In celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary, the Jewish Federation of Louisville and The J are holding a series of lectures about Israel and innovation.
This series, named the Israel at 70 Innovation Series, will include five events, which will take place on October 9, 13, 14, 29 and November 5, highlighting innovations in security, food, community, environmental engagement and the Jewish drive for innovation respectively:
• Innovations in Security: The Iron Dome & The Red Ball – Tuesday, 6 p.m., Tuesday, October 9 in the Patio Gallery of The J;
• Innovations in Food: Israeli Cooking with Gil Hovav – 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 13, at Temple Shalom;
• Innovations in Community: The Next Jewish Community with Avraham Infeld – 5 p.m., Sunday, October 14, at Jewish Hospital Rudd Heart & Lung Center;
• Innovations in Environmental Engagement: Green Horizons, Green Hearts and the “Envirom” – 6 p.m., Monday, October 29, location TBD;
• Thou Shalt Innovate: Exploring the Jewish Drive for Innovation with Avi Jorisch – 5:30 p.m., Monday, November 5, GE’s First Build.
Lenae Price, the Innovation Series director, said the idea for the series came from a desire to highlight the ways Israel, as a small Middle Eastern country, has become a global leader in innovation.
“We felt it appropriate to highlight the impact Israel has had and continues to have on the world through innovation,” she said.
One of the series speakers, Aric Mutchick, hopes to raise the community’s conscience about the work being done in Israel in so many sectors.
“I think it is important to draw that connection between Israel and innovation,” Mutchick said. “Giving people a sense of the influence Israel has over innovation and technology is a positive thing.”
Mutchick, president and CEO of Experior Group, Inc., will headline the first event in the series. He will present on Red Ball Drills, an active shooter response training methodology he developed. The system is based upon his experience in the Israel Defense Forces and working in counterterrorism and security. He is speaking with Ari Sacher, a rocket science who will discuss The Iron Dome missile defense system.
While sharing his own innovations with the community, Mutchnick also wants to encourage others to innovate.
“Hopefully, we are enabling people to say, ‘I have an idea’ and run with it because there is support in the Israeli community and Jewish community to do that,” he said.
Though excited about the inspirational potential of the series, “I am most excited at the prospect of bringing the community together and the potential partnerships and innovations that could be developed through this series,” Price said. “People are most excited to hear how we, as a community, can step up our innovation game.”
The “2017 and 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index” named Israel as the 10th most innovative economy in the world. Similarly, in 2016, Louisville was dubbed in TIME magazine as a place of “free-wheeling innovation.” Price said the Israel at 70 Innovation Series was designed to emphasize the innovative nature of both communities and encourage further innovation.
The series is among several Federation and J events this year celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary. Another upcoming event is Bikes & Bourbon partnership experience in October.
Tickets to Innovations in Security, Innovations in Environmental Security, and the Thou Shalt Innovate events are $18 each or $36 for the full series. The Innovations in Food and the Innovations in Community events are free of charge.
For more information on the events, visit jewishlouisville.org.