Farewell Reception for McPhersons
A Dialogue on Auschwitz,
Memory, and Life Recreated
Agi Katz Rubin, survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau, has been a
friend for more than 25 years with Professor Henry Greenspan of
the University of Michigan. They have recently co-authored a
memoir entitled
Reflections: Auschwitz, Memory, and a Life
Recreated,
and will discuss their special collaboration as well as
related themes of authorship and dialogue, gender and voice,
and the relationship between Holocaust history, memory, and an
unfolding life, on Wednesday, April 6, 7:00 pm, in 145
Communication Arts and Sciences.
Agi was born in 1930 in Munkacs and was sent to Auschwitz in
April 1944. She labored in Birkenau April 1944 to January 1945,
selecting and sorting clothes from those who had perished in the
gas chambers. She came to the U.S. in 1948 and is featured in a
film shown at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington DC.
Henry Greenspan is a psychologist and playwright, the author of
On Listening to Holocaust Survivors: Recounting Life and History
(1998). His play
Remnants
has been performed in over 100
venues in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, the Czech Republic,
and Israel. [This event will be filmed.]
Boys of Buchenwald
When American troops liberated Buchenwald near Weimar 60
years ago, on April 11, 1945, they found 920 children and ado-
lescents among the 20,000 prisoners. Robbie Weisman, Elie
Wiesel, and Joe Swarcberg were among the youth and, with
others, were sent to France for rehabilitation. Their survival and
rehabilitation are chronicled in "
The Boys of Buchenwald,"
a
prize-winning Canadian film by Audrey Mehler and Paperny
Films (2002). We will host a public viewing of this film on
Monday, April 18, 7:00-9:30
pm in 147 Communication Arts
and Sciences. To bring the is-
sues of survival and renewal to
life, the film will be followed by
a panel discussion with three
other Buchenwald boys about
their experiences. We are hon-
ored to have them join us to
commemorate the 60th anni-
versary of their liberation. This
event is being co-sponsored by
Jewish Studies, MSU Hillel, and
the Ben Teitel Fund, Gerald
Cook Executor.
[The panel discussion will be
filmed.]
MSU to Renew Support
for Study Abroad in Israel
Petitioned by Jewish Studies to renew financial aid and
scholarships to students who study in Israel and to end the
suspension of MSU programs in Israel, MSU's Security and
Risk Assessment Committee has deferred a final
recommendation until after the Palestinian elections. The
Committee announced that, pending any impact of the
elections on regional security, it fully expects to recommend
that financial aid and scholarships be reinstated for study at
institutions in Israel beginning summer 2005. Jewish
Studies is working to provide additional information to
permit renewal later this year of the Jewish Studies at
Hebrew University program planned for summer 2006.
Gary and Rhonda Ran hosted a farewell
reception for Peter and Joanne McPherson to
honor the outgoing MSU president who
retired December 31. About 75 guests
gathered in the Ran's beautiful Bloomfield
Hills home on December 15 to thank the
president for his contributions toward
building Jewish Studies at MSU.
Ken Waltzer talked about how, a generation
ago, there were scattered classes and some
faculty but no program in Jewish Studies--no
annual Holocaust commemoration, no overseas
studies, no focus on Israeli society and culture, no specialization,
library acquisitions, or museum exhibits. All that has changed since
the mid-1990s with the growth of Jewish Studies faculty and
academic program.
Michael and Elaine Serling, who recently, with friends, pledged to
endow an Israel Studies chair, helped plan the event. Michael
spoke about President McPherson's many other accomplishments
during his tenure, including the building boom, capital campaign,
law school, and expansion of overseas study. But he focused
specifically on President McPherson's close ties with, and interest
in, Israel, his strong public position against divestment in Israel, and
his annual Oakland County visits with Jewish alumni and the
Detroit Jewish News.
President McPherson accepted the thanks and spoke about the
challenges of reopening study abroad in Israel and offering
financial aid and scholarships to students who study there. Many
attendees, including philanthropist Ed Levy Jr., who has endowed
a large scholarship for study in Israel, Gerald Cook, and Bryna Leib
shared their views with the president about the importance of
renewing opportunities to study in Israel. Robert Sklar,
Detroit
Jewish News
editor published an editorial December 24 citing
McPherson as "A Jewish Studies Champion," and stating that
Jewish Studies will be a significant component of the McPherson
(and Provost Simon) legacy at MSU.
Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Jewish Studies will co-host two visiting lectures on the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. Ilai Alon, Professor of Islamic Studies in the
Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, will speak on "
The
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as a Cultural Conflict,"
Wednesday, March
2, at 7:30 pm in 339 N. Case Hall. Professor Alon was a member of
the Israeli delegation to the negotiations with Syria and the
Palestinians 1999-2001 and is a student of negotiations in Arabic-
speaking Islam. Co-sponsored with MSU Hillel.
Jeffrey Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of
Connecticut, will speak on "
Prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Settlement"
on Wednesday, March 30, at 7:30 pm in Wonders Kiva.
Pressman has published articles on what happened at Camp David and
Taba, on the second intifada and its causes, and on lost opportunities
for peace in the Middle East. Co-sponsored with MSU Muslim
Studies.
President McPherson