Watch, Listen, Learn

We are a nation built by people who dared to believe the unbelievable, even when the odds were far worse and the stakes much higher than at any blackjack table… Our shared history, our family stories, our collective legacy is one of impossible dreams made real– …we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. -Sen Cory Booker (STAND, 215)

Dr. Dalia Dassa Kaye is a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and director of its Initiative on Regional Security Architectures. A life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dalia is an internationally recognized expert on geopolitics and Middle East policy. During her fifteen years at the RAND Corporation, Dalia served as a senior political scientist and the director of the Center of Middle East Public Policy. She has received numerous awards and held previous positions at an array of research and public policy institutions, including as a Fulbright Schuman visiting scholar at Lund University, a fellow at the Wilson Center, an advisor at the Foreign Ministry of The Netherlands, an assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill. She is a frequent public speaker and contributor to leading media outlets, including BBC, CNN, NPR, PBS, and Foreign Affairs. She is the author of dozens of articles and policy reports, as well as three books, including most recently Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy (Stanford University Press, 2026). Dalia holds her BA, MA, and PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

California State Senator Ben Allen, representing Senate District 24, including Beverly Grove, Fairfax, Mid City West, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood, joined Rabbi Sharon Brous in conversation.

Michael Lynton and Joshua Steiner discuss their new book with Rabbi Morris Panitz. From Mistakes to Meaning: Owning Your Past So It Doesn’t Own You (https://www.simonandschuster.com/book…)

2025 Charles Bronfman Prize Recipient, Gideon Maltz (CEO, Tent Partnership for Refugees) and Rabbi Sharon Brous (Senior and Founding Rabbi, ikar) will be in discussion. Learn more about Mr. Maltz’s work and about the prize here.

Jonathan Jacoby, President and National Director of the Nexus Project on Fighting Antisemitism and Its Weaponization in a Time of Rising Authoritarianism. He was the founding Executive Director of the New Israel Fund and founding President of the Israel Policy Forum. He also held leadership positions at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and Americans for Peace Now.

In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society? Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time is to show up for one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To invest in relationships of shared purpose and to build communities of care. Brous contends that through honoring our most basic human instinct– the yearning for real connection– we reawaken our shared humanity and begin to heal. Her wisdom is drawn from experience building and pastoring to IKAR, a trail blazing faith community, over the past two decades. The talk is a clarion call: the sense of belonging engendered by our genuine presence is not only a social and biological need, but a moral and spiritual necessity. Rather than offering quick fixes, Brous proposes a deeper shift: reclaiming connection, curiosity, and shared responsibility as core human values. At a moment when retreating from one another feels instinctive, Brous offers a blueprint for a more meaningful life and a more connected and caring world. Sharon Brous is the Founding and Senior Rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and author of “The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend our Broken Hearts and World”, a national bestseller. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America, she has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. She lives with her husband and children in California. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

After lunch, join us for a special discussion with AFT President Randi Weingarten to discuss her new book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy. Learn more HERE.

Join us on 12/6 around 11:30am PT in person & on YouTube.com/ikarlosangeles for a conversation between Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Rabbi Sharon Brous on faith, identity, leadership, and Buchdahl’s new book, Heart of a Stranger.

The Jewish community is being offered a false choice between countering antisemitism and protecting democracy and civil rights. But there is no inclusive democracy without Jewish safety — and no Jewish safety without inclusive democracy. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and a nationally recognized leader on countering antisemitism and extremism and protecting democracy — who previously led the successful lawsuit against the Charlottesville neo-Nazis — joined Rabbi Sharon Brous for a conversation on how we can reject the false binaries of this moment and advance a more just and inclusive world for Jews and all communities. Helpful Links: Sign up to receive JCPA updates Jewish communal statement led by JCPA, rejecting the false choice between Jewish safety and democracy Civil rights coalition statement organized by JCPA and the Leadership Conference on recent antisemitic violence June 2024 webinar with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Antisemitism x Democracy report Op-ed by Amy Spitalnick and Randi Weingarten – To Fight Antisemitism and Preserve Democracy, Educators and the Jewish Community Must Partner Closely

Join us for a conversation over lunch with Scholar in Residence, Rabbi Mel Gottlieb.

After Services, join us for a conversation with Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street. Jeremy Ben-Ami is an American lawyer and activist who is the founder and president of J Street, a liberal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically

After services, authors Jeff Hobbs (Seeking Shelter) and Alexis Madrigal (The Pacific Circuit) will be in conversation about homelessness and the shaping of urban America.

Join us after services for a conversation with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove.

Join us after services for a conversation with Rep. Laura Friedman.

We welcome Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the forefront of a burgeoning new peace movement. In conversation with Rabbi Brous, they will share their personal journeys and vision for a shared society. This conversation will be a rare and powerful opportunity to hear from two of the most courageous voices mobilizing Israelis and Palestinians toward peace. We hope you’ll join us in showing up, listening deeply, and supporting their work. Joining us virtually? Sign up here!

Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay invites readers to join the author in asking, perhaps for the first time, what they actually believe about ultimate matters of faith and doubt – and rewards fellow- searchers for ultimate meaning with reassurance that the search itself can be a source of personal fulfillment, vibrant community, and great joy.”