YIVO Institute to Host International Conference on Jews and the Left, Sunday and Monday, May 6 and 7, 2012

(NEW YORK, April 15, 2012) – Sunday and Monday, May 6 and 7, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will be hosting an international conference on Jews and the Left. Scholars from the U.S., Israel, and Europe will come together to discuss and debate the relationship between Jews and leftwing politics, past and present.

Why have so many Jews in so many countries been attracted to leftwing causes? Why is there such a persistent stereotype of Jews as leftists? And why do so many antisemites use this stereotype to slander Jews? How do we explain leftwing antisemitsm? Are current leftwing attacks on Israel just a continuation of the same phenomenon or a natural reaction to Israeli policies? And what will the future bring for the Israeli Left, which played a leading role in founding the country?

These issues and others will be addressed from multiple perspectives during this conference. Sunday’s panel on “Israel, Zionism, and the Left” will include a debate among neoconservative historian and journalist Ron Radosh, Israeli Leftist scholar Yoav Peled, Anita Shapira, one of Israel’s most prominent historians, and political scientist Mitchell Cohen of CUNY, long associated with Dissent. Other events will be a discussion of “Jews, the New Left, and the Counterculture,” featuring Paul Berman and other esteemed academics, and a keynote speech by famed political theorist Michael Walzer.

For press inquiries, contact:

Melissa S. Cohen
Chief Development Officer
(212) 294-6156