For Henry Israeli, the director of the Jewish studies program at Drexel University, love for Judaism was reignited a little less than a decade ago when he decided to tackle a heavy subject close to home for his newest collection of poetry: the Holocaust.
“I’ve always incorporated some Jewish aspects in my work, but in writing my fifth collection, I went all in,” he said. “The book focuses on and explores intergenerational trauma, particularly among Holocaust survivor families. Delving deeply into this subject, beginning about seven or eight years ago, has ignited my love of Judaism.”
Israeli was born and raised in Toronto, but he lives in Broomall now. The Temple Sholom member said his parents weren’t traditional in their sense of worship, usually only attending synagogue for the High Holidays. However, while a stricter version of worship may not have been central to the Israeli family, Jewish identity was. Israeli’s parents survived the Holocaust themselves, so the themes he explored in the book were close to home.
For the Israeli family, the Jewish identity they wanted to represent could be summed up in the name. Henry said their family’s original surname was German, and after the Holocaust, his father wanted no part of that. So, they chose something that would let everyone know they were Jewish and proud.
“He was enamored by the new Jewish state, where he lived for about eight years after the war. It’s where my parents met, and my eldest sister was born there,” Israeli said.
Interestingly, his name actually caused problems for him last year during the campus protests in response to the war in Gaza.
“I never felt targeted because of my name until last year when the protesters encamped on our campus demanded, among a hundred other things, that I be fired. I’m still not sure my name had anything to do with it, but it’s hard to dismiss it as a factor, especially since I was the only faculty member mentioned by name,” he said. “I have to say, though, that my faculty peers — no matter where they stood on Israel, Zionism or the war — were all supportive of me through that time.”
There are plenty of institutions of higher learning in Philadelphia, but Israeli likes where he is.
“I [have] found myself enjoying the liberty Drexel allows in crafting courses as well as their openness to new course ideas. I’d heard so many horror stories about English departments, but the English and Philosophy department at Drexel has always felt like a warm and welcome space to me,” he said. “When a full-time faculty member retired, I inherited her Literature of Genocide class. Since then, I also developed a Jewish Humor in Literature and Film class. I absolutely love teaching these classes. My students are never bored!”
Israeli said that this nature has also allowed the school’s Jewish studies courses to develop as time has gone on. What started as a program rooted in traditional subjects has morphed into something else.
“To be honest, no one comes to Drexel to be a minor in Jewish Studies. What that means is that we have to entice students to join by offering courses that speak to them. I introduced a variety of diverse classes to create a broader appeal and allow students a wide range of subjects to choose from,” he said.
This includes courses on Jewish cooking, the history of the state of Israel, Jewish bioethics, Jewish humor, Jewish playwrights and mysticism and Kabbalah.
Israeli said that there have been interesting trends in student interest in these classes since Oct. 7, 2023.
“In the fall it seemed like there was a drop in non-Jewish students taking Jewish studies classes and, at the same time, an uptick in Jewish students taking Jewish studies classes. But that doesn’t seem to be the case this winter term. I think we need more time to assess the impact of Oct. 7 on student enrollment,” he said. “What I can say with confidence is that we have double the number of students enrolled in the Jewish Studies minor than there ever had been previously, and several of our JS minors are not Jewish.”
With that in mind, the Drexel program is doing well. Israeli isn’t surprised, considering the type of place that Philadelphia is.
“Judaism in Philadelphia runs deep. We have some of the oldest and richest Jewish communities in the country, embracing a wide and diverse range of practice and beliefs,” he said. “Drexel is also a wonderful place to be Jewish. I only have to walk down the hall from my office to chat with my many Jewish peers.”