The Desecrated and the Sacred: Making Sense of October 7
Zoom Webinar
In this online lecture, an anthropologist of mental health in Israel will explore the cultural work of those who experienced the violence of October 7 inside their homes and in their communities, aimed at making sense of the worst massacre of Jews in generations. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observations conducted in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack, this talk will shed light on how secular Israelis have used biblical verses, traditional ritual practices, and interconnected collective memories to provide a sense of rootedness and order amid emotional and political turmoil. They have anchored their experiences of trauma and resilience within a network of religious and social texts and contexts.
Trauma and Healing in Israel Today
Join Penn’s Katz Center, the Weitzman Museum, and the Koret Center for Jewish Civilization for an online lecture series exploring contemporary issues related to health and medicine in Israel. Throughout its history, Israel has earned a reputation for innovation and advancement in medical science, and placed a special focus on public health as part of the state-building enterprise. Learn from experts about how Israeli practitioners and scholars are responding to new challenges including pandemic, trauma, medical advances, and more.
Featuring
Keren Friedman-Peleg
The College of Management-Academic Studies
Keren Friedman-Peleg is a senior lecturer and dean of students at the College of Management Academic Studies. A medical and psychological anthropologist, her research combines clinical questions of security-related trauma diagnosis, treatment, and prevention with socio-political questions of national belonging and inequality. At the Katz Center, she will focus on the national home and the private home in the context of threatened security.
Friedman-Peleg received her PhD from Tel-Aviv University. She was previously a visiting scholar at the Katz Center and a visiting assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s department of anthropology and Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies
Cosponsors
This series is co-presented by the Katz Center, the Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History, and the Koret Center for Jewish Civilization together with Tel Aviv University and ANU–Museum of the Jewish People.
The Katz Center gratefully acknowledges support for the series from the Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation, the Klatt family, and the Harry Stern Family Foundation.