FIC MARCH PROGRAMS
March 4, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Rick Pasquier is our Quarterback.
March 7, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Lance J. Sussman. His topic – Nationalism, Religion, and Race: The Triple Tragedy of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Lance J. Sussman, historian and Rabbi Emeritus of Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, will explore three themes in the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict. First, he will discuss the role of “modern” 18th- century nationalism as the formative factor in the clash between Israelis and Palestinians. While it is often characterized as an ancient conflict, he sees it as evolving from concepts of nation and state after the era of Europe’s multinational empires. These concepts also bear on the question of colonialism and why the term is generally misapplied to the Zionist movement. Second, Sussman will talk about the rise of religious fundamentalism in the Muslim and Jewish worlds, and its effect as an accelerant in the Arab-Israeli conflict in recent years. Finally, he will discuss the impact of racial concepts on tensions between Arabs, Israelis, and their supporters.
Rabbi Sussman served Keneseth Israel as senior rabbi from 2001 to 2022. He is now chair of the Board of Governors and Professor of Jewish History at Gratz College in Melrose Park. From 1987 to 2001, he was on the history faculty at SUNY-Binghamton, and he has taught courses in Jewish history at Princeton, Rutgers, Temple, Hunter College, and Hebrew Union College. He earned his B.A. at Franklin and Marshall College and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. His published writings include numerous books and articles, and he was an editor of Reform Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook (Bloomsbury Academic, 1993). He has appeared in several PBS specials on religion in America and is currently working with film producer Sam Katz on a documentary about the Philadelphia Jewish experience.
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March 11, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Franklyn Rodgers is our Quarterback.
March 15, Friday Club Dinner, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Speaker is Lee Arnold. His topic – The Pleasures and Perils of Postcard Collecting: An Archivist’s Deep Dive
Lee Arnold, an archivist and retired officer of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, is also a travel writer and an avid collector of postcards. He will reveal his fascination (near-obsession, in his own words) with postcards and how he applies his archivist’s eye, hand, and humor in organizing his collection.
Arnold retired from HSP in 2022 – 30 years exactly, he says, after his hire date – and he now volunteers there four days a week, holding the title of Librarian Emeritus. During his employment, he was Senior Director of the Library and Collections, and also Chief Operating Officer from 2015. Lee is well-versed on HSP’s holdings and has lectured extensively on genealogical topics throughout this region. He is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and of the Association of Professional Genealogists. In addition to writing about travel, he has been a regular reviewer of travel literature for Library Journal. His degrees include a doctorate in archival science from the University of South Africa, an MLA (with concentration in archives management) from Temple University, and an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin.
March 18, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Palmer Hartl is our Quarterback.
March 21, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Rogers M. Smith. His topic – America’s New Racial Battle Lines: Protect versus Repair
Today, we hear bitter complaints from conservatives that “traditionalist” Americans, especially white Christian men, are now the leading victims of discrimination – that they need protection against a militant Left. And we hear stark declarations from progressives that integration to remedy systemic racism is an impossible goal – that our existing institutions need radical repair because they embody systemic racism. Rogers M. Smith will draw on the work done for his newest book to discuss these polarized views as a shift in the battle lines of public policy over the past fifteen years. Prior to that, the predominant conservative/liberal conflicts over racial policy since the 1970s had flared over color-blind provisions versus measures such as affirmative action and creation of majority-minority electoral districts. This recent shift poses great dangers, Smith finds, but he also sees opportunities for racial progress. For this discussion, he will draw on his newest book, coauthored with Desmond King of Oxford University and set for May publication by the University of Chicago Press.
Smith is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Penn. He is the author or coauthor of eight books, one of which, Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History, was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History. He is a former president of the American Political Science Association, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and a member of the American Philosophical Society.
Video:To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation (note: audio is missing on a 5min segment).
March 25, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Alina Macneal is our Quarterback.
March 28, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Innmate Dan Rottenberg, substituting for Inquirer sports columnist Mike Sielski, who had to reschedule because Thursday is opening day for the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Dan’s topic – What Frank Rizzo Could Teach Us About Donald Trump.
Dan Rottenberg has carved a rewarding life as journalist, editor, and author. His most recent venture is his web-based Contrarian’s Notebook, now up to its 62nd weekly column of thought-provoking comment. His newest book, The Education of a Journalist (Redmount Press, 2022), recalls how journalists practiced their craft during its recent decades and offers his firsthand impressions of notable people he has encountered – including Frank Rizzo and Donald Trump, the subjects of his talk.
His twelve other published books include Finding Our Fathers (Random House, 1977), which launched the modern Jewish genealogy movement, and Death of a Gunfighter (Westholme Publishing, 2008), which was honored as Best Western History Book of 2008 by the Wild West History Association. Dan has also been chief editor of seven innovative publications, most recently Broad Street Review, the online arts and culture salon he created in 2005. His syndicated film commentaries appeared in monthly city magazines around the U.S. from 1971 to 1983. Earlier, he was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, executive editor of Philadelphia Magazine, managing editor of Chicago Journalism Review, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and editor of a daily newspaper in Portland, Indiana.
Video:To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation (note: audio is missing on a 5min segment).