Valley Beit Midrash

A hybrid event presentation (in-person and virtual) by Dr. Andrew Porwancher

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Join Professor Andrew Porwancher as he uncovers the close-knit and often surprising relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and the Jewish community. This lecture traces Roosevelt’s deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led. Drawing on fresh research from his newest book, American Maccabee, Porwancher explores the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Andrew Porwancher is the Chaplik Professor at the University of Texas. He previously held fellowships at Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton, and earned his PhD at Cambridge. His fifth book—American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews—won the 2025 Theodore Roosevelt Book Prize.