The Center for Jewish Civilization and its cosponsors (Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Georgetown Jewish Life, The Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Alfanar, and The Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art, Inc. ) are pleased to announce its upcoming conference, Welcoming the Stranger: Abrahamic Hospitality and Its Contemporary Implications. This forum will examine the positive and negative receptions of strangers in the three Abrahamic traditions through Biblical and historical anecdotes. Our examination will be deepened by a reevaluation of welcoming strangers around the world over the past 85 years. From forced isolation leading to genocide, to the refusal of asylum, we seek to understand the repercussions of welcoming and rejecting strangers in our modern, interconnected world.

Agenda:

10:00 am Welcome Remarks

Dr. Jessica Roda, Assistant Professor of Jewish Civilization; Assistant Director, Center for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University

10:05 am Introductions

Dr. Ori Z. Soltes, Professor of the Teaching of Jewish Civilization, Center for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University

10:15 am – 11:45 am First Panel

“Welcoming the Stranger in Judaism”

Rabbi Rachel Gartner, Director for Jewish Life, Campus Ministry, Georgetown University

“Welcoming the Stranger in Christianity”

Reverend Craig Mousin, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, DePaul University

“Welcoming the Stranger in Islam”

Dr. Zeki Saritoprak, Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies, John Carroll University

11:45 am – 12:45 pm Lunch Served

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Second Panel

“Fritz Ascher. A Jewish Artist in Germany.”

Rachel Stern, Founding Director and CEO, Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art, Inc.

Carol Prendergast, Senior Advisor, Alfanar Venture Philanthropy (www.alfanar.org)

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Q&A with All of the Speakers

3:30 pm – 4:15 pm Endnote Address

"The Digital Future of Hospitality"

Dr. Lindsay Balfour, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies, Concordia College

4:15 pm – 4:30 pm Closing Remarks

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Any person with an accommodation request is welcome to email us at cjcinfo@georgetown.edu. We will try to meet these accommodation requests to the best of our ability.