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“Kehillah” is the Hebrew term for the organized Jewish community — a group with shared values, traditions and belonging. In Jewish civilization, community is a responsibility. At the University of Florida, the Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies upholds this through dedicated outreach efforts, actively contributing to the collective task of building relationships and creating a vibrant atmosphere of learning.

“We view ourselves as a public resource,” said the center’s Director Norman J.W. Goda, the Norman and Irma Braman Professor of Holocaust Studies. “A large part of our mission concerns public programming.” For over 50 years, the Shorstein Center has promoted the academic study of Jewish culture, history and politics at UF. But the center strives to reach a broader audience beyond the Gainesville area and even beyond the Jewish community. Its programs, meanwhile, are as diverse as the community itself.

The Shorstein Center is the lead sponsor of the longstanding Gainesville Jewish Film Festival, an annual event that brings Jewish-themed films to the entire community. Now in its 14th year, the festival features films from Israel, Europe and North and South America.

These films, which include comedies, dramas and documentaries, have appeal beyond the Jewish culture. They are based on themes that are truly eternal, from family relationships to severe trauma. As Goda put it, “We look for films that are artful, that bring viewers to pose difficult questions and which stick with the viewer. They are Jewish films that speak to all of us.”

The Shorstein Center also brings some of the world’s finest scholars. In early March, historian Jeremy Black, author of more than 100 books, spoke to a group at Pugh Hall on the Gainesville campus. The discussion focused on the need to keep the history and veracity of the Holocaust alive. The event was co-sponsored by the Shortstein Center and the Hamilton Center.

“The University of Florida is the flagship university in the state, and we have the leading Jewish studies program. We’re the only entity in the state of Florida that does what we do,” Goda said, highlighting that many Jewish organizations provide continuing education, but the center’s programs focus on current, research-driven topics of great importance.

In February, the center, together with UF Hillel, sponsored “October 7th: A Space of Anguish, Loss, Anger, Memory and Sorrow.” The exhibit offers a rare glimpse into Israel’s cultural reaction to October 7 through art, music and video. The artists whose works were exhibited included some who were murdered, as well as residents of southern Israel who have experienced destruction and terrible loss. This exhibition drew a packed house.

In April, the Shorstein Center hosted a program called “Songs of War and Peace” featuring the Israeli musician Moshe Bonen and literary scholar Roy Holler, a faculty member in the center. The songs and poems concerned themes of war, and how it has shaped the Israeli identity.

Goda cites these events as examples of the interdisciplinary nature of the center’s own research. Its faculty come from all disciplines — history, literature, political science and religion — and they work on cutting-edge projects. Prominent researchers include Natalia Aleksiun, the Harry Rich Chair in Holocaust Studies, who is working on two books concerning Jews in Eastern Europe, and Raanan Rein, the Alexander Grass Chair in Jewish Studies, a prolific scholar who arguably founded the study of Jewish civilization in Latin America.

The center plans to increase outreach beyond campus. A notable event took place in Broward County in 2024 near the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel. Titled “A Year After October 7th: What Have We Learned?” it featured prominent Jewish writer Dara Horn as well as center faculty Aleksiun and Rachel Gordan, the Bud Shorstein fellow in American Jewish Society and Culture. The event’s success was a starting point, and Goda notes that the center is actively exploring other locations for future events such as Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa.

Goda will step down from his role as director in August. Reflecting on his tenure, he remarked, “It’s been a wonderful six years. My colleagues and I have completely remade the center.” The impact of his leadership and commitment to community is clear, as the center continues to thrive as a hub for Jewish studies, scholarly research, and community engagement.

A Center on the Map

The Forum on Fairness and Discourse has been the catalyst for expanding the center’s outreach beyond the borders of Gainesville. The forum is generously funded by College of Journalism’s Professor Emeritus Jon Morris, Ph.D., and Audrey Adams, a retired senior executive from US Customs and Border Protection as well as an international border management and border security specialist, having worked extensively on the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

According to Adams, the forum is intended, “to put the Shorstein Center on the map.”

The forum enables the center to invite writers, historians and speakers at the forefront of current events to address the community. Events held on campus, along with evenings like the Dara Horn event in south Florida, extend the center’s outreach and help establish it as a leading hub for academic exploration and discourse.

For Adams and Morris, increasing awareness of the depth of resources available through the center plays a crucial role in building community both on campus as well as throughout Florida.

“Community is of critical importance, particularly for college students,” Morris said. “When they are away from home, they need an anchor. There are lots of resources for building social and spiritual connection through the Hillel and some of the Jewish fraternities and sororities, but the center offers an academic anchor that is so important.”

With continued vision and support of Adams and Morris, the forum stands poised to shape conversations that resonate far beyond the classroom for many years to come.