On 22nd pf April 2026, HSSH Visiting Professor Elizabeth Shakman Hurd from Northwestern University gave a guest lecture at the University of Helsinki titled AmericaIsrael: Zionism, Judaism, and the Politics of Religious Dissent in the Contemporary United States.
The event drew a full house and sparked a highly engaging discussion on the complex religious, political, and cultural ties between the United States and Israel. Drawing on her new book Heaven Has a Wall, Hurd explored the idea of “AmericaIsrael” and the ways in which Zionism, Judaism, nationalism, foreign policy, and religious dissent intersect in contemporary U.S. politics.
The lecture left us with much to think about, and the full room showed just how timely and important these questions are right now.