noted journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal. From coalition dynamics and government leadership to Arab affairs and global influences, this panel will unpack the forces shaping Israeli politics today.
For more info: Email Fara Marcus
Tal Shalev is a Senior Reporter based in CNN’s Jerusalem bureau, where she performs a key role in CNN’s coverage of Israel and the wider region, with a particular focus on Israeli politics and national affairs.
Dr. Nasreen Haddad- Haj Yahya is Vice President of the New Israel Fund. Former Director, Arab Society in Israel Program, Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Nadav Asher Eyal is one of Israel’s most prominent journalists and a winner of the Sokolov Award—Israel’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He writes for Yediot Ahronot and Ynet, Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper and news website, respectively, and a Contributor at the Call Me Back podcast. He is now a Senior Research Scholar with Institue of Global Politics and is teaching as an adjunct Professor in the SIPA, Columbia University.
First Spring Session: U.S.–Israel Relations
March 25, 2026
Join us for a conversation with Bret Stephens, opinion columnist for The New York Times and Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street.
This opening panel of the Israel Engagement Series will delve into the foundational pillars of bipartisan support for the U.S.–Israel relationship, while addressing the emerging threats it faces from both American and Israeli political landscapes.
The discussion will also explore strategies to preserve this vital alliance in an increasingly polarized environment. Ben-Ami and Stephens, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience along with their differing ideological perspectives, will contribute to what promises to be a dynamic and enlightening conversation.
For more info: Email Fara Marcus
Thank You
Marstine Family Foundation
S&B USA