Z3 and Hausner: Celebrating Zionism, Peoplehood, and Partnership

At Hausner, one of our core values is Israel. When you walk onto our campus, you will hear tempoed and melodic Hebrew conversations; see Israeli flags hanging in the classrooms; and notice the word “Israel” etched into our Jerusalem Stone Wall. And, of course, our namesake is an Israeli icon who personifies bringing justice, honor, compassion, and education to Israel and the world as the former Attorney General of Israel, Member of the Knesset, and prosecutor in the Adolf Eichman trial: Gideon Hausner. 

The celebration of and commitment to Israel is one of the many reasons I send my children to Hausner. I believe I share this with so many parents.

Prior to my time as the Enrollment and Family Engagement Director, my career was dedicated to Israel and Diaspora relations. One of the professional projects I am most proud of is the role I played as producer of the Z3 Conference in 2018.

What is Z3 you may ask? Well….

Z3 stands for Zionism 3.0. It’s this generation’s Zionism; for all of those who love Israel and also understand and acknowledge Israel’s imperfections. 

Z3 is for those who understand that Jewish peoplehood relies on Diaspora Jews and Israeli Jews to partner and support one another. 

Z3 brings to the stage innovative and influential intellectuals, artists, politicians and activists who are dedicated to nurturing Jewish peoplehood.

Z3 is a big tent housing the young and the old, the Jewish and the non, the left and the right, the orthodox and the secular, the Israeli Jew and the Diaspora Jew, the hawk and the dove… and everyone in between.

The common threads that weave the Z3 tapestry together: the agony we feel when we think about October 7; the anger and dogged dedication we have to releasing the 101 remaining hostages; the despair we have for the 1200 we lost on that black sabbath and the hundreds of soldiers, police officers and civilians that Israeli families continue to; the yearning for a peaceful and safe Israel and Middle East.

What I personally love is that the Z3 project and Hausner align when it comes to how we value Israel and Jewish peoplehood. I am proud that our school is one of Z3’s organizational partners. As a partner, we support the mission of Z3, invite our teaching team to attend by providing them with tickets, encourage our community members to participate, and we were invited to have a Hausner table where Dina Pritsker Rasosvky spoke to many Z3 participants about our school.

Our Head of School, Rabbi Danny Lehmann, moderated a panel at this year’s conference. And two Hausner dads are at the helm of this important and growing movement: Zack Bodner, OFJCC President and CEO, founded Z3 over ten years ago, and Amitai Fraiman, the Z3 Director since 2019 who has grown Z3 from a one-day conference into an international year-round project.  
 

Additionally, other Hausner parents play important roles: Shai Weingarten serves on the Z3 steering committee and spoke at the 2023 conference; Eva Gurevich gave a pre-conference talk entitled Zionism from A to Z3; Amichai Magen who has been featured on the Z3 podcast as well as interviewed former Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni at a recent Z3 talk. We even had a Hausner alumna, Talia Bodner, give a moving slam poetry performance (I encourage you to check on Z3’s website in the coming days and weeks to see the video of her powerful words). 

This list doesn’t include so many - like our community clergy who are also Hausner parents and take on leadership roles within Z3 and so many additional alumni students, alumni parents and grandparents as well. Thank you to all those community members who not only help create impactful content and programming for Z3, but also so many of you who attended year over year, or for the first time this year.

Just to give a taste of what we experienced as participants. Here are just a few of the highlights. We heard:

• A panel of college students who not only discussed the antisemitism they face on campus, but also what they’re proactively doing about it; 
• From Adela Cojab who shared her brave story of successfully suing NYU for antisemitism and then in 2019 ultimately having antisemitism included as a violation to the Title VI Civil Rights Act;
• An informative perspective on Israeli current events from Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennet;
• A heartfelt and intimate concert by the award winning Israeli musician Idan Reichel; and
• From countless speakers both on the big and small stages discussing their stories from October 7; the organizations they’ve built to help bring home the Hostages; the international legal efforts they’re pursuing on behalf of both October 7 victims and their families; the on-the-ground programs to build up and enhance the Israeli Arab-Jewish shared society and so much more.

So, my asks: If you didn’t attend, don’t have FOMO next year; Sew your own threads into the discourse and register for next year’s Z3 conference here. For those who did go, bring your friends next year. And for all of us, dip into the host of Z3 resources provided year-round by following Z3 on social media, including their YouTube channel.

L’Chaim and cheers to the beautiful partnership between the OFJCC’s Z3 and Hausner and Kol HaKavod to the entire Z3 team on a memorable conference.