As we commemorate Israel's 75th anniversary of statehood, join us on Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm online or in person (87th street, NYC) as we explore the life and legacy of Theodor Herzl.
How did Theodor Herzl, a cosmopolitan and assimilated European Jew, become the leader of the Zionist movement? With his often-conflicting personas (artist and a statesman, rationalist and an aesthete, and stern moralist who also possessed deep, and at times dark, passions), why did scores of thousands of Jews, many of them from traditional, observant backgrounds, embrace Herzl as their leader? Author and historian Derek Penslar draws on Herzl’s vast body of personal and political writing to explore Herzl’s path to Zionist leader and how his short life created his enduring legacy.
Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History at Harvard University. His previous books include Jews and the Military: A History and Shylock’s Children: Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe.
This program is in partnership with Park Avenue Synagogue and Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning
