Point-Counter-Point is a new weekly content feature edited by Hartman Institute
iEngage Fellow and world-renowned journalist
Yossi Klein Halevi , who will discuss current events affecting Israel and the Jewish people with leading thinkers from within and outside of the Hartman Institute. The new weekly column now appears on the newly redesigned Jewish Week website as part of a new partnership with the Jewish Week.
The iEngage Point-Counter-Point column grows out of the Institute’s
iEngage Project , a wide-ranging effort now beginning its third year, which responds to growing feelings of disenchantment and disinterest toward Israel among an ever-increasing number of Jews worldwide by creating a new narrative regarding the significance of Israel for Jewish life. Headed up by a team of
world-leading scholars and public intellectuals specializing in areas of Jewish thought, political theory, and international law, the Project is generating a conversation that will celebrate Israel for what it is and, more importantly, for what it will become, which will in turn engender a commitment to taking part in the building such an Israel.
“Yossi’s new column models conversations we
should be having about Israel, testing whether major issues dividing the Jewish people can be discussed in a respectful, thoughtful, and ultimately productive manner by people with different agendas and beliefs,” says Dr.
Tal Becker Hartman Institute iEngage Research Fellow.
“iEngage acknowledges the challenges, complexities, and conflicts with and within Israel rather than trying to counter anti-Israel commentary with facts and factoids. Although today’s media environment does not lend itself to deep debate and lengthy investigations, Jewish Week remains committed to thorough, fair, and factual reporting of breaking news in Israel and the Jewish world and the issues and philosophies that lie at their core. This element of the Jewish Week’s efforts is what drew the Institute to this partnership,” Becker says.
The public will be encouraged to offer suggestions and thoughts on how to deepen and expand the conversation by suggesting future subjects and “guests.” The
iEngage page on the Jewish Week will also offer several places for readers to make their voices heard in what we hope and expect will be a meaningful and significant discussion on these crucial issues in a tone of respect and erudition.
