For nearly 35 years, SUNY New Paltz’s Louis and Mildred Resnick Institute’s Distinguished Lectureship Series has been a preeminent academic resource for Jewish society, culture and politics in coordination with the University’s Jewish Studies program.
The 2023 series was one of the strongest, and most timely, in the program’s illustrious history, with a cast of experts exploring topics on the theme of “Israel at 75” in a historical moment when the eyes of the world are fixed on that nation.
The Hamas attacks of October 2023 and subsequent events in the region heightened the stakes of the Resnick Series discussions, but these events – free, online, public lectures open to all – proved to be a welcome forum for enlightened, expert discourse and an airing of diverse viewpoints.
“Our presentations, I must say, have been remarkably free of polemics and full of authentic empathy for all,” said Gerald Sorin, director of the Resnick Institute and professor emeritus of history at New Paltz.
This year’s guest speakers offered audiences a trove of insight on current events and the deep and meaningful historical context behind the headlines.
One such speaker was Peter Beinart, professor of journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and accomplished writer, editor, and broadcast news commentator, who spoke with SUNY New Paltz Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lewis Brownstein on the topics of “Zionism, Anti Zionism, and Antisemitism.”
The Nov. 6 dialogue emerged as a meditation on Beinart’s personal views on the conflict, and his hope for peace in the West Bank region.
“I’ve never had a period in my life where politics and international affairs created so much agony among people that I knew,” he said. “It’s a hard time, it’s a difficult time to have conversations, because so many people are in so much pain, including myself.”
The series encapsulates the vision Louis and Mildred Resnick had for bringing Jewish issues to academic discourse on campus prior to their deaths in 2002 and 2009, respectively.
Their philanthropic contribution to start the Resnick Institute was inspired by a desire to provide opportunities for students, faculty, and members of the greater New Paltz community to engage in stimulating learning experiences and discussion for a deeper understanding of Jewish civilization, and to contribute Jewish academic discourse to the larger liberal arts dialogue.
Their lifetime contributions to this cause exceeded over $2 million, resulting in the establishment of the Institute, the naming of the Louis and Mildred Resnick Engineering Hall, and hundreds of scholarships for students. Click here to learn more about the Resnicks’ legacy.
Resnick Series programming will resume this spring with the annual Resnick Holocaust Lecture on April 17 at 5 p.m. That virtual event will feature Talia Levanon, chief executive officer of the Israel Trauma Coalition for Response and Preparedness. More information and the link to RSVP will be shared as it approaches.
To sign up for regular messaging from the Resnick Institute, including updates about the Lecture Series schedule, please contact the director of the Institute, Gerald Sorin, at soring@newpaltz.edu.
