In conjunction with Tali Keren’s exhibition “The Great Seal,” this panel will focus on the connection between Apocalyptic prophecies of the end of days and current political events. Three leading and diverse researchers and thinkers will present diverging conceptions of messianic redemption as expressed in the Evangelical organization Christians United for Israel, various Jewish and philosemitic groups, as well as in Hollywood films. Among the speakers: Dr. Ofri Ilany, Erez Devorah, and Liat Schlesinger. Moderated by Dr. Assaf Tamari.
Liat Schlesinger will discuss the rise and influence of the political alliance between the Israeli right and Evangelical Christianity and how, although many Evangelical groups believe in a messianic prophecy that includes an apocalyptic vision of the State of Israel and the death of millions of Jews, state agencies still actively cooperate with them.
Dr. Ofri Ilany will survey Christian philosophy and Jewish self-love in a post-Holocaust and post-secular era.
Erez Deborah will focus on how The Rapture is depicted in film and television. Among other things, he will refer to the “Left Behind” (2014) film series and other genres in science fiction films based on the idea of destruction and redemption, such as the television show “The Prophecy” (2004).
About the Speakers:
Dr. Ofri Ilany is an historian and teacher at Tel Aviv University and NYU in Tel Aviv. His book, “In Search of the Hebrew People: Bible and Enlightenment in Germany,” was published last year by Zalman Shazar. He writes regularly for Haaretz newspaper in the column “Under the Sun.”
Erez Dvora is a doctoral student at the Film Department in Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of Film and Philosophy Studies at Tel Aviv University. He also serves as a film critic at the online newspaper Ynet news.
Liat Schlesinger is the executive director of Molad, where she was previously head of investigative research Prior to joining Molad, Schlesinger was an investigative journalist at “Ma’ariv,” an Israeli daily. In 2013, she was awarded the Pratt Prize for Environmental Journalism. She holds an M.A. in International Community Development from the Hebrew University.
Dr. Assaf Tamari is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania and is about to start post-doctoral research as a Polonsky-Boer Lear specialist, specializing in early modern Jewish intellectual history, specializing in Kabbalistic literature.
Wednesday, August 2nd at 7pm