This talk reconsiders the cases of two towering historical figures who straddled the pre- and post-state periods. Wise, America’s dominant Jewish and Zionist leader in the 1930s and 1940s, and Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister, provide excellent opportunities to focus on how two political leaders responded to twentieth-century crises—namely, the Holocaust and the Yom Kippur War—that threatened Jewish survival, while highlighting the critical role of the U.S. and American power in shaping Zionist and Israeli history.
Mark A. Raider is Professor of Modern Jewish History at the University of Cincinnati and Visiting Professor of American Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He has published books and articles on American and American Jewish history, with a focus on American and Israeli Zionism. He is currently writing a biography of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, one of the twentieth century’s most important and controversial American Jewish and Zionist leaders.
Light refreshments will be served
RSVP to Vicki Harrison –
[email protected]
(408) 924-5547