Pulitzer Prize-winning academic Jared Diamond. Courtesy photo.
Historian Jared Diamond will speak at the Scherr Forum
THOUSAND OAKS — Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks is pleased to announce its 2023 community speaker series, Our World Evolving: Global Thought Leaders in Our Community.
This series of socially relevant conversations with modern thought leaders, authors and scholars will kick off July 16 with Pulitzer Prize-winning academic Jared Diamond. Named one of the world’s Top 10 Public Intellectuals by Foreign Policy, Diamond is a historian and geographer best known for his popular nonfiction trilogy that began with the release of his groundbreaking book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” and concluded with 2019’s “Upheaval.” Diamond will speak on “Societal Development: The History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years.”
Diamond will speak at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center’s Scherr Forum Theatre at 7 p.m. and his comments will include an overview of “Guns, Germs and Steel,” which explores global inequality as a function of resources and geography. Temple Etz Chaim’s Rabbi Ari Averbach will moderate a Q&A after the presentation.
Subsequent speakers in the series will include psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Lori Gottlieb, who will speak at Temple Etz Chaim Nov. 12 on rewriting the narratives that keep us stuck, as well as the role vulnerability plays in helping us cultivate happier, more productive lives.
Additional speakers will be announced at a later date.
This is Temple Etz Chaim’s inaugural speaker series and is part of a broader effort by the temple to become a vibrant community hub that brings people together regardless of their faith to share culture, conversation and camaraderie. Temple Etz Chaim recently held a ribbon-cutting for its newly renovated social hall, which will serve as the venue for community concerts and is available for rent by outside groups, including for weddings and parties.
“Temple Etz Chaim has been part of the Conejo Valley for nearly six decades. As we write the synagogue’s next chapter, we want to embrace the community and invite them to be a part of our next 60 years,” said Temple Etz Chaim president Eric Feigenbaum. “In an era of rising anti-Semitism and social division, building deep and meaningful community relationships is more important than ever. We are honored to extend this invitation to our neighbors to be part of these important conversations.”
Purchase tickets for the July 16 event HERE
For more information, visit https://www.templeetzchaim.org/speaker-series//
About Temple Etz Chaim — Temple Etz Chaim was founded in 1966 to serve the burgeoning Conejo Valley. For the past 57 years, TEC has sustained an inclusive community dedicated to the lifelong pursuit of Jewish learning, the celebration of Jewish culture and repairing the world through volunteerism, activism and good deeds. TEC’s Religious School and Early Childhood Education Center are accredited by the Bureau of Jewish Education and the temple supports an active United Synagogue Youth chapter, numerous havurot and much more. For more information, visit https://www.templeetzchaim.org.