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Israel: A Jewish State or a State for Jews?

03/02/2019
72 min
[video_views]

Ever since the movement’ s inception, Zionists have advocated very different ideas of Israel: would the dream of Herzl, Ahad Ha’am, Weizmann, Jabotinsky, Ben Gurion or Begin triumph? Would Israel be a ‘normal’ state, or a ‘light unto the nations’? The state that emerged, partially out of the ashes of the Shoah, became a refuge for those escaping the horrors of WWII and its aftermath, and to many a utopian ideal. Seventy years on, at the heart of one of the world’s most volatile regions, in a country that still struggles to define itself, was it ever possible for Israel to become the moral super state?

An event from Jewish Book Week 2019

About the speakers

James Sorene

James Sorene is a regular commentator on Israel and Middle East issues on TV and radio.
Ian Black

Ian Black was Middle East editor of the Guardian until 2016. He was also Jerusalem Correspondent, Diplomatic Editor, European Editor and Chief Foreign Editorial Writer, covering major events in the Middle East, from the Iran-Iraq War to the Palestinian Intifadas and the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Photo © Polly Hancock
Alice Shalvi

Alice Shalvi was an educator, feminist activist, social advocate and professor emerita of English literature. She was the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary degrees from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. In 2007 she was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. Image © Joan Roth
Jon Silverman

Jon Silverman is Emeritus Professor of Media & Criminal Justice at the University of Bedfordshire. He was BBC Home Affairs Correspondent and won the Sony Radio Journalist of the Year award for his coverage of the UK’s investigations into Nazi collaborators. He has written extensively on international war crimes justice.
Anshel Pfeffer

Anshel Pfeffer a senior writer and columnist for Haaretz as well as the paper’s Judaism editor. He is also the Israel correspondent for The Economist and The Times and a columnist of the oldest Jewish newspaper in the world, The Jewish Chronicle. His last book, Bibi – The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, was published in 2018 to […]

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Back to ALL Videos

Israel: A Jewish State or a State for Jews?

03/02/2019
|
72 min

Speaker

James Sorene

Read More

James Sorene is a regular commentator on Israel and Middle East issues on TV and radio.

...

Ian Black

Read More

Ian Black was Middle East editor of the Guardian until 2016. He was also Jerusalem Correspondent, Diplomatic Editor, European Editor and Chief Foreign Editorial...

Alice Shalvi

Read More

Alice Shalvi was an educator, feminist activist, social advocate and professor emerita of English literature. She was the recipient of numerous awards, including honorary...

Jon Silverman

Read More

Jon Silverman is Emeritus Professor of Media & Criminal Justice at the University of Bedfordshire. He was BBC Home Affairs Correspondent and won the...

Anshel Pfeffer

Read More

Anshel Pfeffer a senior writer and columnist for Haaretz as well as the paper’s Judaism editor. He is also the Israel correspondent for The...