About AJC
AJC seeks a secure Jewish future in a more just world, believing that each
pursuit depends upon the other. The two major pillars of AJC’s work:
1. The global leader for Jewish and Israel advocacy.
2. The central Jewish-American address for intergroup relations and human rights.
Through 9 global offices and 22 regional offices around the U.S., AJC makes sure
that its access and impact in these areas achieve the maximum outcome. AJC was
recently touted as “the most effective, most influential, and most respected of
American Jewish organizations” by French President Sarkozy. Some 175,000
supporters keep AJC moving forward.
Driscoll Professorship
in Jewish-Catholic Studies
AJC WESTCHESTER is one of the most vibrant regions in the network, extending
into Fairfield County, Connecticut. The Region’s 2,100 members bring this national
and international mission to life at the local level through innovative programs and
high level advocacy. Our members are thoughtful about Jewish issues and wish to
take action on those issues.
Get involved today by contacting us at 914-948-5585, by signing up at our webpage
www.ajc.org/westchester, by attending our programs and/or by joining a Committee.
Upcoming Programs include:
 October 6th – Sacred Spaces at Antioch Baptist Church in Bedford Hills
 October 9th – Energy Independence Event at Bet Torah in Mt. Kisco.
 November 13th –Judge Learned Hand Award Dinner honoring Georgia
Kramer and Andrew Entwistle at Ritz Carlton in White Plains
 November 18th – Lihi Lapid speaking on Women in Israel at Kol Ami.
 November 21st – Annual Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast at
Manhattanville College.
About the Brother J. Driscoll Professorship
The Brother John G. Driscoll Professorship in Jewish-Catholic Studies is a gift from
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rudin, ‘86H, New York City, to Iona College to honor President
Emeritus Br. Driscoll’s 50 years as a member of the Congregation of Christian
Brothers. As a program in Jewish-Catholic Studies, the Driscoll Professorship adds
a unique perspective to the fulfillment of Iona’s mission to prize the values of justice,
peace, and service. The Driscoll Professorship dedicates itself to:
 Effecting mutual understanding between Jews and Catholics;
 Fostering learning about the similarities and differences surrounding shared
beliefs in God, faith, and the values of justice and life;
 Exploring a common foundation in the themes of covenantal relationship;
 Deepening understanding about the effects and implications of the Shoah;
 Celebrating the spiritual vitality and gifts of the two faiths.
In the spirit of Br. Driscoll’s passion for Jewish-Catholic studies, the Driscoll
Professorship takes Br. Driscoll’s hopes as its own:
 That ancient truths will be revered.
 That hidden truths will be revealed.
 That new ways will be found to touch the human heart.
Shared Roots, Divergent Paths Series
Presents
Herstory: A Look at Women in
Catholicism and Judaism from
Ancient Times to the Present
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
7:30 pm
Thomas J. Burke Lounge, Spellman Hall
Iona College
New Rochelle, New York
Program
Featured Speakers
JEANNINE HILL FLETCHER is a Professor of Theology at Fordham University
where she joined the faculty in 2001. She received her undergraduate degree from
the University of Illinois and after a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, attended
Harvard Divinity School, earning her MTS in 1996 and her PhD in 2001.
Prof. Hill Fletcher teaches at the intersection of Systematic Theology and issues of
diversity (religious diversity, Christian cultural diversity, race and gender). She also
serves as the Faculty Director of the Service-Learning Program for undergraduates of
Fordham College Rose Hill and Lincoln Center. Prof. Hill Fletcher is also co-chair of
the Roman Catholic Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion, and
liaison with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. Trained as a
feminist theologian, Prof. Hill Fletcher is interested in how religious identity is
constructed and mobilized in a pluralistic world. Her first book, Monopoly on
Salvation? A Feminist Response to Religious Pluralism, places Karl Rahner and
George Lindbeck in conversation with feminist theories of identity for a theology of
religious pluralism. Her most recent work, Motherhood as Metaphor: Engendering
Interreligious Dialogue asks how women’s interfaith engagement might serve as a
site for a renewed theological anthropology. She has contributed to numerous edited
volumes on women in interreligious dialogue.
ELLEN M. UMANSKY is the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic
Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, a position she has held since
September of 1994. Dr. Umansky received her B.A. degree in Philosophy from
Wellesley College, her Master of Arts degree in Religion from Yale University, and
her Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 1981. Her published works include
two books on Lily Montagu, founder of the Liberal Jewish movement in England,
From Christian Science to Jewish Science: Spiritual Healing and American Jews
(Oxford University Press, 2004) and the co-edited Four Centuries of Jewish
Women's Spirituality: A Sourcebook (Beacon Press, 1992; revised and expanded
second edition, Brandeis University Press/UPNE, 2009).
Dr. Umansky is an active member of the American Academy of Religion and the
Association for Jewish Studies (for which she serves as co-Chair of the Network of
Directors of Judaic Studies Programs). She is Vice-President and President-Elect of
the Southern Jewish Historical Society and recently elected to the Board of Directors
of Theta Alpha Kappa, the national Religious Studies Honor Society. She is a longtime member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion
and the Academic Advisory Boards of the Jewish Women’s Archive in Boston, the
American Jewish Historical Society, and the Hadassah International Research
Institute on Jewish Women at Brandeis University. She is also a member of the
Boards of Wellesley-in-Westchester and the Yale Westchester Alumni Association.
Dr. Umansky is currently working on a new book, focusing on Judaism, feminism,
liberalism, and God.
I. Opening Remarks
 Elena Procario-Foley, PhD, Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic
Studies, Chair, Religious Studies Department, Iona College
II. Introduction of Speakers
 Caren Ellis Fried, Co-Chair, Interreligious and Intergroup
Relations Committee, AJC Westchester
III. Herstory: A Look at Women in Catholicism and Judaism from
Ancient Times to the Present
 Dr. Ellen Umansky, Carl and Dorothy Bennett Chair in Judaic
Studies & Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University
 Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Professor of Theology at Fordham
University
IV. Question and Answer Session
V. Program Adjournment
 Elena Procario-Foley, PhD, Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic
Studies, Chair, Religious Studies Department, Iona College
Thank You
The Driscoll Professorship is made possible through a generous
endowment from Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rudin, ‘86H along with annual
support from the Jean and Henry Pollack Fund.

Program Chairs: Jonathan Franklin, Caren Ellis Fried and Clifford
Wolf (AJC); Elena Procario-Foley, PhD (Iona)

AJC Westchester: Stuart Ginsberg, Regional President; Scott
Richman, Director; Jill Friedman, Associate Director; Vicki Kline,
Director of Development; Valencia Latty-Wynter, Office
Administrator.

Iona College: Sean Piggot, Facilities; Brian Sears, Information
Technologies; Chartwells Catering