Jewish Studies Commons^™

Moral Exemplars Of Note - Dr. Susan Osborn, Sam And Pearl Oliner

Moral Exemplars Study

No abstract provided.

The Limits Of Solidarity: Leftist Jewish Israeli Activism For Palestine In The 1960’S And 2010’S, Ryann M. Hubbart

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

What does it mean for Jewish Israelis to engage in Palestinian solidarity? How do they navigate their positions of privilege in their activism? To explore these questions, I begin with a historical trajectory of the rise and fall of leftist Jewish Israeli activist organizations in response to global and local developments. I focus on two periods and their organizations: The Israeli Socialist Organization in the 1960’s and 1970’s and Ta’ayush and Physicians for Human Rights Israel in the 2010’s. In both cases the individuals in question are a very small minority of Israelis. From there I analyze these organizations and …

Shifts In French Jewish Citizenship, 1789-1840s, Jourdin Wilson

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

The citizenship of Jews became more discussed as a result of changes from the French Revolution of 1789. There were a variety of perspectives between non-Jews and Jews, and between different groups of Jews. The research methodology involves the analysis of qualitative primary sources including government texts and debates, groups of everyday Jews, and French Jewish literature and journal excerpts. The theoretical framework of nationalism will guide how citizenship is analyzed in the research, based on Dean Kostantaras’s book Nationalism and Revolution in Europe, 1763-1848. Results show that the way French Jews fit into or engaged with society is quite …

Wikipedia’S Intentional Distortion Of The History Of The Holocaust, Jan Grabowski, Shira Klein

History Faculty Articles and Research

This essay uncovers the systematic, intentional distortion of Holocaust history on the English-language Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopedia. In the last decade, a group of committed Wikipedia editors have been promoting a skewed version of history on Wikipedia, one touted by right-wing Polish nationalists, which whitewashes the role of Polish society in the Holocaust and bolsters stereotypes about Jews. Due to this group’s zealous handiwork, Wikipedia’s articles on the Holocaust in Poland minimize Polish antisemitism, exaggerate the Poles’ role in saving Jews, insinuate that most Jews supported Communism and conspired with Communists to betray Poles (Żydokomuna or Judeo–Bolshevism), blame …

Revisiting The Who And The Where: A Quest To Understanding The Identities Of Second-Generation Israeli-American Youth, Yuval Elbaz

Senior Projects Spring 2022

This is a study about identity formation patters on twelve second generation Israeli-Americans. The study will be divided into three sections: economic assimilation religious assimilation, and political assimilation. I will argue that living in the United States has a significant influence on the way participants viewed their Israeli identities. Although identity will be the focal point of this study, this is not to claim that identity is a fixed category, but rather is fluid and affected by various external and internal factors. In this study, identity is defined as the way people view themselves. For all participants, growing up in …

Life Is Beautiful, Or Not: The Myth Of The Good Italian, Shira Klein

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"Life is Beautiful illustrates a popular misconception about Italy's role in the Holocaust. The film features the good Italian and the warped view that Italy treated Jews kindly in the late 1930s and during World War II. Historians have proven this claim to be grossly exaggerated, arguing that Italians persecuted Jews vigorously. Yet popular representations of the past-films, novels, museum exhibits, and websites-continue to give credence to the notion that Italians were overwhelmingly good to Jews. Although France and Germany cultivated similar self-acquitting myths in the decades immediately after the war, they eventually moved on to accept the more …

Revisiting British Zionism In The Early 20th Century, Benjamin Marin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Long considered irrelevant and unimportant to Zionist history, British Zionists played a necessarily important role in the movement in the early 20th century leading up to the 1917 Balfour Declaration and into the 1920s. Historical narratives that have embraced a reductive view of Zionist history that championed Dr. Chaim Weizmann's prominent role during this period have largely shaped this perspective. In this paper, I examine several British Zionists such as Moses Gaster, Leopold Greenberg, Leonard Stein, Frederick Kisch, and Alfred Mond and the roles they played during this pivotal period for Zionism.

A Comparative Analysis Of Political Climates In Lithuania, Poland, And Ireland In The Early 1900s Related To Us Immigration And Media Culture, Annelise Silkaitis

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the process and experience of Lithuanian, Irish, and Polish immigrants during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as well as the role of media, specifically newspapers and books, in creating the representation and portrayal of these immigrant groups. These different ethnic groups left Europe for a variety of reasons, mainly economic and political, and sought a better life in the United States. Upon arrival, each group struggled with the Americanization process, learning English, building connections, and forming a new society. Although some immigrant groups formed stronger networks and communities upon arrival, each group faced poverty and discrimination. …

How Palestinian Aid Organizations Adapt To The Possibility Of Further Annexation And Rights Abuses In The Wake Of "The Deal Of The Century", Nadia L. Wiggins

Capstone Collection

This research explores the question, “To what extent has the ‘Deal of the Century’ impacted Palestinian aid organizations, and how might it impact them in the future?” The significance of this question lies in the fact that the “Deal of the Century” claims to solve one of the longest and most complex conflicts, yet it has not been sufficiently analyzed from a Palestinian perspective nor a humanitarian perspective. Furthermore, by presenting scholarly critiques of the deal and aid worker’s concerns, my hope is that an American audience may be convinced of the complicity of our government in devising a failed …

The Truman Administration And Zionist Legitimation Strategies To Achieve Statehood, Gianna Meier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Following World War II, with the strength of Britain shattered by economic exhaustion and the rising influence of the United States in post-war international policies, the Zionist commitment to Jewish statehood intensified, driven even more urgently by the specter of the Holocaust atrocities. Meanwhile, warfare in Palestine both between the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs and between the Jews and Britain increased tension in the region to such a point that Britain decided in February 1947 to withdraw from its obligations under the Mandate for Palestine. It left to the United Nations (UN) the challenge of finding a workable resolution …

Survival Strategies: Historic Preservation, Jewish Community, And The German Democratic Republic, Emily Ann Cohen

Honors Projects

Following the Second World War, as German Communists worked to establish a new socialist East German state, Jews who survived persecution and imprisonment by the Nazis worked to reestablish a Jewish community at the same time. Though many scholars dismiss the relationship between Jews and the Socialist Unity Party, the ruling party of the German Democratic Republic, as one characterized only by neglect and occasional political exploitation, it was much more nuanced, shaped in large part by the Cold War. Both the party and the Jewish community relied on the other to accomplish their goals, namely, survival in a new …

Review Of The Promise And Peril Of Credit: What A Forgotten Legend About Jews And Finance Tells Us About The Making Of European Commercial Society, Jared Rubin

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

A review of The Promise and Peril of Credit: What a Forgotten Legend about Jews and Finance Tells Us about the Making of European Commercial Society, by Francesca Trivellato, published by Princeton University Press.

Review Of Levis Sullam, Simon, The Italian Executioners: The Genocide Of The Jews Of Italy, Shira Klein

History Faculty Articles and Research

A book review of Simon Levis Sullam's The Italian Executioners: The Genocide of the Jews of Italy.

The Complicated Cases Of Soghomon Tehlirian And Sholem Schwartzbard And Their Influences On Raphaël Lemkin's Thinking About Genocide, Steven Leonard Jacobs

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The article is an examination of the persons and trials of Soghomon Tehlirian and Sholem Schwartzbard, their political assassinations as acts of vengeance for genocide and pogroms, their trials and subsequent acquittals. It is also an examination of the influences of these two events on the evolved thinking of Raphael Lemkin on his conceptualization of the needs for an international law contra genocide. Finally, it also elaborates on what information is now available on both men and their associations, and what was known and unknown to Lemkin and whether or not these two cases remained centrally important to his understandings.

Kline Collection Finding Aid, Casey Bush, Robyn Conroy

Strassler Center Archival Collection Finding Aids

This collection was purchased in 1997 through the generosity of the following donors: Michael J. Leffell ’81 and Lisa Klein Leffell ’82, the Sheftel Family in memory of Milton S. Sheftel ’31, ’32 and the proceeds of the Carole and Michael Friedman Book Fund in honor of Elisabeth “Lisa” Friedman of the Class of 1985

The collection contains books, pamphlets, magazines, guides, journals, newspapers and screenplays related to Jewish history, German history, World War II, and the Holocaust. Of the at least 3,600 volumes, valued at approximately $300,000, 60% are in English, 30% in German, and 10% in other languages …

Zionism, Ottomanism, And The Young Turk Revolution: What Palestinian Jewish Identity Says About Zionist Political Separatism In 1908-1912, Dimitri Savidis

Of Life and History

No abstract provided.

The Imperial Legacy: An Examination Of The Trends Of Empire And Genocide From German Southwest Africa To The General Government, Laura Guebert

Scholars Week

This project is an examination of the correlations between imperial enterprises of the Second German Empire and the Nazi Reich through the lenses of global and imperial critiques. By studying the realities and experiences of German Southwest Africa, the Ober Ost, and Nazi-occupied Easter Europe, this paper attempts to identify the common elements of German imperialism: pathos, frantic improvisation, cognizance of contemporaries, and industrial modernity. To help elucidate these elements, this research studied the themes and theories developed by leading historians of modern German and Eastern European history, including Timothy Snyder, Ben Kiernan, Shelley Baranowski, Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, and Christopher …

From Swing King To Swing Kids: The Jazz Era Of ‘Big Band Orchestras’ In World War Ii, Katie Victoria Burnopp

Student Scholar Showcase

Known as the ‘King of Swing’, clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (1909-1986) threatened the Nazi cause during WWII. With intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate swing music during World War II. The particular problems of this study were to: (1) identify how the swing music of Benny Goodman (1909-1986) influenced adolescents in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany; (2) explore the Nazi party view on ‘swing’ music of the era; (3) examine how the music of Charlie and his Orchestra became used as a tool for Nazi propaganda; and …

Using Wikipedia In Israel Studies Courses, Shira Klein

History Faculty Articles and Research

Instructors of Israeli history or literature, like professors in other areas, complain about students’ use of Wikipedia—and with good reason. Unlike peer-reviewed scholarship, many Wikipedia articles contain information that is both incomplete and wrong. Most instructors will warn their students that relying on Wikipedia is a sure recipe for failing assignments. Yet there is a way to mobilize this giant encyclopedia for pedagogical purposes. When students in Israel Studies classes are assigned to edit Wikipedia articles, they achieve multiple goals: they gain critical reading skills, shape public knowledge about Israel, and engage in active learning. This article explains how to …

Book Review: The Failures Of Ethics: Confronting The Holocaust, Genocide, And Other Mass Atrocities, James J. Snow 4995784

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Review: John K. Roth, The Failures of Ethics: Confronting the Holocaust, Genocide, and Other Mass Atrocities

Your Iphone Cannot Escape History, And Neither Can You: Self-Reflexive Design For A Mobile History Learning Game, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This chapter focuses on the design approach used in the self-reflexive finale of the mobile augmented reality history game Jewish Time Jump: New York. In the finale, the iOS device itself and the player using it are implicated in the historical moment and theme of the game. The author-designer-researcher drew from self-reflexive traditions in theater, cinema, and nonmobile games to craft the reveal of the connection between the mobile device and the history that the learners were studying. Through centering on this particular design element, the author demonstrates how self-reflexivity can be deployed in a mobile learning experience to …

Italy’S Jews From Emancipation To Fascism, Shira Klein

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

How did Italy treat Jews during World War II? Historians have shown beyond doubt that many Italians were complicit in the Holocaust, yet Italy is still known as the Axis state that helped Jews. Shira Klein uncovers how Italian Jews, though victims of Italian persecution, promoted the view that Fascist Italy was categorically good to them. She shows how the Jews' experience in the decades before World War II - during which they became fervent Italian patriots while maintaining their distinctive Jewish culture - led them later to bolster the myth of Italy's wartime innocence in the Fascist racial campaign. …

"The World Of Our Children": Jews, Puerto Ricans, And The Politics Of Place And Race On The Lower East Side, 1963-1993, Barry Goldberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how Jewish political leaders on the Lower East Side responded to neighborhood change, particularly the influx of Puerto Rican migrants, from the 1960s through the 1990s. Utilizing untapped archival material, including congressional records, municipal papers, legal files, articles from the ethnic press, and quantitative voting data, I demonstrate that the Lower East Side remained home to an influential network of Jewish political leaders, institutions, and voters long after the early twentieth-century. Residing on Grand Street, largely Orthodox, and often descended from Lower East Side Jewish immigrants, this political base created, shaped, and implemented antipoverty, education, housing, and …

Time Travel, Labour History, And The Null Curriculum: New Design Knowledge For Mobile Augmented Reality History Games, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This paper presents a case study drawn from design-based research (DBR) on a mobile, place-based augmented reality history game. Using DBR methods, the game was developed by the author as a history learning intervention for fifth to seventh graders. The game is built upon historical narratives of disenfranchised populations that are seldom taught, those typically relegated to the 'null curriculum'. These narratives include the stories of women immigrant labour leaders in the early twentieth century, more than a decade before suffrage. The project understands the purpose of history education as the preparation of informed citizens. In paying particular attention to …

A Brush With Weimar Germany.Docx, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

How To Be A French Jew: Proust, Lazare, Glissant, Paul J. Fadoul

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation I use Auerbach's insights developed in his Mimesis to demonstrate that in A la recherche, Proust captures the political and racial concerns of his times, proposing as a solution a heterogeneous French society where cultural, ethnic, and religious groups live together in mutual respect and understanding. In his novel, Proust echoes ideas developed by Bernard Lazare in Le Nationalisme Juif (1897) as well as in the literary output of the first French Jewish Renaissance (early1900’s to the mid1930’s). These authors responded to the portentous mix of Nationalist and anti-Semitic politics by urging the creation of a separate …

Introduction To "The Chosen People: A Study Of Jewish History From The Time Of The Exile Until The Revolt Of Bar Kocheba", James M. Donovan

James M. Donovan

Allegro documents a vivid example of the manner in which a project to define oneself in opposition to the Other inevitably generates antagonism. But a thorough understanding of the genesis of anti-Semitism requires more than mapping the tensions that arise between co-existing communities. It must also explain the fear we find associated with anti-Semitism, and how these emotional presumptions are communicated to populations that have little direct contact with members of the Jewish faith. Allegro does not take us as far as this, and thus the account is unfinished. He has perhaps brought us as far as documentary texts will …

Case Study Two: Jewish Time Jump: New York, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

Gottlieb presents an early case study of his mobile augmented reality game Jewish Time Jump: New York design on the ARIS platform for the iPhone and iPad (iOS). The game is set on-location in Washington Square Park in New York city. Players in 5th-7th grade take on the role of time-traveling reporters, landing on site on the eve of the Uprising of 20,000, the largest women-led strike in U.S. History. Based on their GPS location they receive media from over 100 years in the past, interactive with digital characters as they work to gather a story for the fictional Jewish …

La Muerte, La Memoria Y La Filosofía Existencial En La Literatura Testimonial Pos-Dictatorial De Primo Levi, Jorge Semprún Y Jacobo Timerman, Andrew Mcnair

Senior Theses and Projects

What effect does the ubiquity of death in a traumatic experience have on an individual's memory and soul, and how is this manifested in one's written testimony? Through the analysis of their philosophical introspection, the testimonies of Primo Levi's The Drowned and the Saved, Jorge Semprún's Literature or Life, and Jacobo Timerman's Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number meditate on the atrocities they experienced during Levi and Semprún's incarceration under the Nazi regime in Europe between 1942 and 1945, and Timerman's imprisonment under the regime of Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina between 1976 and 1983. The …

Dolmetscher, Spione Und Mörder: Südtiroler Im Sicherheitsdienst Des Reichsführers Ss In Italien 1943-45, Gerald Steinacher

Department of History: Faculty Publications

Bei Kriegsende 1945 blickte die Welt entsetzt auf das Ausmaß der NS-Verbrechen. Auf die Frage, wie konnte das geschehen und wer war verantwortlich für Völkermord und Krieg, verwies man meist auf eine kleine Clique (größen-) wahnsinniger Führer und ihre fanatische und mörderische SS-Gefolgschaft. Alle anderen - etwa die Angehörigen der Wehrmacht und der Waffen-SS - hatten mit den Verbrechen nichts zu tun, hieß es zumeist. Seit den 1990er Jahren hat sich diese Sichtweise in Deutschland und Österreich deutlich geändert. Das jahrzehntelange Schweigen der deutschen Gesellschaft während des Kalten Krieges bezüglich der NS-Täter wurde durchbrochen. Ausstellungen wie "Verbrechen der Wehrmacht" und …