Cookies & Conversation: Israeli Identity Beyond the Headlines

Presented in connection with 48 Jews: Layers of Identity, join Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Israel Center Shlicha, Noa Gerassi, for an intimate and thought-provoking conversation on belonging, culture, and becoming.

Grounded in the exhibition’s exploration of how identity is shaped, expressed, and understood, Noa will share her personal journey of navigating life as a woman, a Jew, and an Israeli. Through storytelling and reflection, she will explore the people, places, and pivotal moments that have influenced her sense of self, as well as the complexities of holding multiple identities at once.

Noa will also speak about her decision to serve as a shlicha (Israeli emissary) in Milwaukee—what drew her to this role, how living and working within a different community has deepened her perspective, and the ways this experience continues to shape her evolving identity.

This program invites participants to reflect on their own layered identities while engaging with the broader themes of 48 Jews: Layers of Identity: that identity is not fixed, but continually formed through experience, relationship, and reflection.

Born in Tiberias, Noa Gerassi spent most of her childhood in Ofra, a small Orthodox-Zionist community in northern Jerusalem. She spent seven summers at Camp Ramah in upstate New York as a Shlicha.

Noa has a degree in education and a teacher certificate from Kibbutzim College in Tel Aviv. Her master’s degree is in Jewish studies from Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. Before coming to Milwaukee as schlicha, Noa worked as a high school history and citizenship studies teacher and then for the Ministry of Education as an Educational Coordinator, guiding educational staff working with at-risk youth.

Noa and her husband, Liran, have two daughters, Rona and Lihi and their dog Chika. In June they will return home to Israel.

In partnership with Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Israel Center.

Kosher cookies and coffee will be provided for attendees. Feel free to bring your lunch to nosh. 

LOCATION: Jewish Museum Milwaukee

COST: Free with Museum Admission

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Host or Publisher Liz Spaide