By Grace Tesoro, Staff Writer
American-Israeli comics writer Miriam Libicki will present a lecture titled “Strangeing the Welcomer: A Theory of Black and White Jews All Over” at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
This lecture is sponsored by several organizations and educational departments on campus: Susquehanna Hillel, Jewish Life, the Jewish Studies Program, Religious and Spiritual Life, and the Department of English and Creative Writing.
Libicki’s arrival was set up primarily by Laurence Roth, Co-Department Head of English and Creative Writing, with the help of Eli Bass, director of Jewish Life.
“I think it is really important for students to get exposure to a variety of different Jewish ideas,” Bass said. “One of the things I have been thinking about while in collaboration with Dr. Roth is how to help students to have broader and more in-depth Jewish experiences.”
Roth shared why he thought this lecture was important as well.
“We wanted to have somebody to come for Hanukah to speak to not just to Jewish students, but to the campus at large about something related to Jewish culture and Jewish life,” he said.
Roth also mentioned that Libicki will be coming to visit his Jewish Literature class.
“She is an internationally acclaimed American-Israeli comics artist and in class we are reading her book ‘jobnik!’ It’s the last book we are reading in class and I really wanted to have her come and talk about her own work,” Roth continued.
“She’s really a terrific comics artist. She’s one of the comics artists working today who is concerned to write not only memoir but to write graphic essays and talk about issues of real importance to not just Jewish Americans but to people who are interested in issues of diversity, representation, and politics,” Roth added.
Miriam Libicki rose to prominence with her book “jobnik!” which is a memoir that addresses her time serving in the Israeli army during the second Intifada. “Jobnik” is an Israeli slang term for a noncombat soldier.
“It really is terrific on so many levels,” Roth said. “One, just as pure memoir, she is unsparing in the way that she looks at both her own participation and the culture of the Israel Defense Forces. It is a fabulous book that covers so many bases in terms of its look at this particular world.”
According to Roth, it is expected that she will address many facets during her lecture. “She is talking about an essay, ‘Strange-ing the Welcomer’ where she will discuss Ethiopian Jews in Israel and the way they face discrimination that is somewhat reminiscent to the sorts of racism that we see in America,” Roth continued.
Roth said the lecture will explore diversity, especially among the Jewish population: “Libicki’s observations on Ethiopian Jews is a way of talking about the diversity of Jews, that Jews are not all one color or one ethnicity.”
“There are all different kinds of Jews and the problem of recognizing that is bound up precise in the problems we already have in thinking about that binary of black and white,” Roth said.
Roth addressed his hopes for this lecture: “I really would love for many people across campus to come out, especially those who are interested in graphic narrative and diversity. This is one way of not just explaining Jewish diversity, but of understanding the ways that we see people. Graphic narratives are so good at helping people understand that because it is all about the ways we see.”
