In this episode, Avraham Burg speaks with Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. The pair speaks about Akyol’s upbringing in Istanbul, his career as a journalist and author, and the place of both Jesus and Moses within the Quran and Muslim thought. Throughout, Akyol explores the lengthy history between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, highlighting the many ways that these religions an...
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In this episode, Avraham Burg speaks with Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. The pair speaks about Akyol’s upbringing in Istanbul, his career as a journalist and author, and the place of both Jesus and Moses within the Quran and Muslim thought. Throughout, Akyol explores the lengthy history between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, highlighting the many ways that these religions an...
In this episode, Avraham Burg speaks with Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. The pair speaks about Akyol’s upbringing in Istanbul, his career as a journalist and author, and the place of both Jesus and Moses within the Quran and Muslim thought. Throughout, Akyol explores the lengthy history between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, highlighting the many ways that these religions an...
In this episode, Avraham Burg speaks with Gabriel Reynolds, Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, about his personal and academic journey from suburban Connecticut to becoming a leading scholar of Islamic studies and Comparative Theology. Reynolds shares how his roots in the region, travels to the Middle East, and academic curiosity led him to study the Quran from a historical-critical perspective, emphasizing its engagement with Biblical traditions. They also explore the theological and socio...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg meets Sr. Maureena Fritz, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, professor emerita at the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, and the former director of the English Language Sector of the Ratisbonne Pontifical Institute in Jerusalem to discuss her life's journey: from growing up in Canada, pursuing a career in education, relocating to Jerusalem, and the relationship between Judaism and Christia...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg sits down with Alexandra (Ali) Mauritsen, a Notre Dame alumna who spent a year working with the children of refugees and migrant workers at The Saint Rachel Center in Jerusalem. Together they discuss Ali’s diverse background, world travels, and early encounters with global health care systems that encouraged her to pursue a career in medicine. They also talk about Ali’s relationship with her faith, exploring how her Catholic upbringing ...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg joins Fr. Anthony Giambrone, who serves as Vice Director of the École Biblique, a research institute for biblical and archeological studies in Jerusalem. They explore the spiritual and historical significance of Jerusalem, contrasting it with Rome and Fr. Giambrone’s American upbringing. Fr. Giambrone reflects on Jerusalem’s duality (its humanity and divinity) and the relationship between Jerusalem's raw reality and spiritual depth. The...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg sits down with Reverend Fr. Iyad Twal*, the executive vice president at Bethlehem University and a professor of theology. Together, they look at Fr. Twal’s Jordanian roots, his deep connection to the Holy Land, and his mission of keeping hope alive. Their conversation explores topics such as the challenges facing Christian communities in the Middle East, the role of education in fostering interfaith dialogue, and the importance of prese...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg speaks with Dr. Rivka Karplus, a family physician and an internal medicine and infections specialist. They talk about Dr. Karplus’ unique upbringing and her journey from a Jewish background to her embrace of Catholic tradition and membership in Jerusalem’s Hebrew-speaking Catholic community. Dr. Karplus describes the fabric of this minority community and how it functions within a majority Jewish culture. They talk about Jewish-Christian...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg visits the House of Grace in Haifa to speak with its director, Jamal Shehadeh, about the center's transformative work. They talk about Jamal’s parents - who founded the House of Grace as a rehabilitation center for released inmates - as well as the center’s core philosophical approach. As a Palestinian-Israeli Christian with Swiss heritage, Jamal reflects on his experience as an outsider to both communities and how he has come to embrac...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg sits with Prof. Mouna Maroun, who serves as Rector at the University of Haifa and is a professor of neurobiology. They talk about the interplay of identity, memory, and the role of faith and tradition in shaping her Maronite heritage. Professor Maroun reflects on the emotional and communal aspects of her identity, emphasizing how shared experiences, family rituals, and oral history preserve traditions within her community. Their c...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg engages with Bishop Rafic Nahra, an auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, to discuss his unique role in the Holy Land. Bishop Nahra reflects on his journey, which spans multiple cultures, languages, and religious communities. The conversation explores the bishop's mission of fostering coexistence, interfaith dialogue, and love. He emphasizes the Catholics church’s commitment to education, service to all communities, a...
In this episode of Jerusalem Talks, Avraham (Avrum) Burg explores the personal journey of Bishop Jamal Khader, who previously served as patriarchal vicar for the diocese in Jordan and is currently the head of the dioceses of Djibouti and Somalia. During their conversation, they detail Bishop Khader’s identity as a Palestinian Christian, the physical and spiritual connection to the Holy Land, and the challenges of navigating interfaith dynamics between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. They also ...
In the first episode of Jerusalem Talks’s second season, Avraham (Avrum) Burg is joined by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to discuss his responsibilities as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the challenges facing the Holy Land’s diverse Catholic communities. Then, they reflect on the Church’s transition in the region from political power to moral voice, emphasizing the importance of interfaith dialogue in the Holy Land. They also talk about the Church's mission to bring hope, compa...
In this second season of Jerusalem TalksND, we will be exploring Catholic Perspectives on the Holy Land. As Notre Dame’s representatives in Jerusalem, we often grapple with what it means to be a University defined by its Catholic character within our local and regional context. Why does the Holy Land matter to Catholics? What do Catholics abroad know about the Christian communities who live in this Land? How should that inform conversations about this place at a theological, social, and poli...
In episode five, Avrum Burg and Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari address the Israeli government's proposed judicial reform as well as the polarized public debate surrounding the proposed legislation. Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari is an expert on family law and international women's rights, and is the Founding Director of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty in Israel, where she serves as a Full Professor. In December 2018 she completed...
In episode four, Avrum Burg and Professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri discuss the role of education and identity in Jerusalem and how diversity fits into the broader social framework of the city's future. Professor Khoury-Kassabri is the Vice President of Strategy and Diversity and Dean of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In her role as VP for Diversity, Prof. Khoury-Kassabri is responsible for determining and implementing the Universi...
In episode three, Avrum Burg and Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg reflect on the evolution of Judaism within their family over the last few generations, and where in a contested city one can find points of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg is the Associate Director at NIF (New Israel Fund) Israel and Director of the Development and International Relations Department. She previously served as the director of the Jewish Pluralism Watch, iRep- Israel Religious ...
In episode two, Professor Sari Nusseibeh shares his experiences as a Palestinian growing up in East Jerusalem, engagement between Israeli and Palestinian communities in the city since 1967, and how the city has changed in the last 50 years. Prof. Sari Nusseibeh served as President of al-Quds University 1995-2014. He is the author of several books - including The Story of Reason in Islam and Once Upon a Country - and articles in both Arabic and English. He is currently an adjunct faculty memb...
In Jerusalem Talks’s inaugural episode, Avrum Burg and Fr. David Neuhaus discuss the role of Christians and Christianity in a holy city that is predominantly inhabited by Jews and Muslims. Fr. David Neuhaus is a Jesuit priest, scholar and professor of Theology. He was superior of the Jesuit community of the house of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. Previously, he assumed the office of Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
In this episode, Avraham Burg speaks with Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. The pair speaks about Akyol’s upbringing in Istanbul, his career as a journalist and author, and the place of both Jesus and Moses within the Quran and Muslim thought. Throughout, Akyol explores the lengthy history between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, highlighting the many ways that these religions an...
