Record numbers flock to Limmud Oz Melbourne

By Sharon Berger, Limmud junkie and Program and Marketing Manager for Encounters@Shalom

Being at Limmud-Oz always makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. It is so hard to choose what to attend. I was lucky enough to go to LimmudOz in Melbourne over the Queen's Birthday weekend and almost every hour I found myself juggling who and what to go and hear. The crisis in Syria, religious feminism, Yasser Arafat's legacy and so much more. Not to mention all the interesting people attending LimmudOz who I wanted to catch up with and say hi. Clearly I was not alone as they had record breaking numbers of 900 attendees.

Genocide scholar Deborah Dwork 

The good news for Sydneysiders is that almost all the top international presenters from LimmudOz Melbourne will be attending Yom Limmud this Sunday 15 June @UNSW. Middle East experts Avi Melamed and Matthew Kalman, genocide scholar Deborah Dwork, bible expert Everett Fox, plus outstanding educators Meir Schweiger and Cherie Koller-Fox. It is a great opportunity to get a day's boost of intellectual and cultural stimulation from experts around the world plus some interesting local speakers.

Living in Australia I sometimes feel disconnected from current events. Listening to Avi Melamed's session on Syria and the realigning Middle East I was struck by the larger geopolitical ripples of the conflict, on Turkey, Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, Iran and more. Melamed's astute analysis did not leave me overly optimistic about prospects in the region, particularly for the growing numbers of Syrian civilians who are caught in the crossfire of a  full scale Sunni-Shi'a war. I planned to get to his next session, but I was not alone in my thinking as the room was packed and there wasn't even room to stand. So I went to try something different. Again one of the joys of Limmud that there is always something else good to choose from.

At Yom Limmud (June 15 2014) Melamed will be repeating his session on Syria, as well as Islam is the Solution; from the streets of Gaza to the caves of Afghanistan. In addition he and Matthew Kalman will conduct what I am sure will be a fascinating discussion on The Arab Street. At LimmudOz Melbourne Kalman explained that 10 years after Arafat's death his legacy continues to paralyse the Palestinian leadership, including Abu Mazen (also known as Mahmud Abbass, currently head of PLO). In Sydney he will talk about Israel's leadership, particularly that of current Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Psychobibi - What makes Bibi tick? In addition he will screen his supposedly hilarious movie, Circumcise Me: The Comedy of Yisrael Campbell. 

Middle East analyst Matthew Kalman

I could go on and on about all the great presenters I got to hear but don't want you to be too jealous. Don't miss the opportunity to hear them this weekend and decide for yourself. You don't have to agonise between 10-12 sessions at any one hour as at Yom Limmud  there are three simultaneous sessions at any one time. This definitely makes the process less complex. All of the internationals are presenting at least twice so there is more than one opportunity to hear them plus all the great local speakers.

Hope to see you there. Book today or you will have to pay more at the door.

Join us on Facebook, Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag #YomLimmud2014.
- Limmud is a not-for-profit all volunteer based event supported by The Shalom Institute.
- Parents! Don't let the kids miss out. Yom Limmud is offering fully supervised activities for preschool aged kids 3-5 and primary aged kids 5-12.