Join nationally syndicated columnist Keith Raffel and Oshman Family JCC CEO Zack Bodner for a lively, thought-provoking conversation as they tackle the challenges of our turbulent times—with insight, humor and heart.

** Book-bundle tickets are available for purchase until January 1. After that books can be purchased at the event depending on availability. 

The occasion is the release of Keith’s new book, The Raffel Ticket: Betting on America—a sharp and soulful collection of essays exploring the crossroads of the United States, Silicon Valley, Judaism and Israel. Drawing on his experience as counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, bestselling thriller writer, Silicon Valley CEO, Harvard scholar and OFJCC board member, Keith offers a historian’s memory, a novelist’s empathy and a Jewish American’s conscience.

Who better to engage, challenge and spar (respectfully!) with him than Zack Bodner, author of Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto For 21st-Century Jewish Peoplehood, a call to action for meaning and connection.

Together, Keith and Zack invite you to think harder, laugh louder and stand taller—in community, in conversation and in hope.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Keith Raffel has monitored the CIA as senior counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, run for Congress, founded a Silicon Valley internet company, developed and co-taught a college course on technology ethics, and written five bestselling thrillers. He and his wife Teri now split their time between their home in Palo Alto and an undergraduate dorm at Harvard where they are resident scholars. Keith keeps more than busy hanging out with undergrads, working on his newest novel, writing his nationally syndicated column and doting on his three grandchildren. The Raffel Ticket: Betting on America is his first book of nonfiction.

To learn more about Keith Raffel click here.

Watch Keith Raffel's interview with NBC Bay Area here.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Zack Bodner is President and CEO at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, CA. He is an accomplished speaker, a MOTH storyteller and TEDx presenter, and writes regularly for Jewish publications in the US and Israel. He is a member of YPO, participated in the Executive Leadership Seminar at the Aspen Institute, is a board member of the JCC Association of North America, and is on the Advisory Board of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University. Zack lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and three children. Before joining the JCC, Zack served for 14 years as the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of AIPAC. Zack holds a master’s degree in philosophy of religion and theology from Claremont Graduate University, earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Stanford Business School’s program for executives in nonprofit leadership.