Professor and Historian Paul Liptz will present a three part series on the state of Israel, which has gone through remarkable transformations over the years.
Invited to attend are all members of Huntsville’s greater Jewish as well as non-Jewish communities.
Subjects will include the following hour-long talks, beginning at 2:30pm each Sunday:
- 4/4 – Israel, the Start-up Nation – History from 1948 to the 1980’s
- 4/11 – Israel is No Longer Alone: New Allies in the Middle East – Boycotts, peace treaties, and the recent Abraham Accords
- 4/18 – The Yemenite Jews: Returning Home – The history, lives, and successes of Yemeni Jewish immigrants to Israel
Register in advance for this webinar by clicking this link:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jpOMfL2XTj-iWiuYR-rhaw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Detailed Information
| Sunday April 4, 2021 – ISRAEL, THE START-UP NATION When Israel was formed in 1948, it was in the middle of a tough war with its neighbors and absorbing a vast number of immigrants, Holocaust survivors and from the Arab world, in a short period of time. The economic infrastructure was minimal and Israel had few allies but as it was a “sink or swim” situation; the Government did it’s best to ensure simple housing and employment for the population. By the 1980s Israel was in a totally different situation, with an expanding economy, a well-educated population and committed to moving into the developed world. The session will explain how this happened and will look at some realms of remarkable successes to place the country in a leader in many realms. Sunday April 11, 2021- ISRAEL IS NO LONGER ALONE: NEW ALLIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST In the 1950s, Israel had only a few friends and was faced by the Arab economic boycott and antagonism of the extensive Soviet bloc. In the June 1967 War, it’s success initially improved but it was only with the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 that her position in the Middle east started to improve. The events of the past few months have seen significant changes and the Abraham Accords have the potential of making the country an integral economic partner in the region, although the situation with the Palestinians remains problematic. Sunday April 18, 2021 – THE YEMENITE JEWS: RETURNING HOME The Jews of Yemen lived under the most difficult regimes where anti-Semitism was openly practiced – but the Jewish communities managed to retain their religious and cultural structure and developed a sophisticated world around themselves. At the end of the 19th century, with the rise of Zionism, they slowly started to move to the Land of Israel with the main group of some 50,000 immigrating to Israel in a dramatic moment of history. Life was initially difficult for them and they had to work hard to become a fully accepted component of the country which they have now achieved. Close attention will be paid to their growth and successes and the session will discuss where they have contributed to the wider society. |
