who's who

Faculty
Rakhmiel Peltz
Director of Judaic Studies
331 Hagerty Library
Tel: 215-895-1499
Fax: 215-895-0229 rakhmiel.peltz@drexel.edu

Dr. Peltz holds two doctorates, one in biology and one in Yiddish studies. He has been the Director of the Judaic Studies Program since September, 1998. He is also a Professor of Sociolinguistics in the Department of Culture and Communication. Previously he directed the Yiddish Studies Program at Columbia University. He has also taught at Boston University, the University of Wisconsin, Gratz Collge, Wesleyan University and the University of Massachusetts. He is the author of From Immigrant to Ethnic Culture: American Yiddish in South Philadelphia (Stanford University Press, 1998).
                      
Emilie Passow
Auxiliary Professor
5038 MacAlister Hall
Tel: 215-895-1961 emilie.passow@drexel.edu
Dr. Emilie Passow is an Auxiliary Professor in the Judaic Studies Program and the Department of English and Philosophy, and Co-Director of the Certificate Program in Humanities, Medical Sciences and Society. She received a Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University and has lectured widely on Jewish topics. Since 2002 she has taught Judaic Studies courses at Drexel, including  Jewish Literature and Civilization, Jewish Life and Culture in the Middle Ages, Jewish Women in History and Literature: Partners in Culture, Biblical Narrative: Models of Leadership, American Jewish Writers, and Holocaust Testimonies. Dr. Passow has given Medical Humanities Grand Rounds at the major medical institutions in Philadelphia and is Visiting Lecturer in Medical Humanities at Thomas Jefferson Medical College.
                      
Amiram Amitai
Adjunct Professor
331 Hagerty Library
Tel: 215-895-6388
AmiAmitai@aol.com
Professor Amitai, a native of Israel, is an independent film and video maker who has won numerous awards for his documentary, short, and educational films and videos. He has taught at Gratz College, Temple University, and Philadelphia College for the Performing Arts. Professor Amitai produced the new documentary, ‘The Case of Jonathan Pollard.’ At Drexel, he has taught Israel: Language and Society and Israeli Cinema. He serves as Artistic Director of the Judaic Studies film project on the life and art of Toby Knobel Fluek.
                      
Robert Kovacs
Adjunct Professor
331 Hagerty Library
Tel: 215-895-6388
Robert Kovacs (Ph.D in Educational Psychology, Temple University), has taught in the Judaic Studies Program since 1999. He brings to Drexel deep knowledge of Jewish sources and how to present them to younger generations. Courses led by him have included Foundations of Jewish Civilization, The Holocaust, Jewish Ethical Literature, and Jewish Spirituality and the Psychology of Happiness. He has taught at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and at Camden County College, where he was a professor in the Psychology Department for 25 years. In addition, he has maintained a private practice in counseling and psychotherapy.

Staff

Kathleen Carll
Program Coordinator
331 Hagerty Library
Tel: 215-895-6388
Fax: 215-895-0229
kathy.carll@drexel.edu

Judaic Studies Advisory Board

Dr. Adina Cimet
Dr. D. Walter Cohen, DDS
Mrs. Susan B. Daroff, '70
Ms. Lisa Eizen
Rabbi Aaron Landes
Mr. Henri Levit, '68
Mr. Bennett Nathanson
Mr. Larry Newman, Esq.
Mr. George Ross, '55
Mrs. Harriet Soffa
Ms. Ellen Weisbord

Judaic Studies Faculty Committee

Dr. Nihat Bilgutay
Professor Renee Chase
Dr. Paula Marantz Cohen
Dr. Bruce Eisenstein
Ms. Alexis Finger
Dr. Alexander Fridman
Dr. Alexander Friedlander
Dr. David Gefen
Dr. Elihu Grossman
Dr. Barbara Hoekje
Ms. Tobie Hoffman
Dr. Dov Jaron
Dr. Miriam Kotzin
Dr. David Kutzik
Dr. Peter Lewin
Professor Harriet Millan
Dr. Neal Orkin
Dr. Emilie Passow
Dr. Douglas Porpora
Dr. David Raizman
Dr. William Rosenberg
Dr. Vivian Rosenberg
Dr. Arthur Shostak
Dr. Milton Silver
Dr. Donald Stevens
Dr. Eva Thury
Dr. Lazar Trachtenberg
Ms. Harri Weinberg
The Judaic Studies Program of Drexel University
331 Hagerty Library • Drexel University • 33rd and Market Streets • Philadelphia, PA 19104
TEL 215.895.6388 • FAX 215.895.0229
judaicstudies@drexel.edu •  www.drexel.edu/judaicstudies