Neil Rubin’s long engagement with the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS) has paralleled his vocational journey—from journalist to scholar.
Rubin, who was a member of the first cohort of ICJS Teacher Fellows, has remained actively involved with ICJS over the years, frequently attending events and integrating an interreligious perspective into his curriculum.
Discovering ICJS Through Journalism
Now chair of the Jewish history department at Beth Tfiloh High School in Pikesville, Rubin first encountered ICJS as a reporter for the Baltimore Jewish Times, covering interfaith affairs. He often found himself covering Christian leaders and their interactions with the Jewish community, particularly Cardinal William Keeler of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, who was a national leader in Chrisitan-Jewish relations. Rubin often turned to ICJS scholars as sources for his stories.
“I believe I was the first reporter to do an in-depth feature on Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity in 2000,” he said, referring to the landmark statement authored by a group of Jewish scholars convened by ICJS. “I was really fascinated by it.”
A little more than a decade ago, he completed his Ph.D. in Modern Jewish History and decided to make a career transition from the newsroom to the classroom. He began teaching Jewish history at Beth Tfioh.
When ICJS launched its Teachers Fellowship in 2018, Rubin eagerly applied. “To sit around with like-minded people from different backgrounds for three hours a month, take field trips, and engage in deep conversations—it’s an opportunity most people don’t get, so I jumped at it,” he said.
Although he had a strong foundation in Christianity, Islam was less familiar to him. “I gravitated toward the Muslim participants because I didn’t know much about them or the Baltimore Muslim community,” he said. “It’s been a while, but we’ve exchanged many emails—especially during difficult times, like after October 7 or a tragic mosque attack—just to share our sympathy.”
Bringing Interreligious Empathy into the Classroom
Since his time as an ICJS Teacher Fellow, Rubin has sought to foster interreligious empathy in his classroom, encouraging students to consider and understand the perspectives of people of other faiths. He described his students at Beth Tfiloh, a private Jewish day school for preschool to 12th grade, as “living in a bubble within a bubble,” surrounded by the familiarity of the Jewish community in Pikesville.
“I tell my students all the time, ‘I’m not telling you what to believe or what I believe, but if you want to engage with people, you need to understand where they’re coming from.’”
“Jews make up 2% of the U.S. population. That’s statistically negligible,” he said. “We have to understand where others are coming from, what their triggers are, and we want them to understand ours. I also tell my students, I’m not interested in telling Christians or Muslims that they’re right or wrong—because I don’t want them to say that to me.”
ICJS as an Ongoing Resource
ICJS has remained a valuable resource for Rubin. He regularly attends events, including the annual Manekin-Clark Lecture and the biennial Silber-Obrecht Lecture, and makes frequent use of ICJS courses and on-demand videos—particularly those on Christian nationalism and the Crusades—for both personal enrichment and classroom instruction.
Furthering his commitment to interreligious education, Rubin will co-teach a course this summer at St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute, titled Christians, Jews, and Theology After the Holocaust, alongside Dr. Jason Poling, another active participant in ICJS.
Looking ahead, Rubin is eager to remain engaged with ICJS.
“It’s really important. It’s where people meet,” he said. “It’s the best game in town for interfaith matters.”