New Book: Kedar, Chaim Weizmann. Scientist, Statesman and Architect of Science Policy

ב”ז קדר, עורך. חיים ויצמן – המדען, המדינאי ומדינאי-המדע . ירושלים: האקדמיה הלאומית הישראלית למדעים, 2015.

 

This collection of essays is based on the lectures delivered at a conference held on 8 January 2013 commemorating the 60th anniversary of the death of Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel, scientist and statesman.

 

Table of Contents
דברי פתיחה / יהושע יורטנר — מבוא: חיים וייצמן – המדען והמדינאי / ב”ז קדר — הכימיה האורגנית של וייצמן באקדמיה והתעשייה בראשית המאה העשרים / יהושע יורטנר — מדיניות המדע של וייצמן כמסד הביקוש המתמשך למצוינות מדעית במערך המחקר הישראלי / שאול כ”ץ — וייצמן והאוניברסיטה העברית / חדוה בן-ישראל — הון או גאון: המאבק של וייצמן ואיינשטיין על מצוינות אקדמית באוניברסיטה העברית / יששכר אונא — מכון וייצמן למדע – מצבה חיה וראויה למכונן המחקר המדעי בישראל / רות ארנון — תיאור פגישתם הראשונה של וייצמן ובלפור, 1906 – אגדה או מציאות? / ב”ז קדר — וייצמן – צמיחתו של מדינאי / שלמה אבינרי — וייצמן ועמיתיו המדענים בגרמניה – אתגרים ודוגמה אישית / שולמית וולקוב — ‬
‫ וייצמן והערבים / בני מוריס — וייצמן – מדע יישומי ופטנטים / רפאל משולם — תגלית הצלולוזום: בעקבות חזון הדלק הביולוגי של וייצמן / רפאל למד ואד באייר — קטעים גנוזים בענייני מדע וטיוטות האוטוביוגרפיה trail and error — דברי נעילה / יהושע יורטנר.

Cite: Ashkenazi, Zionism and Violence in Einstein’s Political Outlook

Ashkenazi, Ofer. “Zionism and Violence in Albert Einstein’s Political Outlook.” Journal of Jewish Studies 63.2 (2012): 331-55.

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URL: http://www.jjs-online.net/toc.php?subaction=fullcontent&id=063_02_331_1&type=article&review

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Abstract

This article examines Albert Einstein’s reaction to the violent clashes between Jews and Arabs in Palestine in 1929. During the 1920s, Einstein had become a prominent advocate of two seemingly incompatible causes, pacifism and Zionism. A close reading of his writings following the 1929 riots shows that he perceived both Zionism and pacifism as practical methods to counter the lure of modern nationalism and the political structure it entails, the unlimited sovereignty of the state. What he perceived as a nationalist turn within the Zionist camp prompted him to contemplate alternative strategies for the restriction of state power. In this respect, the formation of a peaceful Arab-Jewish symbiosis was a test case for his views. The bilateral rejection of his solution for the conflict was the first in a series of developments that caused him to shift his support from abolishment to regulation of violence.

Reviews: Rosenkranz, Einstein Before Israel

Rosenkranz, Ze’ev. Einstein Before Israel: Zionist Icon or Iconoclast? Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.

Reviews

• Edmonds, David. “Review,” TheJC.com, Aug 10, 2011.
• Axelrod, Jeremy. “A Stranger Everywhere,” Columbia Journalsim Review, Oct 5, 2011.
• Teicher, Morton I. “‘Einstein Before Israel’ Sheds Light on Scientist’s Links to Zionism,” The Jewish Chronicle, March 11, 2012.
• Berkowitz, Michael. “Can the Jews Talk about Einstein and Zionism?  Probably Not,” H-Judaic, July 2012.

New Publication: Einstein Before Israel

Einstein Before Israel: Zionist Icon or Iconoclast?

by Ze’ev Rosenkranz.

Princeton University Press

Cloth | 2011 | $35.00 / £24.95 |  364 pp. | 6 x 9 | 24 halftones.

 

 

Abstract

Albert Einstein was initially skeptical and even disdainful of the Zionist movement, yet he affiliated himself with this controversial political ideology and today is widely seen as an outspoken advocate for a modern Jewish homeland in Palestine. What enticed this renowned scientist and humanitarian, who repeatedly condemned nationalism of all forms, to radically change his views? Was he in fact a Zionist? Einstein Before Israel traces Einstein’s involvement with Zionism from his initial contacts with the movement at the end of World War I to his emigration from Germany in 1933 in the wake of Hitler’s rise to power. Drawing on a wealth of rare archival evidence–much of it never before published–this book offers the most nuanced picture yet of Einstein’s complex and sometimes stormy relationship with Jewish nationalism.

Ze’ev Rosenkranz sheds new light on Einstein’s encounters with prominent Zionist leaders, and reveals exactly what Einstein did and didn’t like about Zionist beliefs, objectives, and methods. He looks at the personal, cultural, and political factors that led Einstein to support certain goals of Jewish nationalism; his role in the birth of the Hebrew University; his impressions of the emerging Jewish settlements in Palestine; and his reaction to mounting violence in the Arab-Jewish conflict. Rosenkranz explores a host of fascinating questions, such as whether Zionists sought to silence Einstein’s criticism of their movement, whether Einstein was the real manipulator, and whether this Zionist icon was indeed a committed believer in Zionism or an iconoclast beholden to no one.

Ze’ev Rosenkranz is senior editor at the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology and a former curator of the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books include The Einstein Scrapbook.

 

URL: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9428.html