Recent Videos

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  Bruce Hoffman Analyzes bin Laden’s Death

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  On May 2, 2011, Navy SEALS cornered and killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, nearly ten years after the so-called War on Terror was first declared. Bin Laden’s death leaves unanswered questions such as: Who will inherit al-Qaeda’s leadership? What is the future of the Taliban insurgency? And will this lead to greater stability in the region? Bruce Hoffman joins Professor Sarah Fainberg to discuss these problematics in this Faith Complex. Dr. Hoffman is Director of the Center for Peace [...]

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  Jerusha Lamptey on Wearing the Hijab in the USA

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  On March 21, 2012, Shaima Alawadi, an Iraqi-American mother of five, was found savagely beaten in her California home, and died three days later. Next to the body, according to her son, was a note reading: “This is my country. Go back to yours, terrorist.” Understandably, the killing has been viewed by many as an Islamophobic hate crime. Although the circumstances of the crime remain unclear, the tragedy does raise many questions about religious tolerance, especially towards Muslim-American women who [...]

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  Chaim Levin on Jewish Orthodoxy and Homosexuality

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  Last year, Crown Heights native Chaim Levin participated in making an It Gets Better video for gay Orthodox Jews. He was subsequently pilloried for perceived “self-indulgence.” In response, Levin authored his own piece detailing his struggles with reconciling his religious upbringing and homosexuality. Chaim Levin kindly agreed to travel down to Washington, DC in order to participate in Faith Complex. In this episode with Jacques Berlinerblau, he discusses the challenges facing LGBTQ youth in the Orthodox community, the controversial JONAH [...]

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  Dan Schueftan on the Strategic Environment in the Middle East

  December 5, 2012 / Lectures Live

  In this talk, Professor Dan Schueftan discusses how the recent social and political changes in the Middle East affect the strategic environment there, particularly as it relates to Israeli and American foreign policy and the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Dr. Schueftan is the Director of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Political Sciences there and at the Israel Defense Forces National Defense College. He is the Aaron and Cecile [...]

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  Hannah Rosenthal on Current Trends in Anti-Semitism

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  How do you differentiate between legitimate criticisms of the Israeli state and anti-Semitic sentiment? And how do you promote freedoms of expression while still curtailing anti-Semitic hate speech? Hannah Rosenthal, State Department Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Semitism, joins Jacques Berlinerblau on Faith Complex to explain how her office deals with these and other difficult questions. Created by a 2004 Congressional mandate, the Office of the Special Envoy aims to monitor the status of anti-Semitism and Jewish communities in [...]

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  Asra Nomani Analyzes the Egyptian Blue Bra Revolution

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  During the Tahrir Square uprisings in Cairo, onlookers captured this extremely disturbing video of Egyptian military police brutalizing a female protester, dragging her along the street so that her blue bra becomes visible in the course of the beating. The incident sparked a wave of solidarity across Egypt and the unnamed “blue bra girl” has become an icon and rallying cry. Crucially, the Blue Bra Revolution also turns the spotlight on what the role of women will be in the [...]

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  Matthew Bowman on the Mormon Moment We’re in

  December 5, 2012 / Faith Complex

  In 2001, Newsweek magazine first coined the term “Mormon moment” to refer to the LDS Church’s sudden thrust into the spotlight. The Mormons have flitted in and out of the national consciousness since the community’s founding in the 19th century, according to Matthew Bowman, Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College, but Mitt Romney’s campaign for the presidency may be the biggest Mormon moment yet. Professor Bowman is the author of the recently released The Mormon People: The Making of an [...]

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  Election 2012: Michele Swers, Georgetown University

  October 24, 2012 / Jewish Vote 2012

  Dr. Swers, Associate Professor in Georgetown University’s Government Department talks about long-term trends in Jewish voting habits and reviews key statistics needed to make sense of the Jewish vote.

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  Election 2012: Richard Heideman, RJC

  October 24, 2012 / Jewish Vote 2012

  Richard Heideman of the Republican Jewish Coalition makes an impassioned plea for Jewish voters to recognize that their interests are best served by a Romney/Ryan ticket.

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