Israel Program: Circassians of the Galilee

The Israeli Circassians are part of a world-wide diaspora of people that struggle to keep their ethno-national identity while also integrating into the larger Israeli society. They are a proud Muslim community, with a reputation of being among the most religiously devoted communities in comparison to other Circassians in the Middle East and in their homeland in the Caucasus. The youth attend Hebrew high schools, and the men serve compulsory service in the IDF. These integrations raise many questions. Should Circassians attend the compulsory classes in the Jewish bible? How does the more salient presence of Jewish (and often national-Orthodox rhetoric) influence them? How do they conduct their relations with Circassians in neighboring Arab countries, some of them in prominent military and governmental positions? Israeli Circassians have a story that is interesting by itself, and the specific characteristics of the Muslim Circassians in Israel allow us to explore some basic dilemmas of Israel as a Jewish and democratic State. Program is free of cost. RSVPs are appreciated to program@germantownjewishcentre.org.

The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania supports community programming through a generous endowment from the Klatt family.

Germantown Jewish Centre extends thanks and gratitude to the Stern/Gafni Endowment for Israel Engagement for their generous support of Israel Programming at GJC.