The Department of Religion and Classics presents the seventh part of a seven part series: Conversations on Israel, Palestine, and the War in Gaza: Liora Halpern (University of Washington) in conversation with Briana Theobald (UR History).
Livestream: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/97953345299

"In Search of Palestine's 'Native Jews': Excavating Forgotten Pasts in the Archive"
Jews born into Palestine's urban, religious communities in the 1890s came of age just as the political arrangements and communal institutions of their parents were being radically challenged, reshaped, or displaced amidst the post-World War I transition from Ottoman to British rule and Zionist leadership. David Tidhar, a policeman, private eye, and history buff born in Jaffa in 1897, not only found himself in the midst of this transformation but became one of its most prolific chroniclers. Liora Halperin will take us on a journey through some highlights of David Tidhar's large personal archive, only recently cataloged by the National Library of Israel and explain what it can reveal about the unstable and ever-changing place of Palestine's Ottoman Jewish communities between migrant, native, settler, and sabra.

Liora Halperin is Professor of International Studies and History, and Distinguished Endowed Chair of Jewish Studies, at the University of Washington. She is an historian of Israel/Palestine with particular interests in nationalism and collective memory, Jewish cultural and social history, language ideology and policy, and the politics of colonization and settlement. She is the author of The Oldest Guard: Forging the Zionist Settler Past (Stanford, 2021) and Babel in Zion: Jews, Nationalism, and Language Diversity in Palestine, 1920-1948 (Yale, 2015). She is currently working on a book about the Jewish communities of Palestine before Zionism, and the way a wide range of later groups and political movements, both Zionist and anti-Zionist, have commemorated and narrated their history.

This year-long speaker series is designed to foster intellectual growth and enrich the campus community, particularly in the wake of last year's campus conflicts regarding Israel and Palestine. Recognizing the need for more open dialogue and a deeper understanding of complex issues, we seek to create a space for respectful discussion, critical thinking, and a broadening of perspectives. These topics, often deeply personal and emotionally charged, can be difficult to navigate, but the series aims to provide a platform for exploring them with empathy, understanding, and a commitment to informed discourse. By inviting renowned experts from various fields we hope to stimulate thought-provoking conversations, challenge prevailing perspectives, and elevate the overall level of discourse on campus.

A reception will follow the event.  Parking passes are available for Library Lot at the welcome kiosk at the main entrance to campus on Elmwood Avenue.

Sponsored by the Department of Religion & Classics and the Center for Jewish Studies.