Our guest on the Podcast is Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Professor of Jewish Studies, holding the M. Glazer Chair of Jewish Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. He discusses how he played a significant role in creating one of the largest and oldest Jewish studies programs in America. He has also contributed to the training of many future community leaders, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In our discussion, we explore the challenges of teaching about the Holocaust in Jewish studies amidst the current rise of antisemitism and the impact of AI. Additionally, we reflect on the many influential leaders and Jewish writers he personally knew, including Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi.

Matt Reiswerg was an American soccer player and coach who was born and raised in Indianapolis and played for Indiana University. He had a professional career with the Cincinnati Riverhawks and the Indiana Blast. In 2005, he won a silver medal with Team USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. In this episode of IN-Jewish History, Matt shares the story of his grandfather, Rube Reiswerg, who was a professional basketball player in Indianapolis and the city’s last kosher butcher. He explains how his grandfather influenced his own sports career.

In this episode of the IN-Jewish History Podcast, we speak with Rabbi Michael A. Davis, who has strong roots in Indiana. His grandfather, Rabbi Abraham Cronbach, was born in Indianapolis, and his father, Maurice Davis, served as the Rabbi of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, where Rabbi Michael grew up. Starting in 1995, Rabbi Michael became the spiritual leader of Congregation Emanu-El. As a proud third-generation Reform rabbi, he obtained his rabbinic ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, a post-denominational rabbinical seminary. Additionally, he pursued graduate rabbinic studies at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute and completed his undergraduate studies at Indiana University.