Zelikow School Students Train for Discussions on Israel at “Conflicts of Interest” Conference

Navigating difficult conversations about Israel within Jewish communities and beyond is essential for students developing their leadership skills at the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management.

The Zelikow School recently joined forces with The iCenter to enhance students’ ability to help their communities discuss Israel meaningfully, even in polarized milieus where constructive discourse can be difficult. As part of their training, a contingent of students recently gathered in Chicago for The iCenter’s Conflicts of Interest Certificate Program, a three-day gathering aimed at transforming how people talk and teach about Israel in Jewish nonprofits of all kinds.

“All Zschool students require knowledge and skill to engage the contentious discussions they encounter in the communities they serve as Jewish nonprofit professionals,” said Rabbi Shirley Idelson, Ph.D., ’91, Director of the Zelikow School, whether they currently serve in nonprofits, or will upon ordination or earning their second degree (such as MPA or MSW). “With the next Windmueller Israel Seminar trip scheduled for December 2025, we decided this year to partner with The iCenter to help students bolster their content knowledge while also gaining the confidence they need to lead these conversations productively.” The opportunity to network with a broad array of Jewish professionals in the field added benefit to the experience.

The iCenter’s Ari Feinstein, MAJE ’15, who directs the Conflicts of Interest initiative, says the program launched in August 2023 just before the tragic and traumatic attacks on October 7 and ensuing war, and was created to address the fact that “without a foundational knowledge base and context for the complexities of the Arab-Israel/Israeli-Palestinian conflict, engaging in any conversation about it can feel overwhelming.”

Reflecting on the experience, Ross Halfant who expects to complete his Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management this semester and works as Director of Programming and Social Justice at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, TX, said, “I discovered tools that can help me engage communities facing differences in ideology, beliefs, and narratives. The conference taught me that it’s the places and moments that bring us the most discomfort, that often lead to the greatest moments of learning and understanding. When it comes to a controversial or polarizing issue, one doesn’t need to agree or advocate in order to comprehend and educate.”

Fellow final year Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management student Rachel Rybko, Project Manager at Prosserman JCC in Toronto, appreciated the way The iCenter “didn’t shy away from teaching diverse perspectives on the conflict,” something she believes “is becoming increasingly rare and somewhat taboo” in Jewish education. “We have a responsibility as Jews to engage in a deep and meaningful way with the world’s problems, and when we open ourselves to a range of different viewpoints on complex topics such as the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, we move closer to becoming part of the solution.”

When it comes to integrating the skills she developed at the conference into her work in the field, Rybko says, “I feel better equipped to encounter narratives with which I will inevitably disagree, as we all do at times, and to approach these discussions with compassion and care, focusing on shared values and personal stories as a tool for connection.”

“Making space for diverse perspectives is a form of tikkun olam,” Rybko says. “If we wish to be understood, we must seek to understand others.”