7:00 p.m. Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Memorial and Yizkor services, led by Rabbi Rachlis and Cantor Braier, during which UCI Prof. Jeffrey Kopstein will speak about “Anti-Semitism At The University of California: A New Survey.” He will address how the outbreak of anti-Semitism on university campuses has shocked the nation and how prevalent it is and what it means for our future. Are campuses breeding grounds for anti-Semitism? How closely is campus activism associated with the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza?  Prof. Kopstein has explored these questions by conducting a survey at four University of California campuses before and after October 7.  He will tell us what our university students are actually thinking and from where they get their ideas.  There is both good news and bad news.

Jeffrey Kopstein is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Irvine. In his research, Prof. Kopstein focuses on interethnic violence, voting patterns of minority groups, antisemitism, and anti-liberal tendencies in civil society, paying special attention to cases within European and Russian Jewish history. These interests are central topics in his latest books, Intimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust and Politics, Memory, Violence: The New Social Science of the Holocaust.

Prof. Kopstein joined the faculty of UCI, following professorial posts at the University of Toronto and University of Colorado at Boulder. His work has been featured widely in academic journals and in the popular press, including pieces in The Washington Post and The Atlantic, and he was awarded the Ina Levine Invitational Fellowship to continue his research on social scientific approaches to the Holocaust. Prof. Kopstein’s expertise in Jewish studies and political science serves as the foundation for the School of Social Sciences’ interest in developing an Israel Studies program that creates and sustains cross-regional and interdisciplinary research discussions.  Sponsored by Dr. Miriam Piven Cotler.

Our Oneg Shabbat will be sponsored by the Shuster Family, in honor of Itai Shuster, who became a Bar Mitzvah in April.

Register for in-person services below. 

Enter names of all attendees in the Notes section. 

Click here to watch via live stream from your home, or access the video at a later time.