MEDIA CONTACT: Polly Burks
561-297-2595, pburks@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, FL (December 19, 2006) – Boca Raton residents Rhoda and Emmanuel Shemin, along with Alan Berger, the Raddock Family Eminent Scholar Chair in Holocaust Studies in Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, present the first annual International Shemin Trialogue Seminar titled “Christianity, Islam and Judaism after 9/11: Creating Conditions to Foster Clarity and Understanding.” The seminar will be held on Monday, February 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Live Oak Pavilion of the University Center on FAU’s Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. The seminar is free but registration is required by calling 561-297-2979 or visiting fauf.fau.edu/shemin.
The three keynote speakers for the event are Dr. John Pawlikowski, professor of social ethics at the Catholic Theologic Union and president of the International Council of Christians and Jews; Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, associate professor of religious studies at San Diego State University; and Rabbi Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, Italy. FAU President Frank T. Brogan will open the seminar, and Berger will serve as moderator.
Pawlikowski is a priest of the Servite Order. He has written and edited several books including “The Challenge of the Holocaust for Christian Theology,” and “Good and Evil after Auschwitz.” Pawlikowski was appointed by former President Carter to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 1980 and reappointed to three successive terms on the Council by former President Clinton and President Bush.
Mohammed is originally from Guyana and has studied in several countries, most notably in Saudi Arabia where he read Islamic Law at the Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Islamic law from McGill University and later went to Brandeis University as a postdoctoral fellow in Islamic Studies, where his research focused on the image of the Jew in the Islamic oral tradition.
De Segni was ordained in 1973 at the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano and began teaching there in 1974. In 1999, he became the director of the school and in 2001 was elected chief rabbi of Rome. De Segni is also a member of the editorial board of several Jewish papers and has edited several books in Italian on liturgy and halakha.
The Shemin Trialogue is the creation of Rhoda and Emanuel (Manny) Shemin, local residents who have taken a special interest in opening lines of communication on the subject of Christian, Islamic and Jewish relations. In bringing these three influential and internationally-known religious leaders together, the couple hopes to create a foundation for dialogue and education that can translate into meaningful action.
Manny Shemin is the founder of Shemin Nurseries, the first wholesale distributor of horticultural and landscape products to the professional trades. After a 1975 visit to Israel, he became involved in Israel’s agricultural industry and co-founded, with Israeli horticulturalist Dr. Isaac Nir, Genesis Seeds, Ltd., one of the largest organic seed production companies in the world. Shemin also established an agribusiness course at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His work led him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and he currently serves as an advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. In April of 2006, the faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences at The Hebrew University awarded Shemin the Certificate of Honor, recognizing his long-term contributions to agricultural research and his contribution to the education of generations of agricultural scientists.
The Shemins are now in retirement, though Manny Shemin is still a member of the board of directors and special consultant to the president of Shemin Nurseries. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Syracuse University and is a member of the Board’s Executive Committee. Shemin and his wife spend a portion of the year in Florida, where Rhoda Shemin has served on the Board of Advisors of FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society for more than 10 years.
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