Liran Gerassi: Israeli director of the Lux Center for Catholic Jewish Studies

Priests and priestly students at Sacred Heart Seminary and Divinity School in Milwaukee are having a hard time coping with the Israeli pronunciation of “Liran,” the name of the new director of the Center for Catholic Jewish Studies at Lux Seminary.

But Liran Gerassi, an Israeli social entrepreneur who has lived in Milwaukee for several years, gives them the opportunity to practice saying his name every time he enters their classroom to teach about Israel, Judaism and Jewish history.

He also introduces the word of the week in Hebrew, sometimes words they already know like “hallelujah” or “amen” but didn’t realize were in Hebrew.

“The purpose of the Lux Center is to promote Jewish-Catholic dialogue and introduce future priests to their Jewish roots so that they convey a message of reconciliation to the communities they will serve in the future,” says Gerassi.

“I am the first ever Israeli director of the center and the first Israeli employee of Sacred Heart Seminary.”

LIRAN GERASSI in reserve service in the Gaza Strip. (Photo courtesy of Liran Djerassi)

From Equalizer to Lux Center

It wasn’t an obvious career path for Djerassi.

He founded The Equalizer in 2009 as a volunteer soccer team for at-risk Jerusalem boys, mainly Ethiopian immigrants.

When Gerassi left the organization 14 years later, it included 500 teams throughout Israel. Not just football, but also basketball and swimming – and not just for Jewish boys, but also for boys and girls from Arab, Jewish and Bedouin communities, including teams for children with autism.

Equalizer’s goal is to create social, geographic and gender equity through programs that combine team sports with academic assistance, values-based activities and empowering content. Under Gerassi’s leadership, it expanded beyond Israel to developing countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America in partnership with local governments, non-governmental organizations and Israeli embassies.

“The EQ is still going strong. I left because my wife, Noa, was appointed for three years as an emissary (shliho) of the Jewish Agency to the Jewish community of Greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” Gerassi explains.

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Serving this very diverse community of about 25,000 Jews through the Jewish Federation, its mission is primarily to “serve as a human connection between the Jews living here, Israeli culture and Israelis,” she says.

Just six weeks after their move, events occurred October 7 give everything a different meaning.

Liran Gerassi waited a while for the couple’s daughters, now nine and six, to adequately adapt to a new country, a new language and a new school, then flew to Israel twice to serve in the reserves as an officer in the Gaza Strip.

The Milwaukee Jewish community, he notes, “really was there for Noah to help with everything during those difficult times when I was away.”

The war and the unexpectedly violent backlash it brought against Jews in the Diaspora led Gerassi to think about how he could use his organizational experience to bring about positive change.

“In Israel we grow up thinking”anti-Semitism– a term from history books. We have a fight against enemies who border us, but this is not anti-Semitism. Obviously, over the last year I have realized that anti-Semitism still exists in the diaspora,” he says.

“When I was running a non-profit organization and raising funds from Jewish communities and donors in the Diaspora, it felt like they were always helping us. And they helped us even after October 7, collecting money and coming as volunteers. But now communities abroad need our help. I wanted to do something related to reducing hatred and increasing feelings of safety,” he explains.

While talking with friends over beers, he learned that Lux Center was looking for a new executive director after two years of inactivity. Gerassi applied with little expectation, knowing they were looking for an experienced theologian or rabbi.

It was a long process. His first interview took place after he first returned from Gaza; the second was after he had served there for another month. Ultimately, Djerassi’s successful track record in developing The Equalizer convinced the board of directors that he was the right person to lead and grow the Lux Center.

Teaching was not part of the job description, but on the first day one of the priests asked Gerassi to tell his class about the history of the Land of Israel. Since then, Gerassi has taught regularly at the seminary.

“I was hesitant because I had never taught Judaism, but I realized that I didn’t teach it to rabbis; I teach this to priests and future priests. I have 39 years more Jewish experience than them,” he says.

As the only Jew on campus, Gerassi is a novelty, especially since he is a Sephardi—Iraqi on one side and Turkish on the other. “This is something they’ve never seen before,” he says.

The seminarians were amazed to learn that he was born in the holy city of Jerusalem. “We were talking about the Jewish calendar, and I told them that I was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, but I celebrate two birthdays—the Jewish and the Gregorian.”

His primary responsibilities as executive director of the Lux Center are outside of the classroom.

“I’m now working on outreach programs, bringing priests, deacons and other religious leaders into synagogues and schools to talk about dialogue and the importance of peace between religions,” he says. “They are not trying to convert Jews; Catholics don’t want to do this.”

The Lux Center is named for its Catholic founder, Professor Richard Lux, a retired seminary professor who lives in Minneapolis and remains involved with the program.

“One of our new projects is Bagels with Lux, where members of the Jewish community come to the seminary for breakfast and roundtable discussions with priests and the community,” says Gerassi. “Our projects are aimed at involving the Jewish community in the work of the Lux Center and vice versa.”

He does not face the kind of anti-Israel hostility that has become all too common on American college campuses.

“If you go to any college campus in the United States now, you will see 20-year-old kids who think they know everything and you can’t teach them anything. If you say something, it is because you are biased. They believe that only they have the truth,” says Djerassi.

“I don’t know if it’s because they’re Catholic or because they’re religious, but in the seminary it’s the other way around. (Here) They want more information. They say: “Tell us about what is happening in Israel.”

“Several of them were chaplains in the US Army, and they are very interested. They really want to know what they don’t know. That’s very rare these days, especially in the United States.”

When he sincerely tells them that he feels sorry for the civilians in Gaza, “they know I’m not a fanatic. On the other hand, they are looking for someone who expresses pride in their Judaism, not someone who is a self-hating Jew,” says Gerassi.

“I’m very proud to be an Israeli and a Jew, and that’s a very important part. Because if I’m proud of my Jewish and Israeli roots, that means I’m proud of theirs.”

Djerassi finds that he can never sit alone at lunch because after class many of the seminarians want to talk to him further and see photos of his military service.

“I am the first and perhaps the last Israeli in this role, and they see this as an amazing opportunity. That’s why they keep asking me questions.”

Noah Djerassi, meanwhile, notes that in the year since Oct. 7, there has been greater cohesion among Greater Milwaukee’s Jewish citizens, despite varying levels of affiliation.

“The events taking place in Israel deeply concern society and inspire it to take meaningful action. Moreover, the tension added to Jewish life by the alarming rise of anti-Semitism gives even greater significance to our presence here. Support should be mutual,” she adds.

“I dedicate a lot of time and thought to finding ways to connect the community with the various issues that concern Israeli society and highlight the incredible things happening among the citizens of the country, because the connection with Israel should be based on a range of emotions. and values, not just worry and pain. I hope that I will be able to fulfill this important mission,” she says. 