Derek Penslar: The 1948 Arab-Israeli War in the Eyes of the World

Zeit: Dienstag, 28. April 2026, 19 Uhr
Ort: Einstein Forum, Potsdam

Derek Penslar (William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History, Harvard University)
Gesprächsleitung: Stephen Holmes, New York

Eine Kooperationsveranstaltung des Moses Mendelssohn Zentrums und des Einstein Forums, Potsdam

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War attracted attention from the highest levels of international society to state governments, transnational NGOs, journalism, and public opinion.  Palestine and the emerging state of Israel functioned as both a mirror and a magnifier.  Israel’s establishment and the Palestinian Nakba were interpreted through countries' specific interests, histories, and cultures.  These events also elicited tremendous passion.  Palestine’s mirroring and magnifying effects did not originate in 1948, but the events of that year drastically augmented them, and the patterns of global reaction remain with us to this today. 

Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. He recently co-chaired Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combatting Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias , whose report was released in April of last year. Derek Penslar is currently writing a book titled The War for Palestine, 1947-1949: A Global History. This term he is a visiting fellow at the American Academy in Berlin.