Leon Botstein, a friend of American-Israeli writer and literary translator Stuart Schoffman, will probe the struggles and values central to American Jewish and Israeli identity. Stuart’s life will serve as a prism through which Botstein will explore the themes of fate, character, idealism, and family history as they relate to questions surrounding diaspora relations, directions of American Jewry, and disputes about Zionism.

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Stuart Schoffman, who passed away a year ago, was known as an elegant writer, brilliant translator and eloquent speaker. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Schoffman made his way to Israel in 1988, after working as a reporter for Fortune and Time magazines in New York, and as a Hollywood screenwriter for Israeli film producer Menachem Golan. Among the community of American immigrants and writers in Israel and in Jerusalem in particular, Schoffman was known for his erudition, warmth and ease with people, be they colleagues, neighbors or students attending one of his lectures about film or life in Israel.
With a BA from Harvard College and a masters in philosophy from Yale University, Schoffman worked as a writer and columnist for The Jerusalem Report. In recent years, Schoffman regularly translated the works of some of Israel’s greatest writers, including David Grossman, A.B. Yehoshua and Meir Shalev.

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Leon Botstein has been the president of Bard College since 1975, where he is also the Leon Levy Professor in the Arts and Humanities. Botstein is the author of several books, including Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture which is the basis for acclaimed public high school reforms in major cities throughout the country. Botstein has guided Bard’s innovative liberal arts BA program in New York state prisons, now expanding into a national network. He is the chancellor of the Open Society University Network (OSUN). Botstein is music director and principal conductor of The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the American Symphony Orchestra, artistic co-director of the Bard Music Festival, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Music Director. Botstein is editor of The Musical Quarterly and writes on music and culture.

Leon Botstein, a friend of American-Israeli writer and literary translator Stuart Schoffman, will probe the struggles and values central to American Jewish and Israeli identity. Stuart’s life will serve as a prism through which Botstein will explore the themes of fate, character, idealism, and family history as they relate to questions surrounding diaspora relations, directions of American Jewry, and disputes about Zionism.

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Stuart Schoffman, who passed away a year ago, was known as an elegant writer, brilliant translator and eloquent speaker. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Schoffman made his way to Israel in 1988, after working as a reporter for Fortune and Time magazines in New York, and as a Hollywood screenwriter for Israeli film producer Menachem Golan. Among the community of American immigrants and writers in Israel and in Jerusalem in particular, Schoffman was known for his erudition, warmth and ease with people, be they colleagues, neighbors or students attending one of his lectures about film or life in Israel.
With a BA from Harvard College and a masters in philosophy from Yale University, Schoffman worked as a writer and columnist for The Jerusalem Report. In recent years, Schoffman regularly translated the works of some of Israel’s greatest writers, including David Grossman, A.B. Yehoshua and Meir Shalev.

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Leon Botstein has been the president of Bard College since 1975, where he is also the Leon Levy Professor in the Arts and Humanities. Botstein is the author of several books, including Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture which is the basis for acclaimed public high school reforms in major cities throughout the country. Botstein has guided Bard’s innovative liberal arts BA program in New York state prisons, now expanding into a national network. He is the chancellor of the Open Society University Network (OSUN). Botstein is music director and principal conductor of The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the American Symphony Orchestra, artistic co-director of the Bard Music Festival, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Music Director. Botstein is editor of The Musical Quarterly and writes on music and culture.