When I was a student at MSU, it was a simpler time 
than today, but the fledgling new antisemitism, the 
masquerade of anti-Zionism, was already informing 
my Jewish identity while the Jewish Studies faculty 
and my student peers were an academic and 
intellectual rock of support I relied on. 

I took courses in analyzing Middle East conflicts and 
cooperation; Israeli government and politics; Israeli 
cinema; and through independent study assisted in 
preliminary research into the political psychology of 
Israeli prime ministers. These and other courses and 
experiences shaped the trajectory of my personal and 
professional paths. I feel that my activity in interfaith 
and diplomatic committees of the JCRC/AJC, my 
position in the Detroit Community Leadership cohort 
through the Shalom Hartman Institute, my co-leading 
the Detroit chapter of Zioness, my professional work in 
civil discourse at the Detroit Center for Civil Discourse, 
and even how I raise my two young daughters, have all 
been pre-informed by my time spent in Jewish Studies 
at MSU. 

Coupled with my academic path, I partook in Jewish 
communal and leadership experiences with Hillel and 
served two years on the executive board, representing 
the Jewish Student Union on two Associated Students 
of MSU boards. What I was learning in Jewish Studies 
was not just practical for these campus roles, but in 
independent life as well. It influenced my international 
travel pattern and interfaith friendships I made along 
the way. 

All the while, these experiences were innately growing 
my own Jewish identity and my understanding of the 
diversity of the Jewish community. I was well prepared 
for the work I do today at the Michael and Elaine 
Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel 
at MSU. It’s an honor to work with my college mentor, 
Professor Yael Aronoff, and with the 42 students 
currently minoring in Jewish Studies, some of whom 
are undoubtedly the future of the Detroit Jewish 
community. 

Ariana Mentzel is assistant to the director of the 
Serling Institute and managing director of the Detroit 
Center for Civil Discourse. She is co-vice president of 
the JCRC/AJC. Ariana, her husband Jay, and two 
daughters live in Beverly Hills. 

Ariana Mentzel, ’08, undertook a 
Jewish Studies specialization at MSU

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

Still shaped 
by Jewish 
Studies 
at MSU

The 15th Annual Israeli Film 
Festival takes place February 
28 through March 14. 
Events include live conversations 
with directors, a cooking 
demonstration and a live musical 
performance. Ma’abarot details 
Mizrahi Jews confined to 
resettlement camps upon their 
arrival in Israel. The comedic 
story about a Palestinian man 
who becomes a writer for a 
popular Palestinian soap opera 
after a chance meeting with an 
Israeli check point commander 
is told in Tel Aviv on Fire. The 
WWII rescue of Jews in the 
Muslim majority country of 
Albania is documented in The 
Albanian Code. The showing of 
In Search of Israeli Cuisine will be 
followed by a discussion with the 
narrator and the most famous 
Israeli chef in America, Michael 
Solomonov. 

Virtual events highlight 
Jewish experience

JOIN MSU SERLING INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH STUDIES AND MODERN ISRAEL BY ZOOM 
FOR AN ARRAY OF VIRTUALLY ACCESSIBLE AND FREE PROGRAMMING ADDRESSING 
THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE

Other upcoming highlights from 
the Serling Institute’s spring 
lineup of events include panel 
discussions and book talks.
On Tuesday, February 23, from 
7 to 8:30 p.m., Rabbi Matthew 
Kaufman will discuss his research 
on philosopher Horace Kallen and 
the relevance of his theories of 
cultural pluralism and democracy 
to contemporary debates. On 
Tuesday, March 30, from 4:30 to 6:30 
p.m., a panel will discuss the Jewish 
experience of migration, including 
Serling Institute Associate Director 
Kirsten Fermaglich and affiliate 
Steve Gold, based on his edited 
book, Wandering Jews: Global Jewish 
Migration. Top scholars will discuss 
the Holocaust in Greece and the 
varied influences of local non-
Jewish populations on Tuesday, 
March 23, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., as 
well as in Romania and the Soviet 
Union on Thursday, April 8, from 
12:30 to 2 p.m.

This insert is published by MSU University 
Advancement, 535 Chestnut Road, Room 300, 
East Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 884-1000.

Michigan-based Chef Hunny Khordorkovsky will demonstrate cooking a Moroccan 
Israeli dish prior to a screening of In Search of Israeli Cuisine, while Yemenite Israeli 
singer-songwriter Tair Haim (right) of A-WA will perform live and take questions 
from the audience. 

REGISTER FOR THESE EVENTS or ask to be added to an email list at 
jsp.msu.edu

