Part 1 of "ANTISEMITISM, Zionism & Anti-Zionism" (Dr. David Kaufman)

Both in the past and present, Antisemitism, Zionism, and Anti-Zionism are interrelated and even symbiotic phenomena-and understanding their historical relationship is a critical step toward meeting the challenges they may pose for the Jewish future. To fully understand the current problem of Anti-Zionism, we must first gain a better understanding of both Antisemitism and Zionism, and hence our first lecture, on "Antisemitism," examines the origins and dynamics of modern Jew-hatred; the second, "Zionism," takes a closer look at the dialectic of Antisemitism and Jewish nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and the third, "Anti-Zionism," traces the development of Zionism and its antithesis over the past century.
David E. Kaufman, our presenter for these 3 sessions, was born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at the Bialik Hebrew Day School and the Yeshiva of Flatbush High School. He holds degrees from Columbia College, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Brandeis University. A PhD in American Jewish History, he has taught at numerous colleges such as CUNY, Brown University, University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Hebrew Union College/Los Angeles and Hofstra University. In addition to numerous articles on the social, religious, and architectural history of the American synagogue, Dr. Kaufman has authored two books: Shul with a Pool: The Synagogue-Center in American Jewish History (Brandeis, 1999) and Jewhooing the Sixties: American Celebrity and Jewish Identity (Brandeis, 2012). David currently lives on the Upper West Side and is engaged in public education, researching, writing, and teaching the history of the New York Jewish community.