Historian Dr. Jonathan Golden will offer a talk called, “Chai to the Chief: American Jews and the Race for the White House, Then and Now.” With the election season in full swing Dr. Golden will offer context for how we can understand presidential politics and the American Jewish community.

Dr. Jonathan Golden is the Israel Curriculum Coordinator and a history teacher at Gann Academy, a pluralistic Jewish high school in Waltham, MA where he has taught since 1999.  During his career at Gann, he has taught AP American History, chaired the History Department, served as Assistant Head of School and Director of Academic Operations, and mentored numerous teachers and department chairs.  He teaches adult education courses on contemporary Israel at synagogues in the Greater Boston area.

A graduate of Princeton University, he received his M.J.Ed. from Hebrew College and Ph.D. from Brandeis University.  At Brandeis, he studied American Jewish history under the tutelage of Professor Jonathan Sarna and wrote a dissertation entitled From Cooperation to Confrontation:  The Rise and Fall of the Synagogue Council of America.

Jonathan lives in Brookline, MA with his wife Kim and son Sidney.  (He also attended Jewish summer camp with Rabbi Karen!)