Georgetown University’s
Department of Government and
Program for Jewish Civilization

present

The Chosen: The History of An Idea, and the Anatomy of An Obsession

A lecture by

Avi Beker
Aaron and Cecile Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor,
author of “The Chosen: The History of An Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession”

Tuesday, April 1st
5:00 PM
Copley Formal Lounge, Copley Hall

Everybody knows the expression “The Chosen People” but very few–Jews or non-Jews–are able to speak intelligently about it. Avi Beker examines the idea of “chosenness” for the first time as an important but ill-understood marker for how we, as individuals and communities, distinguish ourselves from each other. What does it mean for Jews to be the “Chosen People”? How is Jewish chosenness perceived by non-Jews? Why does this idea of chosenness still inform new views of anti-Semitism? Avi Beker looks at the concept from the Old and New Testaments to the Arab-Israeli conflicts to popular culture references to end-of-time beliefs of evangelicals, and highlights what all of us can learn from this very complex and controversial label.

Avi Beker served as Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) until 2003. He served as a member of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN and was a delegate to five General Assemblies dedicated to disarmament. He founded the Israel Council for Foreign Relations and the Institute for Research at the WJC. He lectures on international diplomacy at Tel Aviv University where he is also head of the UN Project and the Jewish Policy Project.

Beker’s book is due at the end of the month by Palgrave-Macmillan.

Please RSVP to Christopher Cruden: cfc7@georgetown.edu