Glen Ellen man helps launch Jewish studies program to foster inter-religion tolerance

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of Glen Ellen’s Claude Ganz, Sonoma State University has launched a minor in Jewish studies. This new minor seeks to promote Jewish education as a way of fostering inter-religious tolerance.
Ganz says that learning about his own Jewish identity made him realize that all Jews need to reach out to show the world about the contributions they are making.
“My youth was marked by anti-Semitism, persecution and fear of losing my life because I was Jewish,” he said. “My own self-discovery led to my commitment to promote inter-religious understanding and tolerance.”
Ganz, 77, is a Holocaust survivor, San Francisco philanthropist and a former envoy to Bosnia during the Clinton administration. He has raised enough support to maintain the program through 2011.
According to Professor Michael Ezra, chair of the American Multicultural Studies program that heads the interdisciplinary program, there are 600 Jewish students at Sonoma State. Some are planning to attend seminary after graduation.
A few courses applicable to a minor in Jewish studies include Elementary Hebrew, Anti-Semitism in America, and Perspectives on the Holocaust. The roster of courses is expected to expand during the fall 2009 semester.
For questions about the Jewish studies program, contact Ezra at 707.664.3292 or ezra@sonoma.edu.