| 2006 Abensohn Lecture also honors
Wachtel, Schwartz BY MIKE UNGER A large crowd settled into the Abramson Family Recital Hall at the Katzen Arts Center on Dec. 5 for the Center for Israel Studies’ annual Abensohn Lecture and to honor two of its champions. If not for the efforts of Howard Wachtel and Rhea Schwartz, Calvin Goldscheider, the center’s Polinger Scholar in Residence, likely never would have delivered his talk on ethnic diversity in Israel. It was Wachtel’s vision and Schwartz’s tireless advocacy that shepherded the center from a concept in 1997 to one of the nation’s leading institutions of its kind. Each were recognized following their recent departures from the center. “Successful centers require leadership with energy and commitment to the center’s mission,” Interim President Neil Kerwin said. “Howard Wachtel provided that passion, vision, and energy.” Wachtel, an economics professor at AU, founded the center—the first of its kind at a U.S. university —in 1998. “He shaped the center into a focal point for Israeli scholarship on the AU campus,” Lillian Abensohn said. “With dedication and enthusiasm, Howard attracted Israel’s best artists, writers, and academicians, bringing to AU internationally recognized experts on critical topics to Israel.” Wachtel, who twice chaired the Department of Economics and also served as acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has called the center the achievement that gave him the most satisfaction and pride during his more than three decades at AU. “We started with a concept that has become a framework for the half dozen other centers either formed or being formed in North America,” he said. “We will continue to bring to the campus the best of Israel—great writers, scholars, and artists—for our students to learn from and the community [to enjoy].” Three years after the center’s birth, Schwartz signed on as deputy director, and as a result of her hard work, enabled the center to grow, said Lorre Polinger, president of the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation. “Rhea was instrumental in building relationships between the center and other community agencies,” Polinger said. “She always made herself available to the students.” Schwartz still strongly believes in the center’s mission. “I care about the next generation, and I care about the future of Israel,” she said. “I truly believe that the Center for Israel Studies can make a difference.” Goldscheider’s lecture examined ethnic diversity in Israel. The Brown University professor emeritus discussed immigration, assimilation, and the future of the country he called one of the “oldest new societies in the world.” Founded in 1948, its population has grown from 700,000 to 6 million, spurred by immigration from Europe, the United States, and to a smaller extent, Africa and Asia. “Israel, not their country of origin, is their ethnic identity,” he said. “Third generation Jews of Yemeni descent may be classified as Middle Eastern. American Jews living in Israel may be classified as Westerners, Anglo-Saxons, or as I’ve heard, New Yorkers. People have multiple identities.” Goldscheider, who was formerly professor of sociology and demography at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, believes that Israel has become a pluralistic society with nationalistic goals. “Israel should be searching for ways to celebrate ethnic diversity while searching for ways to reduce ethnic [inequality].” |
