Since 1989 the Jewish Studies Program in coordination with the Resnick Institute at the State University College at New Paltz has presented the Louis and Mildred Resnick Distinguished Lectureship Series every Fall semester, and the Louis and Mildred Resnick Holocaust Memorial Presentation every Spring. Our Fall programs have included lectures on Jewish Identity, Jewish Spirituality, Israel in the World Community, Jewish-American Fiction, Jews in the Global Diaspora, and Reimagining the Holocaust, and have featured such renowned speakers as Arthur Hertzberg, Rachel Cowan, Arthur Waskow, Morris Dickstein, Shlomo Avineri, and Judith Plaskow. The Holocaust Memorial Programs have included presentations by Robert Jay Lifton, Raoul Hilberg, Henry Feingold, Peter Balakian, Jan Gross, Deborah Lipstadt, Sydney Schanberg, and the world premiere of the award winning SUNY-made documentary "The Children of Izieu," written and produced by Sheila Schwartz and introduced by famed Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld. More recently Klezmer violinist and composer, Yale Strom and his ensemble performed his composition "In Memory of...," and Susan Stein performed her one-woman rendition of "Etty" based on Etty Hillesum's diary and letter from Westerbork and Auschwitz.
The goals of the Institute continue to be:
- to provide opportunities for students, faculty, and members of the greater New Paltz community to engage in stimulating learning experiences, discussion and encounter,
- to extend to the entire community a deeper understanding of Jewish civilization, and
- to contribute to the larger dialogue in the liberal arts.
The Institute will continue to aim at the integration of campus and community, including the auditing of Jewish Studies courses by residents of the Hudson Valley, and participation by local clergy in interfaith dialogue.
