The Z3 Project, a global initiative of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, Calif., is celebrating a decade of bringing together Jews from across the Diaspora and Israel, demonstrating how to be inspired by difficult conversations and open dialogue on issues such as Zionism, antisemitism and Jewish identity. With recent events surrounding the ongoing Hamas War, the Jewish community is increasingly turning to initiatives like The Z3 Project as a way to understand each other’s perspectives and struggles.
The Z3 Project was created in 2014 to help the Jewish community engage in meaningful discourse on the hard issues it faces. Recognizing that there is no one unified Jewish perspective or opinion even on such central issues as antisemitism, Zionism, American Jewry, political discourse and ethics, the Z3 Project operates on the principle that for there to be a thriving future for the Jewish people, we need to convene and learn how to listen and speak with each other.
“The Z3 Project was created to help the Jewish people relearn how to talk to each other when we disagree, to learn from each other and re-instill a shared respect for each other,” explains Rabbi Amitai Fraiman, director of The Z3 Project. “We chose these uncomfortable conversations, not because we enjoy having them, but because they need to be had. Our mission over these past ten years, and into the future, is to ensure that we as a people continue to have open debates that help bring the Jewish people together as we face whatever the future holds for us.”
The Z3 Project approaches this challenge with three primary strategies:
• The Z3 Conference brings together some of the Jewish world’s greatest minds to delve deep into the many challenges facing our community. Past speakers have included such diverse figures as Tzipi Livni, Amos Harel and Noa Tishby. By bringing together powerful speakers with multiple perspectives on these issues, attendees can begin to understand and empathize with perspectives that are not necessarily theirs and bring that empathy back into their communities to continue an open discourse.
• The Z3 Leadership Lab offers leaders and organizations from the Jewish world the training and tools needed to foster and moderate these difficult conversations. From congregational lay leaders to Jews looking to be a positive voice, the Leadership Lab is the gateway to turning shouting matches into fruitful discussions.
• The Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities is a research-based think tank led by David Hazony that aims to transform how the Jewish world talks about the next era in Zionism, Diaspora-Israeli relations and Jewish peoplehood.
Over the next year, the Z3 Project will be in a phase of exciting growth and expansion:
• Upcoming Conferences will showcase a new roster of speakers from around the world at the national Z3 Conference. This coming year will also see several satellite Z3 conferences being launched in cities around the United States. Information on these conferences will be announced over the next several months.
• Expanding the Z3 Leadership Lab will allow more participants than ever before to take part. As the complexities facing the Jewish community at home and in Israel increase, training on how to moderate the debates around it is more critical than ever.
• Z3 Institute Fellowship announcements new scholars will be named as this year’s Z3 Fellows. The Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities will elevate scholars’ expertise by publishing their books and engaging them in public-speaking events on the subjects of Zionism, Diaspora-Israeli Relations and Jewish peoplehood. The first round of Z3 Fellows will be announced this fall.
These significant expansions of the Z3 Project’s work are enhancing its unique role as the voice for open dialogue and introspection within the Jewish people, as well as creating new environments that allow all perspectives to come together in meaningful conversation.
For more information about the Oshman Family JCC, visit: https://www.paloaltojcc.org or call (650) 223–8700.
