Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Saturday Dinner
Saturday 7:30 PM–8:45 PM
Pacific Ballrooms 2, 3, 4
Time to eat your fill and make new friends at dinner as you gear up for an evening of LimmudLA learning and entertainment.
Eat, Drink and Consider:
Economic Justice and Consumer Responsibility
Steve Greenberg
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Laguna Beach 3
Identity & Responsibility
Farmers in South America grow our coffee and our cotton while textile mills in China produce our clothing. How much responsibility do consumers bear for what goes into providing us with goods? Where does our responsibility begin and end?
FILM: Home Game
Avi Abelow
Saturday 8:00 PM–10:25 PM
Presidential Suite 2
Home Game focuses on the human aspect of a political event to remind us all that, regardless of politics, we are all people who are supposed to care about one another. The film documents the story of graduating 12th graders from the Israeli village of Netzer Hazani in Gush Katif, Gaza Strip, during their last vacation before adulthood. In the summer of 2005, the Israeli government began to implement its plan to remove them from their homes in Gush Katif, Gaza, as part of the Middle East peace process. Instead of just competing on the basketball court, they were also forced to compete on their 'home' court as well. (120 minutes)
FILM: Jewish Americans - Part Three
Jay Sanderson
Saturday 8:00 PM–10:26 PM
Presidential Suite 1
"The Jewish Americans" is a three-part documentary that recently aired on PBS. It explores 350 years of Jewish American history. Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin, The Jewish Americans is a journey through time, from the first settlement in 1654 to the present. Part Three starts with the end of World War II and moves through the end of the 20th Century into the new millennium (120 minutes). Q&A session to follow screening.
Jewish Social Justice Then and Now:
A Look at Jewish Social Justice in 1908 and 2008
Catherine Schneider
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Balboa Bay 2
Identity & Responsibility,
Text & Thought
This session will offer a comparative look at Jewish involvement in the social and economic justice movements in 1908 and 2008. How did this involvement shape America and American Judaism? How will it shape the Jewish future? Roughly 100 years after American Jews moved out of the tenements and factories, how has Jewish social justice changed?
The Difficulty of Davening:
Strategies for Making it Easier to Pray (or at Least to Make it Better)
Mike Comins,
Mimi Feigelson,
Judy Greenfeld,
Joan Hyler,
Nigel Savage
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Catalina 2
Ritual and Prayer
For this panel discussion, we've invited four quite different daveners (pray-ers) to talk about the history and evolution of their relationship to prayer. Join us for a frank discussion about attitudes toward prayer and why it means something different to each person.
The Power of Persuasion:
What Cults and Terrorists Have in Common
Bentzion Kravitz
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Emerald Bay 2
Identity & Responsibility
Explore the techniques used by telemarketers, cult-recruiters and terrorists to influence thinking and behavior. Through a series of interactive demonstrations, experiments and case studies, you'll become aware of why our instinctual defenses sometimes fail us and how our critical thinking can be derailed.
Thirsty for a Solution:
Bringing Israel's Water to the Desert
Devorah Brous
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Laguna Beach 1
Identity & Responsibility,
Israel
Arabs and Jews live side by side in Israel but their access to basic necessities such as water, energy, and medicine varies widely. Learn about BUSTAN's Children's Power Project and find out what can you do to help.
Virtual Fatwas and Porn:
How the Internet has Transformed the Arab World
Matt Gutman
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Emerald Bay 1
Global History and Culture
The Internet has been the greatest recruiting tool for Islam in centuries, but it's also introduced millions of Arabs to a world they've never before seen. Has the age of the Web altered the Arab view of other societies for better or for worse?
Writing Your Jewish Life
Richard Chess
Saturday 8:00 PM–9:15 PM
Laguna Beach 2
Global History and Culture
In this session you'll have the opportunity to write a piece of poetry or prose that explores one facet of your own Jewish life. We'll use several poems by other poets to get us going and to inspire us to define, enter and explore an experience or idea having to do with Jewish life.
