News fromzerici the Jewish Studies Program and the Center for Israeli Studies Fall 2000
From the Directors
e are delighted once again to bring you YediAUt, news of American University’s Jewish Studies Program and Center for WIsraeli Studies. Its pages spotlight our on-going activities: classes and curriculum in the Jewish Studies major and minor, internships, and the Pamela Nadell, Director, Jewish many public programs that we sponsor. In addition, they describe our Studies Program distinguished visiting faculty, conferences, guest lectures, and study abroad in Israel. Together these articles reveal not only how Jewish Studies and Israeli Studies flourish at American University but also their key role in enhancing the university’s global diversity. As always, we thank you, our readers, for your support.
Jewish Studies Professors Tackle Holocaust Questions Howard Wachtel, Director, Center for Israeli Studies Allies Could Have Helped Save Where Did Valuables Stolen from Italian Jews Hungarian Jews Go? ritish and American intelligence agents had onald W. Zweig, visiting professor at advance information in 1943 that could have American University, is currently completing Bhelped save Roman Jewry from deportation to R his new book on one of the remaining un- Auschwitz, according to AU history professor Richard answered questions relating to the Holocaust—what Breitman. But not until this year did the New York happened to the tons of gold and diamonds and Inside Times and the Washington Post learn the news as other precious items stolen from the Jews of related by Breitman, who is currently working with Hungary in the last months of World War II. These ■ Ladners Visit the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working items disappeared from history, and the fate of the Israel Group (IWG) examining 400,000 pages of newly “Gold Train” that took them out of Hungary just declassified documents. These documents, from the days before the Red Army liberated that country ■ U.S.–Israel Civil Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the remains a mystery. Zweig has traced the fate of the Liberties Law Central Intelligence Agency, include Nazi SS mes- train and of the gold and other valuables it carried ■ Univ. of Haifa sages sent between Berlin and Rome in late 1943, to a surprising conclusion, to be revealed when his Program which British intelligence intercepted, decoded, and book is published. shared with the Americans. It is thanks to a generous gift from American ■ Yoram Peri Breitman’s report for the IWG, coauthored with University alumnus Jeffrey Berman, that the Jewish Visiting Scholar Timothy Naftali, shows that the British knew that on Studies Program and the Department of History, See Breitman page 7 See Zweig page 7 President and Mrs. Ladner visit Israel resident and Mrs. Benjamin Ladner learned firsthand about the projects of the Center for Israeli Studies during a very busy week in Israel at the Pend of March 2000. Arriving the day after the Pope left Jerusalem, the president met with past and present political leaders. ■
President Benjamin Ladner, far right, with American University students President Benjamin Ladner and director of Center for Israeli Studies, studying at Hebrew University, along with Professors Daniel Schydlowsky, Howard M. Wachtel, being shown industrial technology by Stef Wertheimer, far left, and Howard M. Wachtel, sixth from left, after a meeting at the chairman of the board of ISCAR LTD., at his industrial park in the northern King David Hotel in Jerusalem Galilee town of Tefen
Meeting with pioneers of Israel’s high technology industry and students from AU in the Jerusalem study abroad program Learning about Israel’s rich history
President and Mrs. Benjamin Ladner with their guide, Jacob Shoshan President Benjamin Ladner meets with former mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek
2 AU’s Washington College of Law
U.S.–Israel Civil Liberties Law Program
he 15th anniversary of AU’s Washington New Israel Fund in 1984 by AU professor Herman Among some 40 graduates Schwartz, one of the leading civil rights and consti- College of Law (WCL) program that provides of the program are Neta intensive legal and practical training in civil tutional lawyers in the United States, this program T consists of one year of intensive legal studies and Ziv-Goldman, cofounder of rights and civil liberties law was celebrated in Israel internships in Washington, D.C., and a second year in December the Women’s Legal 1999 with an of internships at an Israeli institution specializing Defense Center; Hassan International in public interest legal work. Among some 40 Symposium of graduates of the program are Neta Ziv-Goldman, Jabareen, who created Jurists on cofounder of the Women’s Legal Defense Center; Hassan Jabareen, who created Adalah, the Legal Adalah, the Legal Center Photo by Israel Sun Ltd. Human Rights at Tel Aviv Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel; and for Arab Minority Rights in Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the University, a Israel; and Gidon gala at the Earth, Middle East. Schwartz, the program’s direc- Knesset, and a tor, summed up his pride in the achievements of Bromberg, Israeli director the graduates when he said in the Israeli newspaper workshop on of Friends of the Earth, pro bono legal Ha’aretz, “They were only required to give a two- services in Israel. Founded in conjunction with the year commitment. I never thought they would start Middle East. all these organizations.” ■
University of Haifa Program at AU’s Washington College of Law (WCL)
his summer WCL kicked off the new Israel with 13 WCL and Nova law students. The students program it is cosponsoring with the lived on a kibbutz for a week, then moved to a University of Haifa Faculty of Law and guest house at the Rutenberg Institute for Peace in T downtown Haifa. As part of their studies, they Nova Southeastern School of Law in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The program heard lectures from the Haifa faculty on various In addition, WCL professors involves a two-course, aspects of Israeli law and the peace process and Egon Guttman and Janet 6-credit, summer visited, among other places, the Israeli Supreme study abroad program Court, the stock exchange, Nazareth, Galilee, and Spragens, director of the for American law Masada. WCL Israel Program, spent students in Haifa and In addition, WCL professors Egon Guttman and Janet Spragens, director of the WCL Israel Program, six weeks in Haifa this sum- a series of faculty exchanges between spent six weeks in Haifa this summer teaching mer teaching courses in U.S. the University of courses in U.S. tax and corporate law to Haifa law students as part of the faculty exchange. This aca- tax and corporate law to Haifa and the American law demic year, as part of the faculty exchange, the Haifa law students as part of schools. In connec- University of Haifa is sending law professors Victor the faculty exchange. tion with the study Bouganim and Dean Yoseph Edrey to WCL, and ■ abroad program, law professor Jonathan Yovel to Nova. Professors Andrew Pike (WCL) and Steven Friedland (Nova) traveled to Haifa this summer
3 In May 2001 we will launch our second study Upcoming Events in the abroad program in Israel, a new environmental Center for Israeli Studies studies course, Water in the Middle East: Scarcity and Prospects, led by Prof. David Culver of the U and the Center for Israeli Studies (CIS) Department of Biology and director of environ- once again will be the site for the annual mental studies at AU. For two weeks students will A meeting, May 15–17, 2001, of the Assoc- participate in seminars, field experience, and visits iation for Israel Studies, the international profes- to water resource sites in this program, which will sional organization for research on Israel. This, the be based at the Arava Institute in the southern 17th annual meeting, is open to scholarly and aca- Negev. Partially funded by the Jewish National demic papers on all aspects of contemporary Israeli Fund in Israel and by scholarships provided by the Prof. Russell Stone, society. The program is currently being planned by Cora and John H. Davis Foundation, this program Association for Prof. Gershon Shafir, of the University of California, builds on the two-week 1999 visit of Pedro Berliner Israel Studies San Diego,
Yoram Peri Visiting Scholar in Residence
During the academic year 2000–2001, Prof. Yoram Peri’s career, however, straddles the academic and Peri will be a visiting scholar in residence. While in public affairs. He can be safely called one of the pre- residence, he will be working on a new book on the mier public intellectuals in Israel, with significant media and politics in Israel and the United States and activities in the political world and in newspaper pub- will deliver a series of lectures, beginning with “The lishing. He served as campaign manager and political Rabin Assassination,” to coincide with the publication advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. of his new book of the same title (Stanford University In the world of journalism he served as editor in chief Press). Many in the United States of the daily newspaper Davar, editor and moderator of know Yoram Peri as president Peri is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of a weekly radio program, Ha’arachat Matzav, host of a of the New Israel Fund. Communication at Hebrew University, continuing an weekly television panel show on the news of the academic career in which he held appointments at Tel week, Va’adat Ha’orchim, and editor of the journal Aviv University and in the United States at Harvard Israeli Democracy. ■ and Dartmouth.
4 Faculty Notes
Richard Breitman, history, had his Women and American Judaism: Historical memory. During a month in Lithuania this book Official Secrets: What the Nazis Perspectives, coedited with Brandeis summer, she visited Jewish survivors in the Planned, What the British and Americans University professor Jonathan D. Sarna, will north of Lithuania, in Telsiai (famous for the Knew published in paperback. For more, be published in July. Telz Yeshiva, 1875–1941) and in Varniai (in see page 1. Saul Newman, School of Public Affairs, the Telz district), once a town of scholars Erran Carmel, Kogod School of authored Ethnoregional Conflict in Demo- and maskilim. In Telsiai she met with a Business, has begun, with colleagues in the cracies as well as articles on nationalism, woman who survived the Holocaust in the United States and Israel, a study of infor- ethnic politics, and terrorism. During the guise of a nun. In Varniai she met with mation technology firms that have estab- summer of 2000 he conducted research in another woman in her 80s, who was con- lished R&D subsidiaries in both the United Israel on a new project, tentatively titled verted and saved by the church and to this States and Israel. They are identifying the “Settling Settler Conflicts: Northern Ireland, day remains a Catholic, living as a farmer in most important factors that determine the South Africa, Israel, and Theories of this rural village. allocation of different R&D activities across Nationalism.” Russell Stone, sociology, as series editor the two countries. Amos Perlmutter, government, has for the Israeli studies book publishing program Gershon Greenberg, philosophy and written several books, including The Life of the State University of New York (SUNY) religion, continues to write on Jewish reli- and Times of Menachem Begin and The Press, produces on average five books gious responses to the Holocaust. Among Partitioned State. Perlmutter serves as edi- each year. The total number of books pub- his works are two annotated bibliographies tor of the Journal of Strategic Studies and lished to date is more than 50. The list can of sources in this field for the years 1938 Security Studies and is often featured as an be accessed at
5 News from the Jewish Studies Program During the past year American University’s interdisciplinary Jewish Studies Program continued to offer a broad selection of courses on the Jewish experience. They included classes in Hebrew language; ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish history; Jewish philosophy; Holocaust studies; Israeli studies; and Jewish liter- ature in translation. ■
Jewish Studies Program: Guest Presentations 1999–2000 ■ Hebrew University professor Avigdor Shinan presented “The Life of King David in Rabbinic Literature,” October 1999. ■ Shirley Kaufman and Galit Hasan-Rokem read from their new book, The Defiant Muse: Hebrew Feminist Poems from Antiquity to the Present, A Bilingual Anthology, November 1999, cosponsored with the Center for Israeli Studies. ■ Prof. Itzhak Galnoor of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem presented “How I Tried and Failed to Change the Israeli Bureaucracy,” November 1999, cosponsored with the Department of Public Administration, Center for Israeli Studies, and Council on Comparative Studies. ■ Screening of Women of the Wall, February 2000, cosponsored with AU Hillel. ■ Cornell University professor Gary Rendsburg presented “From Moses to the Muses: Two Hundred Years of Modern Biblical Scholarship,” February 2000. ■ Author and poet Ricardo Feierstein of Argentina presented a bilingual reading, cosponsored with the Department of Language and Foreign Studies, March 2000. In addition, Feierstein’s reading at the D.C. Jewish Community Center was cosponsored by the Jewish Studies Program. In 1998 the Jewish ■ Bar Ilan University professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Studies Program cospon- presented “The Middle East Peace Process: An Update and Realistic Assessment,” cosponsored with sored a conference at the Center for Israeli Studies and the Department of Sociology. AU, “The History of ■ Tel Aviv University professor Robert Rockaway presented “But He Was Good to His Mother: The American Jewish Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters,” April 2000. Political Conservatism,” with Temple University’s Feinstein Center for the Study of American Jewish History. Some dozen prominent schol- Student Awards at the 2000 annual meeting of the Association for ars and journalists over Israel Studies in Israel. two days presented Jessica Sarah DeNino received the Janet Ruth papers on the historical The Jewish Studies Program and the Zober Memorial Scholarship from Hillel of Greater Washington for her program in deaf education. development of Jewish Center for Israeli Studies recognize the Katrin Paehler, history graduate student, political conservatism 1999–2000 student award winners: received a Jerrold and Jane Goodman Award from from the 1930s onward. the Jewish Studies Program to attend the seminar The papers from this Kate Burke, Brett Freeman, Rebecca Geller, “Jewish Civilization and the Holocaust” at conference have been Aaron Goldstein, Nicole Gratch, Adam Herbst, Sara Northwestern University. published in the Johns Hillman, Matthew Jubitz, Szilvia Ladunga, Jamie Levine, Cori Roth, Samuel Rubin, and Susan Aleisa Fishman, graduate student in history, has Hopkins University Press won two awards, the Rabbi Levi A. Olan Memorial journal American Jewish Schwartz all received the Cora and John H. Davis Foundation Israeli Studies Awards. Fellowship from the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of History (volume 87, num- Graduate student Daniel Weiss received a the American Jewish Archives and the National bers 2 and 3), which may Jerrold and Jane Goodman Award from the Jewish Women’s Studies Association Jewish Caucus Fellow- be ordered from the Studies Program to present his paper “The ship for her dissertation in progress, “Gender, the press. ■ Centrality of Culture in Israeli Politics and Society” Market, and Jewish Identity in Nassau County, New York, 1946–1960.” ■
6 Breitman, from page 1 Zweig, from page 1 October 8, 1943, Herbert Kappler, German police attaché in Rome, jointly with the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the U.S. was ordered to seize the 8,000 Jews of Rome. On October 11, Holocaust Memorial Museum, are hosting Zweig this year. Zweig 1943, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, head of the Reich Security Main Office comes to us from Tel Aviv University, where he is senior lecturer in the wrote Kappler in chilling terms: Department of Jewish History and editor of the Journal of Israeli “It is precisely the immediate and thorough eradication of the History. He also directed Tel Aviv University’s well-known Center for Jews in Italy which is [in] the special interest of the present internal Research in the History of political situation and the general security in Italy. To postpone the Zionism from 1989 to 1993. expulsion of the Jews . . . can no more be considered than the A graduate of the University idea mentioned of calling up the Jews in of Sydney, Australia, and of the Italy for what would probably be very University of Cambridge, unproductive labour under responsible direc- England, Zweig is the author tion by Italian authorities. The longer the of Britain and Palestine during delay, the more the Jews who are doubtless the Second World War and reckoning on evacuation measures have an German Reparations and the opportunity by moving to the houses of pro- Jewish World, soon to be Jewish Italians or disappearing completely . . . republished in an expanded proceed with the evacuation of the Jews and revised edition. He has without further delay.” also edited four collections of Ronald Zweig Richard Breitman As Professor Breitman told the New York essays on modern Jewish histo- Times, “The release raises the historical ry, published more than 20 scholarly articles, been a fellow at the question once again of what Allied governments knew about the Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Oxford University, and held Holocaust during World War II and what might have been done numerous other visiting fellowships. with information they possessed,” a subject Breitman has tackled In addition, Zweig has a strong interest in information technologies. before, notably in Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What The British Academy has published his work on archives and electronic the British and Americans Knew. Breitman earned his PhD at records, and since 1995 he has been director of the Kipp Institute for Harvard University and is also the author of German Socialism and Advanced Technology in the Humanities at Tel Aviv University, where Weimar Democracy; Breaking the Silence: American Refugee Policy he heads a research program in the digitization of printed sources. and European Jewry, 1933–1945 (with Alan Kraut); and The Using unique computer technology, the Kipp Institute has prepared an Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution. He is also electronic version of the entire run—40,000 pages—of a newspaper of editor in chief of the journal Holocaust and Genocide Studies. ■ historical record, the Palestine Post (1932–1950), which can now be read and searched on computer. ■
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