UNCA Hosts "Great Voices in American Judaism" Program

Dr. Gary P. Zola

UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies will host a talk and multimedia presentation on "Great Voices in American Judaism" by Gary P. Zola at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, in UNCA’s Owen Conference Center. Zola is executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and associate professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. A reception with hors d’oeuvres precedes the presentation at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Zola’s presentation will introduce the audience to some of Reform Judaism’s most notable orators, including Stephen Samuel Wise, Abba Hillel Silver and Jacob Rader Marcus. The presentation will include digitized recordings with visuals from the American Jewish Archives.

Zola is a historian of American Jewry and a highly regarded expert on the development of American Reform Judaism. He is the author of "Isaac Harby of Charleston," a major biographical study of the life of one of the founders of the first organized effort to reform Judaism in the United States. Author of numerous articles that have appeared in American Jewish History, American Jewish Archives and other journals, Zola edits The American Jewish Archives Journal.

The event is made possible with the support of the Joseph Dave Foundation.

For more information, call UNCA’s Center for Jewish Studies at 828/251-6576.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Richard Chess, UNCA Center for Jewish Studies Director, 828/251-6576
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526