Click here to view, print,
or download this announcement
in PDF file format
|
In commemoration of Israeli Independence Day -
Yom Ha'Atzmaut
Entering and Leaving This World: The Ethics and Law of Birth and Death in a Jewish State
Renowned Israeli bioethicist Professor Noam Zohar will guide us through the unique set of legal and ethical rules and practices in Israel governing medical interventions before conception through birth and again as death approaches. Although the state of Israel is formally a secular democracy, Jewish religious tradition deeply informs Israeli law and bioethics touching upon the sanctity of human life: fertility assistance and stopping artificial respiration, for example. In this presentation, Professor Zohar will explore the seemingly discordant components of these rules and practices in light of their roots in Jewish religious teachings, which he argues resolve the apparent paradoxes. In conclusion, he will also ask to what extent those religious teachings are consistent with the values and institutions of a liberal, democratic state. Please join us for the discussion of this exciting, sometimes controversial, topic.
Professor Noam Zohar
Dr. Zohar received his MA in Jewish Thought and his PhD in Philosophy (Ethics) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. Professor Zohar has been a visiting Member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a Fellow at Harvard University. His work focuses on bioethical issues related to rabbinical interpretation and philosophy of halakha, and on moral and political philosophy. At Bar Ilan, he founded and chairs Israel's only graduate program in bioethics. Professor Zohar is a member of Israel's National Bioethics Council, and has served on various national commissions and advisory boards. His books include Alternatives in Jewish Bioethics; Quality of Life in Jewish Bioethics [ed]; and the co-edited 4-volume project The Jewish Political Tradition.
Sponsored By:
The Institute for Science and Judaism,
Tifereth Israel Congregation - www.tifereth-israel.org,
Beth Sholom Congregation - www.bethsholom.org
|
