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About Renee Garfinkel

Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network’s Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il

NBN Episodes hosted by Renee:

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel April 27, 2022

Ramadan Violence

A Conversation with Ambassador Dore Gold

Dore Gold

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
A hilltop at the heart of Jerusalem, Israel, is known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. It has been the site …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel April 14, 2022

Agnon’s Tales of the Land of Israel

Jeffrey Saks and Shalom Carmy

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
"As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel March 28, 2022

Under Jerusalem

The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City

Andrew Lawler

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City (Doubleday, 2021) takes readers into the tombs, tunnels, and trenches of the Holy City. It brings to life the …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel March 11, 2022

Islam and Politics

3rd Edition

Peter Mandaville

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Peter Mandaville's Islam and Politics (3rd Edition; Routledge, 2020) is a basic and comprehensive account of political Islam in the contemporary world. It provides a broad introduction to all major aspects of …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel February 25, 2022

Esther

Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile

Erica Brown

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
The Biblical Book of Esther reads like a classic fable, a drama of actors who are recognizable archetypes. There is Esther, the beautiful orphan who becomes queen, Ahasuerus, the buffoon …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel February 15, 2022

In Science We Trust?

An insider Conversation with Health Policy Reporter, Fran Kritz

Fran Kritz

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Americans are deeply polarized on many issues, including science and medicine. Where once was widespread agreement, today the differences are sharp: on one hand, posters announce, “I believe in science!” …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel January 31, 2022

The New Librarianship Field Guide

R. David Lankes

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Can libraries be radical positive change agents in their communities? R. David Lenkes offers a guide for librarians who see their profession as a chance to make a positive difference …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel January 11, 2022

State and Religion in Israel

A Philosophical-Legal Inquiry

Gideon Sapir and Daniel Statman

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Those who believe religion and politics aren't connected don't understand either.” The relationship between religion and state presents complex challenges to liberal democracies around the world. In …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel January 5, 2022

Gaza Conflict 2021

Jonathan Schanzer

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Today I talked to Jonathan Schanzer about his new book Gaza Conflict 2021 (Foundation for Defense of Democracies, 2021). The May 2021 conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas generated …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel December 29, 2021

American Schism

How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation

Seth David Radwell

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Why are Americans so angry? American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation (Greenleaf, 2021) explores history to find the answer to a divided America …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel December 17, 2021

Abraham Joshua Heschel

A Life of Radical Amazement

Julian E. Zelizer

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
“When I marched in Selma, I felt my legs were praying.” So said Polish-born American rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) of his involvement in the 1965 Selma civil rights march …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel November 17, 2021

The Armenians of Aintab

The Economics of Genocide in an Ottoman Province

Ümit Kurt

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Ümit Kurt, born and raised in Gaziantep, Turkey, was astonished to learn that his hometown once had a large and active Armenian community. The Armenian presence in Aintab, the city’s …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel November 10, 2021

Drunk

How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization

Edward Slingerland

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Ever since Noah exited the ark, human beings have been wanting to get drunk and high. Why? Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (Hachette, 2021) …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel October 21, 2021

Why Learn History (When It's Already on Your Phone)

Sam Wineburg

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
We are surrounded by more readily available information than ever before. And a huge percentage of it is inaccurate. Some of the bad info is well-meaning but ignorant. Some of …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel October 18, 2021

Troubled Water

What's Wrong with What We Drink

Seth M. Siegel

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
There’s nothing more vital to survival than water. “Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink!”, said the Ancient Mariner, in the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Besides widespread …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel September 16, 2021

The Star and the Scepter

A Diplomatic History of Israel

Emmanuel Navon

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
The first all-encompassing book on Israel’s foreign policy and the diplomatic history of the Jewish people, The Star and the Scepter: A Diplomatic History of Israel (Jewish Publication Society, 2020) retraces …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel September 6, 2021

Christian Globalism at Home

Child Sponsorship in the United States

Hillary Kaell

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Child sponsorship, originally a project of nineteenth-century Protestant missionaries, has become one of today’s most profitable private fund-raising tools for global organizations, including World Vision, Compassion International, and ChildFund. Christian …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel August 31, 2021

From Africa To Zion

The Shepherd Boy Who Became Israel's First Ethiopian-born Journalist

Danny Adeno Abebe

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
In 1984, in an unprecedented act of brotherhood, Israel airlifted thousands of persecuted and starving Ethiopian Jews from Africa to Israel. They had been waiting in Ethiopia for millennia, sustained …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel July 29, 2021

MAPPING THE GREAT GAME

Explorers, Spies & Maps in 19th Century Central Asia, India and Tibet

Riaz Dean

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
“A map is the greatest of all epic poems, its lines and colors show the realization of great dreams.” --Gilbert Grosvenor The Great Game raged through the wilds of Central …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel July 16, 2021

Cultural Disjunctions

Post-Traditional Jewish Identities

Paul Mendes-Flohr

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
The identity of contemporary Jews is multifaceted, no longer necessarily defined by an observance of the Torah and God’s commandments. Indeed, the Jews of modernity are no longer exclusively Jewish …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel July 2, 2021

Theological Stains

Art Music and the Zionist Project

Assaf Shelleg

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Theological Stains: Art Music and the Zionist Project (Oxford UP, 2020) offers the first in-depth study of the development of art music in Israel from the mid-twentieth century to the …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel June 28, 2021

War

How Conflict Shaped Us

Margaret MacMillan

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
“…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” -Isaiah …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel June 14, 2021

Dedicated

The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

Pete Davis

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Most of us have had this experience: browsing through countless options on Netflix, unable to commit to watching any given movie—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel June 7, 2021

Friendship

The Evolution, Biology and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond

Lydia Denworth

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
The phenomenon of friendship is universal and elemental. Friends, after all, are the family we choose. But what makes these bonds not just pleasant but essential, and how do they …