America and the Jews: History, Identity, and the Road Ahead is a four-part virtual series that offers participants an accessible look at the forces that have shaped Jewish life in America — and the questions now testing that relationship. Tracing its arc from the foundational ideals that bound Jews to the American democratic experiment to the political, cultural, and generational pressures defining this moment, the series examines what it has meant — and what it means today — to be Jewish in America.
Each session considers how shifting politics, social movements, and historical events have shaped Jewish identity, communal power, and the U.S.–Israel relationship. By placing major developments within their broader historical and cultural contexts, participants gain the tools to understand how this story was built, how it is changing, and the questions that will shape its future.
Each session considers how shifting politics, social movements, and historical events have shaped Jewish identity, communal power, and the U.S.–Israel relationship. By placing major developments within their broader historical and cultural contexts, participants gain the tools to understand how this story was built, how it is changing, and the questions that will shape its future.
Session Schedule
Thursday, AUGUST 6
Session 1:
Zion in America
Zion in America
How the idea of "Zion" helped shape America as a new Israel, and how this concept has defined the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem
Thursday, AUGUST 13
Session 2:
The Jewish Contract with America
The Jewish Contract with America
The distinctive ingredients that framed the American Jewish experience, and what the potential end of a "golden age" means for the community's future
Thursday, AUGUST 20
Session 3:
The Israel-American Connection
The Israel-American Connection
The key historical, cultural, and political forces shaping the U.S.–Israel relationship, and how American Jews and Israelis can make the case for its significance to a skeptical public
Thursday, AUGUST 27
Session 4:
Jews and American Racism/Anti-Semitism
Jews and American Racism/Anti-Semitism
The roots of hate in America and the evolution of antisemitism alongside broader American racism, Jewish political power, and communal advocacy over 250 years
America and the Jews: History, Identity, and the Road Ahead with Dr. Steven Windmueller
Thursdays | August 6–27, 2026
12:00–1:15 PM ET | Virtual Series
Dr. Steven Windmueller is Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, where he also served as Dean of the LA campus and director of its School of Jewish Nonprofit Management. His career spans decades of leadership in Jewish communal life, including roles at the American Jewish Committee and the Los Angeles Jewish Federation's JCRC.
The author of four books and numerous articles, Dr. Windmueller holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on Jewish communal trends, antisemitism, and Jewish political behavior, and his writing appears regularly in the Times of Israel and other publications. He is a Fellow of the Jerusalem Institute of Public Affairs and a faculty member of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture's Nahum Goldmann Fellowship.
The author of four books and numerous articles, Dr. Windmueller holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on Jewish communal trends, antisemitism, and Jewish political behavior, and his writing appears regularly in the Times of Israel and other publications. He is a Fellow of the Jerusalem Institute of Public Affairs and a faculty member of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture's Nahum Goldmann Fellowship.