A Cultural Feast for Israel’s Fiftieth Anniversary

Sunday, April 19 through Tuesday, April 21, academic and political authorities on Israel will convene at the University of Chicago to discuss the emergence and achievements of Israeli culture in a conference titled “50 Years of Hebrew Culture in Israel: A Retrospective.”

The goals of Zionism were to create a Jewish state and re-create Jewish culture. Throughout Israel’s 50 years of statehood, the world has witnessed a national and cultural renaissance, said Michael Fishbane, the Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies in the Divinity School and one of the conference organizers.

“This is the first conference to provide a complete intellectual retrospective on what has been achieved in Jewish culture in Israel during the past half-century,” Fishbane said.

Twenty scholars, politicians, journalists and artists from around the world will attend the conference to share their views on such topics as Israeli language and literature, society and law, music and theater, and law and politics. The opening session of the conference will take place at the Art Institute of Chicago, with subsequent sessions at the University of Chicago.

Conference participants include Dan Meridor, a Knesset member; Itmar Rabinovitz, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States and currently a professor at Tel Aviv University; Arthur Hertzberg, former President of the American Jewish Congress; Ari Shavit of Ha’aretz newspaper; and Idith Zertal of the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.

The opening session of the retrospective is a reflection on the history of Israeli culture during the past 50 years, while the majority of the meetings on Monday and Tuesday focus on the current status of Israeli literature, music, law, language and journalism. The conference concludes Tuesday evening with a discussion forecasting the future of Israel.

A detailed listing of conference events follows:

• Sunday April 19

  Opening Session and Keynote Lectures: “The First Fifty Years of Israel”

  7-10 p.m., Art Institute of Chicago, Rubloff Auditorium
  Columbus Drive at Monroe Street



• Monday, April 20

  Literature and History

  
  

  9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Swift Hall, Third Floor Auditorium
  1025 E. 58th St.

  Journalism and the Arts

  1:45-4:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Swift Hall, Third Floor Auditorium
  1025 E. 58th St.

  Poetry

  7-9:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Laird Bell Law Quadrangle, Auditorium
  1111 E. 60th St.
  Musical performance and poetry reading; artists to be announced.



• Tuesday, April 21

  Language, Law and Society

  9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Swift Hall, Third Floor Auditorium
  1025 E. 58th St.

  Music

  1:45-4:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Swift Hall, Third Floor Auditorium
  1025 E. 58th St.

  “The Future of Israel as a State in the Middle East”

  7:30-9:30 p.m., University of Chicago, Laird Bell Law Quadrangle, Auditorium
  1111 E. 60th St.