ICJS Fellows Seek Common Ground
April 5-7, 2005

The first ICJS Fellows Conference was held at the Pearlstone Conference Center outside Baltimore on April 5th through 7th. Twelve fellows were selected from among the 27 student prize winners in the Reaching Common Ground essay contest. Se-lections were made based on telephone interviews that probed the students' commitment to interfaith dialogue, their leader-ship ability, and their future career orientations.

All of the twelve Fellows presented précis of their prize-winning essays and answered questions posed by their col-leagues. In addition, they studied texts on leadership with ICJS staff scholars and guest scholars Joel Zaiman, Rabbi Emeritus of Chizuk Amuno Congregation; and John Roth of Claremont McKenna College, a leading expert on Christian theology in the aftermath of the Shoah. On April 6th, the American Visionary Art Museum hosted a dinner for the Fel-lows, ICJS board members, and visiting dignitaries, including Elizabeth Goldhirsh, who funded the essay contest and estab-lished the Fellowships. ICJS Trustee Christopher Nelson, President of St. John's College, spoke of the significance of studying classical texts in the modern world.

Fellows came to Baltimore from Yale, Tufts, Emory, George-town, Ohio State, the University of Miami, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

The Reaching Common Ground Fellowship Celebration
April 6, 2005

ICJS Fellows discussed their award-winning essays at the Pearlstone Conference Center on April 5-7, where they got to know the ICJS staff and guest scholars Rabbi Joel Zaiman, Rabbi Emeritus of Chizuk Amuno Congregation; and Dr. John Roth, Edward J. Sexton Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College. On the evening of April 6th, Fellows celebrated their hard work at the Ameri-can Visionary Art Museum with friends, scholars, and ICJS trustees.

The Reaching Common Ground project, including the national essay contest and fellowship awards, was underwritten by Elizabeth Goldhirsh in memory of her parents, Ben and Wendy Goldhirsh. Ms. Goldhirsh was a special guest at the AVAM event.