“Jewish Roots of American Liberty” Book Launch

Wilfred M. McClay is the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College. He served for 11 years on the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is currently a member of the US Commission on the Semiquincentennial and is the author of, among other books, Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.

Mark David Hall is a professor in Regent University’s Robertson School of Government and Director of Religious Liberty in the States. He has written, edited, or co-edited 15 books, including Did America Have a Christian Founding?: Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth and Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans.

Rabbi Stuart Halpern serves as the Senior Advisor to the Provost and Deputy Director of the Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. His writing on the Hebrew Bible’s impact on the United States has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Tablet, Jewish Review of Books, and First Things. Among his edited books are The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada, Esther in America, and Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States.

Liel Leibovitz is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. His work focuses on thinking about anti-Semitism as a national security threat. Leibovitz is an editor at large for Tablet and the host of several of its popular podcasts. He is also the author or co-author of a number of books, including How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book and Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization, soon to be a major motion picture. He also writes the regular “Leibovitz at Large” column for First Things, and is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and other national publications. He holds a PhD in communications from Columbia University, focusing on video games and human-machine interactions. He formerly served as associate professor at Barnard College and assistant professor at New York University, researching the intersections of interactive media and religion. A noncommissioned officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Leibovitz also served as the senior press officer at the Consulate General of Israel in New York and remains involved in a number of Jewish and pro-Israeli organizations.

Shaina Trapedo is the director of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College and the Jay & Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College, an assistant professor of English at Stern College, and a resident scholar at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. After receiving her undergraduate degree in economics and English at Barnard College, she spent two years as a risk analyst before following her calling in academia. Shaina earned her PhD in English from the University of California, Irvine, where she specialized in early modern literature and religious studies. In her teaching and scholarship, Shaina explores the connections between the Torah, the humanities, and social engagement.