This interview with Peter Geffen is part of an ongoing series that explores one of the most pressing questions of our time: How do we find meaning in a world that seems increasingly incapable of offering? Two recent articles- And — examine the existential challenges facing contemporary society and ask how each of us can build a meaningful life within them. Peter Geffen’s story offers a compelling answer: a life of memory, responsibility and a stubborn insistence on hope.
The interview focused on Peter’s life and involvement in the civil rights movement, which he attributed to his upbringing in the Cold War era and the impact of the Holocaust on his generation. Peter discusses how his experiences and values have shaped his activism, including his work with Kivunim, an educational program that promotes understanding and cooperation between different cultures. He emphasized the importance of hope and optimism in driving social change and education, citing his upcoming trip to Morocco to participate in a Holocaust education conference. The conversation also touched on the current state of the Middle East and the challenges of hope and understanding in a divided world.
Peter Geffen’s path to social activism was shaped by two defining forces of his youth: the Cold War and the Holocaust. Growing up in that era, exposure to Holocaust documentation—including film let my man goConfronted him early on with questions of collective responsibility and the consequences of indifference. That moral urgency naturally translated to involvement in the civil rights movement, a reason he saw as sharing the same core demand: refusing to stand aside in the face of injustice.
His family reinforced that commitment. His father participated in protests against racial segregation in Queens, and figures such as Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel modeled what religious faith actually looked like. Peter reflects on some nostalgia for the religious community of that era—then activist and left-leaning—contrasting it with today’s more conservative posture.
His optimism, which he describes as a deliberate and imperative philosophy, draws from a blend of American and Jewish values, formative experiences in the camps, and the inspiration of John F. Kennedy—whose assassination left a lasting mark on his generation. For Peter, positive thinking is not naive; It is a prerequisite for effective work in the social sector.
Much of that work is now underway i am cryingAn educational program built around cross-cultural understanding. Peter describes this as building empathy and reducing fear of “the other” – outcomes he sees as achievable through sustained learning rather than wishful thinking.
At the time of the interview, Peter was preparing for a trip to Morocco with Kivunim’s parents, coinciding with a conference in Essaouira organized by the Mimula Association, which works to preserve Moroccan Jewish history and heritage—an initiative supported by the Moroccan king, which Peter found interesting in contrast to American attitudes toward him.
He was also scheduled to speak at a Holocaust education conference for teachers across the Middle East—an opportunity he framed as essential, especially given the current rift in the region. He points to an educational irony: HatikavaIsrael’s national anthem, meaning “hope”—is a word that seems hard to hold onto today, but Peter insists should be at the heart of how teachers approach their work.
Peter Geffen is an educator and social activist based in New York City. He is the founder of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NYC, the founder of Park Avenue Synagogue High School (now Rabbi Judah Nadich High School), and the founder and president of The Kivunim Institute, an international Jewish educational travel program.
His career in social activism began when he worked as a civil rights activist for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965–66, and he has been involved in Arab-Jewish coexistence since the early 1960s. He also served as Executive Director of the Center for Jewish History in NYC from 2003 to 2005 and was previously Director of the Israel Experience Program for the CRB Foundation.
Since 1969, Peter has designed and led international travel programs for teenagers and adults. The Kivunim Summer Teachers Program alone has served more than 1,600 participants since 1999. In 2012, he received the Covenant Award, the highest recognition given to a Jewish academic
