Israel Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Dr. Tal Becker
Friday, February 20 – Saturday, February 21
Join us for a weekend of learning, reflection, and conversation with Dr. Tal Becker, Vice President of the Hartman Institute and a veteran Israeli peace negotiator and policy expert. Together, we will explore how Jewish communities navigate uncertainty, responsibility, and hope in a rapidly shifting global and political landscape.
This weekend is sponsored by Temple Beth El’s Ahavat Medinat Yisrael (Love for the State of Israel) Endowment. Saturday evening’s program is co-sponsored with the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte.
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Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 20 at 6:13pm
Our Shabbat Evening Service will feature our 2026 Israel Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Tal Becker. In the first of three presentations over the course of the weekend, Dr. Becker will speak during services on “How Change Happens: Jewish Agency in the Era of Uncertainty.”
We appear to have entered a period of profound volatility. We are surrounded by information, yet often feel more anxious than informed. Whether we feel hopeful or fearful about the future of Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people can depend more on who we listen to than on shared facts. In this environment, how do we understand Jewish agency? How do we act with purpose, responsibility, and clarity amid uncertainty?
Join us after services for a Shabbat dinner with friends, family, and Dr. Becker. Please register below by Wednesday, February 18.
Saturday, February 21 at 9:00am
In the aftermath of October 7th and the war that followed, Israel and the Jewish people seem to be grappling once again with a sense of aloneness and isolation, which many believed belonged to a bygone era. With the surge in antisemitism, and the challenges to Israel’s legitimacy in much of the world, the idea that we are “A Nation that Dwells Alone” feels all too real – with Jewish people divided as to whether that phrase represents a curse, a blessing or a destiny we cannot avoid.
Dr. Tal Becker will lead us through a textual exploration of the relationship of the Jewish people with this concept of loneliness and a new way to understand its implications for the future.
Please note: Torah Study will be in-person only. Registration is requested but not required.
Saturday, February 21 at 7:00pm | Sam Lerner Center for Cultural Arts
Join us for an evening of community and conversation co-sponsored by Temple Beth El and the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. We will recite the Havdalah blessings to mark the close of Shabbat over coffee and dessert. Rabbi Knight will moderate a conversation with Dr. Tal Becker focusing on the current political climate in Israel, the relationship between Israel and American Jews, the struggle of navigating international criticism of Israel, and the shifting geo-political realities in the region.
There is no cost for the evening, but reservations are required.
About Dr. Tal Becker
Dr. Tal Becker is a Vice President at the Shalom Hartman Institute, where he leads educational initiatives on Israel and the Jewish world.
In this capacity, he is a leading member of the Institute’s iEngage research seminar which produces the premier educational program on Israel engagement in North America, working to strengthen and re-imagine the relationship between Israel and World Jewry.
He served, until recently, as the Legal Adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has been a senior member of the Israeli peace negotiation team in successive rounds of peace negotiations. Tal has represented Israel before the International Court of Justice, and played an instrumental role in negotiating and drafting the recent peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco (the “Abraham Accords”). With over two decades of experience on the front lines of many of Israel’s most pressing diplomatic, legal, and policy challenges, Tal has been a leading negotiator and behind-the-scenes representative for Israel in a wide variety of contexts.
He earned his doctorate from Columbia University and, among numerous scholarly awards, is the winner of the Rabin Peace Prize and the 2007 Guggenheim Prize for best international law book for his book Terrorism and the State.