The Z3 Project is a signature program of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. Since 2015, the program has been providing the Jewish community with a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about the Diaspora and Israel. Now in its sixth year, Z3 has become a global event featuring leading voices from across the political spectrum and over 25 JCC’s from around the world participating. This year’s conference titled “Z3 2021: Futures Workshop” asks participants to reimagine a plausible future relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry and explore ways to ensure a continued sense of Peoplehood.
The event takes place every year during Hanukkah — “Making Miracles Here and There” is a wordplay on the two letters that differentiate Israel and the Diaspora’s dreidels. The miracle happened “here” to represent Israel’s dreidel, the miracle happened “there,” to represent the Diaspora’s dreidel. Rather than continue to have two different dreidels, conference goers will envision a future with one dreidel: where they acknowledge and elevate the idea that both the State of Israel and a vibrant Jewish world are essential for the destiny of the Jewish People.
With the goal of bridging knowledge and emotional gaps between our communities, the Z3 Project revolves around three core operating principles: Unity, not Uniformity; Engaging as Equal Partners; and Diversity of Voices. Inspired by the tools of geopolitics and diplomacy, at the heart of the hybrid virtual conference is a structured simulation. The virtual hybrid event running out of the OFJCC will host six teams made up of twelve experts in various fields related to Israel and Jewish life, each team with its own moderator — including the Tucson J’s Chief Executive Officer Todd Rockoff — and three groups of virtual participants from all over North America that will break out to engage in generative conversation around the topics presented by each team.
The Tucson J encourages you to join in on the dialogue.
