Distinguished Speaker Series

January 23 - May 21, 2012

Presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel's Bargain with the Bomb
AVNER COHEN, Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Monterey Institute for International Studies

Avner Cohen draws on newly revealed historical data to offer a bold and original study of Israel's decades-long policy of nuclear opacity.

David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or

Monday, February 6, 2012

Hassidic Courtyards: A photographic study of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel
GIL COHEN-MAGEN, Photojournalist, Reuters News Agency

A photographic study of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel over the past eight years. An expose of moments, surprises and impressions from the lives of Israel's ultra-Orthodox a stark look through the lens at rare ceremonies and gatherings which have never been photographed by outsiders before.

David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday March 5, 6, 8, 2012

Goldberg Lectures on the Middle East
JACOB GOLDBERG, Tel Aviv University

March 5 - Is an Iraeli-Palestinian Peace still possible?

Can negotiations be revived? Will Hamas take over the Palestinian leadership? Why do Palestinians insist on the "Right of Return"? Is Jerusalem a real obstacle? Can the settlements issue be resolved in view of domestic Israeli politics?
March 6 - The "Arab Spring": Middle East Turmoil and Western Misconceptions

Has the Spring turned into Winter? Is it really a struggle for democracy? Why do Islamists emerge as winners? What is the "Turkish Democratic Model"? Is the Assad dynasty doomed? What will the new Iraq look like?
March 8 - Iran's Nuclear Drive: a Moment of Truth at the Point-of-no-Return

Has Iran decided "to go" nuclear? How far is Iran from a "bomb"? Can economic sanctions be effective? Who is afraid of a nuclear Iran? Is a military solution feasible? In the absence of an international action, should Israel act unilaterally? Can we live with a nuclear Iran?

March 5 & 6: David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre * 7:00 PM
March 8: Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Dr., Encinitas CA 92024 * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or

Monday, April 16, 2012

This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
GREG MYRE & JENNIFER GRIFFEN
Correspondents for The New York Times & Fox News

Through interviews with extremists on both sides, informants, settlers, and ordinary farmers, the authors show how and why this long-running conflict has eluded traditional routes to peace.

David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or

Monday, May 14, 2012

Nazis on the Run
GERALD STEINACHER, University of Nebraska

In Nazis on the Run, historian Gerald Steinacher provides the true story of how the Nazis escaped their fate. Steinacher not only reveals how Nazi war criminals escaped from justice at the end of the Second World War, fleeing through the Tyrolean Alps to Italian seaports, but he also highlights the key roles played by the Red Cross, the Vatican, and the Secret Services of the major powers.

Carlsbad Dove Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad CA 92011 * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or

Monday, May 21, 2012 The Annual Loraine Stern Lecture

Judaism in the 21st Century: Taking Jewish Wisdom Public
Rabbi Irwin Kula, CLAL, National Jewish Center for Learning & Leadership

The Jewish challenge of the early 21^st century is how to reimagine and retool an entire ancient tradition for a globalized world in which Jews are completely integrated and enjoy unprecedented power, freedom and affluence. Can Jewish wisdom compete in the global marketplace of ideas? Can Jewish practice speak beyond our “the tribal need” to belong to the Jewish people? Can Jewish wisdom and practice speak to our shared human questions and yearnings? Can it be a global wisdom?

David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre * 7:00 PM
Tickets 858-362-1348 or