Avraham Burg in Boston

Join us for a book reading and discussion of “In Days to Come: A New Hope for Israel” with author Avraham Burg and Rabbi Suzie Jacobson.

Born in 1955, Burg witnessed firsthand many of the most dramatic and critical moments in Israeli history. He chronicles the highs and lows of his country over the last five decades, threading his own journey into the story of his people. Burg explores the misplaced hopes of religious fundamentalism through the lens of his conservative upbringing, explains the cultural dominance of Israel’s military while relating his own experiences as a paratrooper officer, and probes the country’s democratic aspirations informed by his tenure in the Knesset.

With bravery and candor, Burg lays bare the seismic intellectual shifts that drove the country’s political and religious journeys. “In Days To Come” offers a deeply personal and unique reflection on Israel’s history, Zionism and Jewish identity in the modern world.

Our speakers:
Avraham Burg was born in Jerusalem in 1955 to one of the most prominent families in Israel. His father, Dr. Josef Burg, was a German Jew who lost his family during the war and escaped from Germany to Palestine in September 1939. He went on to lead the National Religious Party and serve as a minister in the Israeli government from 1948-1988. His mother, Rivka, was a seventh-generation resident of Hebron and the daughter of the local community rabbi. Avraham Burg first took on a public role during the first Lebanon war in 1982, when he was a leader of the antiwar protests. He went on to serve as adviser to Prime Minister Shimon Peres, a member of the Israeli Knesset, the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization, and the speaker of the Knesset, among other public positions. Since his voluntary retirement from public life in 2004, Burg has become an outspoken leader of the Israeli left wing. He is the author of numerous books, including (in English) “The Holocaust Is Over” and “Very Near to You.” He lives in Nataf, just outside Jerusalem.

Rabbi Suzie Jacobson serves as education director at Temple Israel, a community that has long been her home. Before receiving rabbinic ordination and an MA in Jewish education from Hebrew College in Newton, Rabbi Jacobson was on the path to become a scholar of Jewish philosophy, receiving a master’s from the University of Chicago Divinity School, a BA from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a BA from Columbia University along the way. Rabbi Jacobson is passionate about ensuring that Jewish community is inclusive and just, that educational programs allow students to bring their whole selves, and that prayer is meaningful, authentic and full of immense joy.

Sponsored by Nation books and the New Israel Fund. Hosted by the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Israel of Boston.

Note: We expect this to be a full event. So that we can keep track of numbers, registration in advance is requested. Please click on the red “GO” icon at the top or bottom of this page to RSVP. Thank you!