Israel expert Joe Perlov took Tidewater by storm with more than a dozen events over the course of just a few days—engaging with hundreds of people from both the Jewish and general community.
Though Perlov focuses on the changing map of Israel, from the 23 border shifts that have occurred since 1948 and the many predating that, his events were anything but lectures. Perlov held interactive workshops in which he created the map of Israel and its neighbors in tape on the floor and engaged his audience as participants in exploring myriad of topics from the parliamentary system in the Israeli Knesset to the international treaties that have created both tension and peace over the years.
During Perlov’s visit, he presented at the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula, worked with a group of students at William and Mary’s Hillel, explored the cities of Israel with Strelitz International Academy students and domestic Israeli politics with AP government students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, and much more. Among the many programs Perlov led, the Israel Today community event on Wednesday, October 26, saw community members learn the details of what makes Israel a Jewish state, the challenges and successes of Israel, and the competing narratives that inform the history and present in his signature program, Conflict in Context.
Perlov’s visit is sure to have a lasting impact on how people in Tidewater perceive Israel, its neighbors, and the complicated relationships both internationally and domestically. As Perlov says, “My goal is to create honest, open conversation, and understanding in order to better, not batter, Israel and the region.”
For more information about the Israel Today series, presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, and Community Partners, including all local synagogues and Jewish agencies, visit Jewishva.org/israeltoday or contact Elka Mednick, assistant director of the JCRC at emednick@ujft.org or 757-965-6112.
–Elka Mednick