The Catcher in the Sand

Nascut in 1916, Neagu Djuvara este una ditre personalitatile cele mai interesante ale istoriografiei romanesti a ultimelor decenii. L-am vazut acum aproximativ un an intr-un interviu televizat si nu am putut sa nu fiu cucerit de acuitatea discursului, claritatea si logica ideilor si farmecul de causeur. Un interviu si mai recent in Romania Literara http://www.romlit.ro/neagu_djuvara_-_cred_intr-o_forta_care_ordoneaza_care_ma_vede_si_la_care_ma_rog confirma aceasta impresie, si ofera in plus amanunte relevante despre crezul si inamplarile vietii acestei personalitati incitante. Inceputul formatiei sale intelectuale se situeaza in perioada interbelica, cand foarte tanarul Djuvara cade si el ca si multi alti intelectuali romani sub mirajul ideilor de extrema dreapta. Izbucnirea razboiului ii prilejuieste experienta militara pe frontul de Rasarit, iar apoi, dupa ce este ranit inceputul unei cariere la Ministerul de Externe, unde sansa intalnirii unei personalitati care avea sa-i influenteze cursul vietii ii schimba ideile in directia unei aderente nedezmintite de atunci la principiile democratiei si pluralismului. Dupa 1944 alege sa ramana in Occident si devine una dintre personalitatile de seama ale exilului politic si intelectual romanesc. Anii 70 si 80 si-i petrece in Africa in calitate de consilier al ministerului de externe al Nigerului. Se intoarce in Romania dupa 1989, reintrand in mod firesc in centrul disputelor istorice si intelectuale ale tarii.

Civilizatii si tipare istorice este o reeditare a tezei de doctorat pe care Neagu Djuvara a scris-o la inceputul anilor 70 sub indrumarea lui Raymond Aron. Este probabil cartea cea mai importanta a istoricului, cea care defineste filozofia sa istorica si ideile dominante ale altor lucrari ale sale, inclusiv Războiul de șaptezeci și șapte de ani si premizele hegemoniei americane aparuta anul trecut, o analiza a situatiei politice contemporane in lumina istoriei secolului 20, carte care isi asteapta in biblioteca mea personala randul de a fi citita.

Civilizatii si tipare istorice este o carte de istorie comparata a civilizatiilor, care incearca sa identifice si sa descrie tipare repetitive in nasterea, evolutia si sfarsitul acestora, si de aici concluzii in legatura cu prezentul si viitorul civilizatiei noastre occidentale. In mare masura textul scris in anii 70 este pastrat ca atare, cu exceptia unor rare note si insertii de text – deci nu este vorba despre o versiune actualizata, ci mai degraba un instantaneu al gandirii istoricului la data scrierii tezei sale de doctorat. In mod firesc, Djuvara porneste de la definirea termenului de civilizatie, ca unitate fundamentala a dezvoltarii istorice, cu caracteristici majore care sunt aria geografica intinsa, unitatea in mod de viata si tehnologie, si dezvoltarea in faze nerepetitive, caracteristici care pot fi identificate in masura mai mult sau mai putin clara la toate civilizatile enumerate de autor si analizate in carte. Fazele de dezvoltare mentionate ar fi in ordine: faza larvara (sau pre-istoria fiecareia dintre civilizatii), faza de formare, faza de inflorire, faza luptei pentru hegemonie (sau a regatelor combatante), si faza imperiala in care apare scleroza si destramarea civilizatiei.

Neagu Djuvara - sursa badpolitics.ro

Se poate spune ca cartea are o structura matriciala, dupa introducerea definitiilor de baza urmand o trecere in revista a principalelor civilizatii din evolutia istorica a omenirii, delimitarea lor fiind facuta conform conceptelor definite in introducere. Sunt trecute in revista civilizatiile egipteana, babiloneana, cretana, elenica sau greco-romana, bizantina, occidentala, araba sau islamica, indiana, chineza sau extrem-orientala, si precolumbiana. Gradul de analiza in aceasta prima sectiune numita Civilizatiile care ocupa cam jumatate din cele peste 550 de pagini ale cartii este diferit – este vadit faptul ca din motive obiective (existenta informatiei istorice) sau subiective sunt cercetate in profunzime mai ales civilizatiile majore ale zonei europeene si asiatice. Autorul face in permanenta efortul de a-si valida clasificarile in raport cu fiecare civilizatie in parte, si pregateste terenul pentru partea a doua a cartii in care va extrage elementele comune si va directiona rationamentul spre concluziile pe care doreste sa le insufle cititorului. Nu peste tot categorizarea functioneza perfect, definirea civilizatiei cretane alaturi de cea egipteana si babiloneana pe mine nu m-a convins, la fel mi se pare o lacuna limitarea civilizatiei islamice la rasarit la subcontinentul indian, ignorand penetrarea acesteia in restul Asiei si in parte din Africa. Intreg continentul african de altfel cu exceptia vaii Nilului ai a Magrebului pare a fi ignorat din aceasta revista a civilizatiilor, straniu pentru un autor care a petrecut multi ani din viata in Africa.  Oricum, lectura acestei sectiuni a cartii are multe pasaje fascinante pentru amatorul de istorie si in special cel cu rezonanta si interes la aspectele culturale ale istoriei. Ca exemple din multele astfel de pasaje as mentiona descrierea rolului unificator al limbilor de circulatie internationala in diferitele culturi, analiza iconografiei ruse si influenta meditaraneana in arta ruso-ortodoxa, sau descrierea influentei sclerotice a colonizarii spaniole asupra metropolei in pofida bogatiilor materiale acumulate de imperiu. Abordarea lui Djuvara refuza tiparele acceptate ale impartirii istorice in epoci, nu a existat o singura Renastere, ci una sau in unele cazuri doua renasteri in cadrul fiecareia dintre culturi, clasele sociale nu au in precum epocile istorice un caracter global ci ele se dezvolta in mod asincron in cadrul fiecareia dintre civilizatii. Alta caracteristica diferita a abordarii lui Djuvara este refuzul de a pune religia in centrul evolutiei istorice a civilizatiilor si asta desi factorul spiritual pare avea in conceptia sa prioritate in raport cu cel economic. Observand faptul incontestabil ca religiile ‘revolutionare’ apar in momente de criza ale civilizatiei, Djuvara considera aceasta a fi mai degraba efect si simptom decat cauza a rasturnarilor sociale din care face parte evolutia elementului religios. Foarte discutabila mi se pare caracterizarea aparent negativa a evolutiei culturii occidentale la inceputul secolului 20, Djuvara parand sa considere efervescenta artistica si stiintifica a primelor decenii ale veacului trecut ca un semn de criza si nu ca o posibila noua renastere, motor al progresului tehnic si spiritual in a doua parte a secolului.

A doua parte a cartii numite Fenomene recurente roteste matricea si abordeaza sintetic elementele comune ale civilizatiilor trecute in revista pana atunci. Sunt analizate dimensiunile spatiale si temporale ale civilizatiilor, contactele in timp (indirecte) si in spatiu (confruntari directe) dintre civilizatii, si etapele comune care caracterizeaza nasterea, cresterea, inflorirea si dezagregarea culturilor. De aici demonstratia se indreapta spre concluziile finale, si analiza lor in sine are un caracter istoric deosebit de interesant, tinand cont de faptul ca cartea este scrisa cu vreo 20 de ani inainte de cadera sistemului comunist. La nivelul anilor 70 el considera civilizatia occidentala ca dominanta, si aflata spre sfarsitul perioadei ‘regatelor combatante’, in care doar doua ‘regate’ – America si URSS ramasesera sa se confrunte. In comunism Djuvara vede o ideologie eretica a civilizatiei occidentale.Rusia de dupa secolul 18 si URSS sunt considerate ca facand parte din civilizatia occidentala, intr-un fenomen de aculturalizare care o face sa tranzitioneze dinspre Bizant spre vest. Daca pronosticul sau in legatura cu regatul castigator s-a dovedit a fi corect, nici scala temporala sugerata si nici caracterizarea perioadei urmatoare (cateva secole de Pax Americana) nu par sa se potriveasca. Greu era de pronosticat in anii 70 aparitia Internetului si revolutia pe care aceasta tehnologie de comunicare o va aduce in globalizarea si democratizarea informatiei si in relatiile inter-umane. Aici cred ca una dintre teoriile sale (tehnologia nu este suficienta, trebuie sa exista o motivatie si energie in cadrul civilizatiei pentru a o pune in valoare) este pusa la incercare. Daca renasterea Chinei este prevazuta in anii 70 ca o posibilitate, castigul spectaculos de influenta al Islamului nu este prevazut, si nici renasterea Indiei. In general, secolul 21 pare a se contura mai mult ca o sume multipolara, in care globalizarea si interactiunea economica nu mai fac posibila o dominatie imperiala monolitica precum cea descrisa in tiparele lui Djuvara. Aparuta intre analizele Hannei Arendt despre originile totalitarismului si teoria conflictului intre civilizatii expusa de Huntington la finele razboiului rece, teza lui Djuvara nu da importanta ideologiilor si ignora atitudinea fata de valorile democratice ca o componenta a evolutiei civilizatiilor. Cu toate ca incearca sa dea sens si structura evenimentelor contemporaneitatii abordarea autorului este cea a unui istoric si nu a unui politilog. Poate ca totusi este bine de examinat si cartea sa mai noua pentru a vedea in ce masura istoricul si-a revizuit teoriile in lumina experientei istorice traite in ultimele tei-patru decenii. Cel putin una dintre asertiunile sale preferate pare sa se fi transformat in realitate in timpul scurs de la aparitia cartii prin alegerea ‘perifericului’ Obama ca presedinte al ‘imperiului american’.

Inchei cu doua citate din ultimul capitol al cartii care mi se par concludente dupa aceasta lectura consistenta si interesanta. Respingand determinismul istoric si utopia progresului permanent Djuvara scrie:

La inceputul secolului al XX-lea, s-ar fi putut da drept sigur faptul ca lumea, in ansamblu, a atins un grad mai mare de “omenie”. Astazi ne putem indoi. … in virtutea carui criteriu superior putem afirma ca pentru om si soarta lui este mai important sa produca cativa barili de petrol in plus decat sa-si faca rugaciunea catre Allah de cinci ori pe zi si sa respecte postul Ramadanului?’ (pag. 448-449).

Iar in final, dupa ce proroceste ca daca tiparele istorice sunt corecte atunci civilizatia occidentala este atinsa de un grad de oboseala psihologica care semnaleaza inceputul destramarii sale, Neagu Djuvara conclude:

Celor pe care o astfel de perspectiva ii umple de groaza li se poate raspunde ca daca aproprierea unui nou crepuscul al zeilor este de temut, putem fi la fel de siguri ca zorile se vor ridica mai tarziu peste o noua civilizatie, mai nobila si mai luminoasa. Ar fi bine ca generatiile care se nasc sa se pregateasca pentru aceste epoci sumbre, mangaindu-se cu gandul ca ele comporta intotdeauna, in mijlocul sfasaierilor, al ruinelor si al deznadejdii, acele mari elanuri sufletesti vestitoare de vremuri noi. (pag. 469)

S-ar putea detecta o contradictie intre cele doua citate. Ultimul totusi permite o incheiere mai optimista a studiului, cel putin la scara istorica.

———

Un coleg de pe o lista internetica mi-a semnalat o conferinta a lui Djuvara din 2009 in care acesta isi explica teoria si incearca sa o aplice istoriei Romaniei si situatiei internationale actuale:

http://www.erudio.ro/ro/conferinte/neagu_djuvara_video.shtml

I am watching the PBS documentary series The Jewish Americans which is for me a fascinating look into the complex history of the Jewish community in the United States, with all the fights for survival, the identity dilemmas, the achievements and the contributions to the overall evolution of the American society and culture. The episode I reached talks about the first decades of the 20th century, and it amazing to see how the situation of the Jews in the US by that time was similar or maybe worse then of their brothers in Europe. Henry Ford’s antisemitism was a model that Hitler mentioned with admiration in Mein Kampf, numerus clausus was limiting the number of Jewish students in the major American universities prior to WWII, and ‘no Jews and dogs allowed’ was a common and legal restriction in many hotels, restaurants or social institutions in many American states.

source www.pianoparadise.com

Two major figures drew my attention in this episode. One of them was born in Russia in 1888 as Israel Irvine Beilin one of the eight children of a cantor. The Jewish music that he heard as a child can be felt in many of the compositions of the man who came in America as a five years kid to become one of the greatest American composers under the name of Irving Berlin.

(video source heeter71)

Starting his career in the sizzling Jewish musical theater atmosphere of the Manhattan Low East End,  Berlin became known in a few years by his dance compositions which combined Jewish and black musical elements in the popular ragtime style of the epoch. E.L. Doctorow’s novel with this name Ragtime is a wonderful rendition of the period. What better musical illustration than Alexander’s Ragtime Band sang here by Judy Garland?

(video source TheEdSullivanShow)

By the time the United States entered World War I Berlin was famous. He was however conscripted, but did not see too much action beyond waking up his fellow soldiers at the sound of his trumpet. Yet, he had time to write a musical to raise the moral of the soldiers. One of the pieces written for the musical but not included in the representations was a song that was to be premiered later and sang first at the 20th anniversary of the armistice in 1938 – God Bless America. Here is Berlin (who lived 101 years) singing this second hymn of the United States at the Ed Sullivan Show.

Louis Brandeis - source www.hillyer.org

If Irving Berlin was born in a traditional Jewish family in Russia and made his way through the American cultural and social establishment becoming the model of the American composer, the second personality I met in the episode walked to a certain respect the opposite path. Born in a family of Jewish emigrants who came to America in the first half of the 19th century, Louis Brandeis was a secular Jew, who encountered little discrimination as a young and talented lawyer. His judicial skills and strong social beliefs made him famous as ‘the lawyer of the people’ and the cases he fought for contributed to the creation of the workplace rules, insurance and anti-monopoly legislation in the first decades of the 20th century. However, when president Wilson nominated him as the first judge of Jewish origin at the US Supreme Court, the nomination was a shock for the whole judicial and political white protestant establishment of the time. For years at least one of his colleagues at the Supreme Court did not greet him, referred to him with disdain and even boycotted the traditional annual photo opportunities of the High Court. As a Supreme Court judge Brandeis is remembered for his rulings in defense of the constitutional freedom of speech.

It is however his Zionist activity that makes him remarkable in my eyes. ‘The highest Jewish ideals are American’ Brandeis is quoted to have said, and he saw no contradiction in being a faithful American and at the same time a strong and open supporter of the rebirth of the Jewish nation and of the formation of a Jewish state. He was a leader of the Zionist Organization of America , contributed to the issuing of the Balfour Declaration, was part of the American delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris  and visited Palestine. The kibbutz Ein Hashofet (Spring of the Judge) is named after him.

A vizitat Israelul in aceasta saptamana Radu Ioanid – directorul arhivelor Muzeului Holocaustului din Washington, DC (titlul in engleza este Director International Archival Program Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies) si autorul cartii ‘Rascumpararea evreilor’ (The Ransom of the Jews). Din pacate intalnirea de la ICR – Tel Aviv a avut loc in timpul saptamanii mele de lucru si nu am putut ajuge la ea. Dat fiind ca vizita lui Ioanid este mentionata pe liste de discutii internetice, reiau aici notele mele de lectura dupa citirea cartii in 2006.

Multumiri Sabinei Felix, pentru recuperarea textului din arhivele Prieteniei.

source www.goddreads.com

Am vizitat Muzeul Holocaustului din Washington, DC acum exact un an,
in zilelel cand muzeul implinea zece ani de la deschidere. Vizitele in
aceste lacasuri ale memoriei teribilului sunt intotdeauna extrem de
greu de trait emotional pentru mine, ca si pentru multi dintre cei
care apartin primei generatii de supravietuitori ai Holocaustului.
Muzeul din Washington mi s-a parut a avea o detasare, poate datorita
distantei si un monumentalism, poate datorita locului (situat printre
Muzeele Smithsonian, si zona edificiilor strivitoare ale puterii
federale americane) care este strain altor locuri similare in Europa
si Israel. Si totusi poate tocmai detasarea si monumentalismul sunt un
ambalaj care da mai multa veridicitate si credibilitate istorica
ororilor care se pot povesti si documenta, dar nu se pot intelege.

Am mentionat acest fapt pentru ca Radu Ioanid, autorul cartii ‘The
Ransom of the Jews – The Story of the Extraordinary Secret Bargain
between Romania and Israel’ publicata in engleza de Ivan D. Ree este
directorul arhivelor acestui muzeu. Faptul este mentionat pe coperta,
si aceasta impreuna cu prefatarea si postfatarea cartii de catre Elie
Wiesel si Ion Pacepa, dau cartii o greutate dincolo de semnificatia
pur documentara.

‘The Ransom of the Jews’ se citeste extrem de usor, cred ca va fi greu
de lasat din mana chiar si de cei care nu sunt atat de apropriati de
evenimentele si perioada descrisa in carte. Subiectul principal -
acordurile incheiate inre Israel si Romania pentru a permite emigrarea
evreilor romani spre Israel – este incadrat si pus in perspectiva
istorica a politicii romanesti fata de evrei dinainte si din timpul
celui de-al doilea razboi mondial si aceste capitole pe cat de
succinte sunt bine scrise si par excelent documentate.

Documentar am aflat o seama de lucruri noi. De exemplu, ca acest gen
de acorduri era practicat de Romania comunista de inceputul anilor 50,
ca Ana Pauker a jucat un rol, si ca refacerea industriei petroliere
romanesti, jefuita de germani si de sovietici a fost legata de acest
gen de ‘comert’. Apoi, inceputul acordurilor de emigrare mai oficiale
a avut aprobare de la nivelul cel mai inalt, inclusiv Ben Gurion si
Hrusciov, care in 1958 inca controla partial politica Romaniei.

Radu Ioanid - sursa: www.old.cotidianul.ro

Mi s-a paruit reusita si analiza psihologica facuta unora din
personajele implicate in aceasta drama istorica. Reintalnirea Anei
Pauker – comunista inversunata din perioada stalinista a istoriei
romanesti cu fratelei ei, sionist convins venit sa o viziteze din
Israel este perceputa ca o intalnire intre doi frati despartiti de o
prapastie ideologica dar asemanatori prin credinta si devotamentul
fiecaruia dintre ei in propriul ideal.

Capitolele dedicate epocii lui Ceausescu sunt informative dar tocmai
ele nu aduc foarte multe date noi. Cred ca Pacepa a povestit deja
esentialul in ‘Orizonturi rosii’. Informatia este pusa in perspectiva
altor acorduri similare incheiate de Romania cu Germania de exemplu
pentru emigrarea cetatenilor de origine germana din Transilvania, dar
nici acestea nu sunt chiar noutati senzationale.

Sursele de informatie ale cartii sunt in principal studii istorice
publicate in special dupa 1990, si documente din arhivele romanesti si
ale organizatiilor evreiesti americane, autoritatile israeliene fiind
foarte discrete inca in legatura cu aceste aspecte istorice. Cred ca fac foarte bine de
altfel, caci daca Romania si-a deschis portile emigrarii libere dupa 1989,
mai sunt probabil inca tari unde libertatea evreilor si dreptul lor de
a ajunge in tara lor trebuie inca sa fie ‘cumparat’ prin diferite
mijloace. Din partea israeliana cel mai detaliat interviu se pare ca
l-a data Shlomo Leibovici Lais, mai sunt citate si interviuri cu
cativa dintre ambasadorii Israelului in Romania de-a lungul anilor.

Prefatata lui Elie Wiesel, si postfatata lui Pacepa, ca si moto-ul
cartii dramatizeaza istoria peste ceea ce indica faptele, dupa parerea
mea. In definitiv, Israelul a facut ceea ce trebuia sa faca – adica
orice – pentru a salva evreii din comunitatea romaneasca si a-i aduce
in Israel. Nu pot condamna total nici Romania, tara abandonata de
occident in sfera de influenta sovietica, avida dupa mijloacele
economice si parghiile politice necesare pentru a-si dobandi
independenta, cel putin in mod partial. Din carte reiese clar ca
acordul de ‘vanzare a evreilor’ nu a fost unic nici pentru Romania,
care a avut acorduri similare de rascumparare pe bani a propriilor
cetateni cu Germania, si nici pentru Israel, care a platit bani pentru
‘alya’ (emigrare spre Israel) altor tari est-europeene si Etiopiei.
Desigur, acest tip de ‘comert’ a fost posibil datorita incalcarii de
catre Romania comunista a dreptului fundamental de libera circulatie a
cetatenilor sai, dar aceasta este numai una dintre incalcarile
drepturilor omului care s-au petrecut in toate tarile comuniste, fara
legatura directa cu fenomenul emigratiei ‘platite’ spre Israel.

In cele din urma, ceea ce este important, cred eu, este ceea ce a scris si
Andrei Codrescu in recenzia sa. Israelul a platit pentru libertatea mea, a
lui, a multor sute de mii de evrei din Romania. Datorita cestor
acorduri majoritatea evreimii romanesti iesita din Holocaust a ajuns
in Israel si in alte tari ale lumii libere, mai devreme sau mai
tarziu. Povestea asta are multe aspecte, o parte din ele detaliate de
cartea lui Ioanid, dar acesta mi se pare aspectul esential.

Walter Isaacson is the  author of the most comprehensive and well written biography of Albert Esinstein -  Einstein: His Life and Universe and the president of the Aspen Institute.

The Atlantic published  in its last December issue an article of his based on cerrespondence of Einstein around his first visit to the US in 1921, documents which were not available when he wrote the book.

 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/12/how-einstein-divided-americas-jews/7763/

The article seems significant to me not only because of the value of the new documents about one of the most significant personalities in the histry of the 2oth century and his relation to the Zionist cause, but also for revealing aspects about the divisions in the American Jews community concerning the fight for the formation of Israel and support for Zionism that seem to be actual until today.

Jerusalem, Notre Dame Center

Almost everything is Jerusalem is about history.

Almost everything in Jerusalem is about faith.

Almost everything in Jerusalem is about beauty.

The Notre Dame Center at the end of the Jaffa Road and near the walls of the Old City and the Flowers Gate is no exception. The center hosted the seminar organized by the Forum for Liberal Thinking last weekend which Liliana and me attended.

The history of the Center goes back to the end of the 19th century, when at the time of the end of the Ottoman rule over the Holy Land the European powers of the time were establishing pilgrimage centers, educational and social institutions, and some of them were settling in small communities, trying to establish a presence in the most famous city in history. A Catholic congregation called the French Assumptions started to bring pilgrims and decided to establish a center on land situated near the French Hospital, by the walls of the Old City. Started in 1885 the building was completed and inaugurated in 1904, embellished with a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary, a replica of a Parisian statue.

Jerusalem Notre Dame Center in the past century

The building could host 500 people, it served as seminar, hostel, and center of studies for almost half a century. In 1948 during the Israel Independence war the area was on the front line of the fights between the Jewish Haganah and the Arab Legion troops. I did a research in the New York Time reports archive and the result was fascinating – between May and August 1948 the control of the building changed several times. The cease fire after the war drew the separation line just near  the building, with the Center in the Israeli area and the Old City in the Jordanian area of the divided city of Jerusalem as it was between 1948 and 1967. The wing facing the Old City was badly damaged in the war, and for some time it was used by the army because of its strategic position.

top of the building with the Virgin Mary statue

Only a few years after the 1967 war the Holy See took over the responsibility of the place, and started the rennovation work that brought the building to its present beauty. A conference center was added, and a modern hotel opened. Since 2004 the care and running of the center was assigned to the Legionaries or Christ priests. Pope Benedict XVI stayed here during his visit last year.

conference center

It is a beautiful building by day and also by night, when it is illuminated same as the walls of the Old City on the other side of the street.

Jerusalem Notre Dame Center by night

The interior is decorated in a very special style, with stone walls and arcades reminding the medieval monasteries in Europe. Modern religious paintings are decorating the hallways and the rooms, many of them are really beautiful. The rooms are simple but very clean and well maintained, all the basic equipment that you can find in a good hotel is there. What is missing is the distraction of a TV set (so I could start reading a good book), on the other hand wireless Internet connectivity is available.

hotel reception

hotel hallway - first floor

hallway 3rd floor

There is a chef restaurant in the hotel named ‘La Rotisserie’ – we had lunch there and it was excellent. Try the Latrun Sauvignon Blanc if you are in mood for white wine, it’s good, unexpensive, and you cannot find it in many places in Israel.

La Rotisserie Restaurant

The center has a large and beautiful church.

the church

A permanent exhibition is dedicated to the Shroud of Turin. If you have not seen the documentary or read the National Geographical article a few years ago, or even if you did it it’s a good opportunity to learn more about one of the most venerated and most controversial relics in the history of the Christianity, said to be the burial shroud of Jesus.

Exhibition of the Shroud of Turin

In the reception hall of the center there is another exhibition which deals with the project of the Magdala Center that the same congregation is building on the shores of the Kineret (Sea of Galilee). Our group received explanations (in Hebrew!) from father Kelly. Of Irish origins, he is one of the leaders of the group of priests who live and work in this place. During the construction works an important archeological discovery was made in the place – a synagogue dating from the period before the Jewish revolt in year 66. A menorah representation carved in stone was one of the findings, which is unique for the Jewish synagogues of the period, and may have been a representation of the big menorah in the Temple in Jerusalem.

father Kelly talking about the Magdala Center

from the exhibition about the Magdala Center

History. Faith. Beauty.

Jerusalem.

January 27 is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Many events are taking place on this occasion, I will mention two that drew my attention,

Angela Furtuna sent me the poster of an event organized on this occasion in the city of Suceava, in the North of Romania. The program includes a conference on the European Nazi movements, readings from books about the Holocaust, a DVD about the liberation of Auschwitz, the launching of a book about the Jewish Community of Suceava, and a musical program that comprises recordings by Arthur Rubinshtein, Glenn Gould and Itzhak Perlmann.

Holocaust Day Event in Suceava

Of the many museums and memorials that describe the atrocity of the tragedy inflicted to the Jewish people, preserve the memory of the martyrs, and educate the younger generations, the most impressive remains by far Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

The current temporary exhibition at Yad Vashem that has opened on the occasion of the remembrance day deals with ‘The Architecture of Murder: The Auschwitz-Birkenau Blueprints’:

http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/auschwitz_architecture/index.asp

The documentary directed by Oliver Horn and Anne Riegel, prezented by the European culture TV chain ARTE brought up a fascinating period in the history of the 20th century China – the years of development and expansion, of conflicts and contradictions of the city of Shanghai betweent 1911 and 1937. This was the background on which the first part of Ang Lee’s Se,Jie (Lust, Caution) took place.

The landscape of the ultra-modern city of today is still marked by the front shore buildings of the Shanghai of the 20s and 30s and the authors of the film play repeatedly with this juxtaposition, maybe in order to underline a continuity beyond the convulsions of history.After the proclamation of the Chinese Republic in 1911 the city became a  crossroads of commerce and industry and a cosmopolitan center of banking and entertainment. The Foreign Concessions relying on the clauses of extra-territoriality granted to them after the Opium Wars in the 19th century extended their influence, and many of the documents in the film rely on the writings of journalist and writer Albert Londres, who lived in the city for two periods and wrote sharp investigative articles as well as deep analysis of the life of the area. (Londres also visited the mandatory Palestine in 1929, at a pick period of Arab attacks against the Jewish community. He was supportive of the creation of a Jewish state, but pessimistic about the chances of peace between Jews and Arabs.)

Du Yuesheng

The foreign influence was matched only by the influence of the mafia controlling the opium traffic. The central figure described in detail in the documentary was Du Yuesheng, the leader of the Green Gang, which won the local mafia wars, kept good relations with the foreigners and both with the ruling nationalist Chinese government of Chiang Kai-Shek as well as with the emerging Chinese Communist Party which was founded actually in Shanghai. The intrigues and crime stories of the epoch take an important part of the film, and they are both interesting and entertaining.  Incidentally, many of the mafia heads had a passion for cinema, studios were open in their villas, and the film production flourished in the city in the 30s, and to it we own many of the filmed sequences we can see in Horn and Riegel’s film.

old Shanghai shore line

The good life ended with the Japanese invasion in 1937. An American newsreel included in the film shows the horror of the bombing, which was a prelude to the massive bombing and destruction of cities in World War II.

Horn and Riegel’s fim presents a complex and well commented view of a city that played an important role in the history of the first part of the 20th century and seems to take back its place in the 21th century as well.

Another (too) beautiful weekend took us to Haifa. After having survived the ‘Avatar‘ film experience on Friday night we visited the Ottoman Haifa exhibition open by the Haifa City Museum:

http://hma.org.il/Museum/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=10000&FID=1203&PID=0

The Web page provides more information about the exhibition as well as more selected images from the exhibition.

city of Haifa Museum

The Museum is hosted by the oldest building in the German Colony of Haifa. Started by Templars in 1868, soon after the 1864 sultan edict that allowed the development of the cities all over the Ottoman Empire, the German colony in Haifa was one of the several settlements established by the German between the 1860s and second world war. The former People’s House was a church and a school at the same time and was recently renovated. The museum is ‘on trial’ for several years, I have visited it for the first time, but judging by the exhibition I have seen it is very much worth a visit.

oldest building in the German Colony in Haifa - 1869

The exhibition contains lithography, paintings, photos and artifacts reflecting the period of the Ottoman rule of Haifa between 1516 and 1918.

While the name of the city is mentioned in the Mishnah and Mount Carmel is considered sacred by the three religios for its association with prophet Elijah (Eliakhu), it was just a small fishermen hamlet until well in the 17th century.

mount Carmel view from the Sea - 1677

Gravures that became popular by the end of the century represented the small village, the monastery at the top of the mountain and the city of Acco much more important  at that time.

Haifa viewed by David Roberts

The city revival starts in the 18th century when rich Arab family start building North of the original hamlet and the harbour develops. yet when the Scottish painter David Roberts arrives and paints the Holy Land in the 19th century his rendition of Haifa from 1839 shows little more than a very pastoral view with a sunset in the best Orientalist tradition.

German Colony in Haifa seen by Jakob Schumacher

Things change with the opening of the foreign presence after 1864, and the German Colony is one of the examples of the development fo Haifa. Here it is how it looked in the 1870s, seen by one of the founders of the colony, Jakob Schumacher.

Haifa photographed by Felix Bonfils c. 1880

The Beirutian photographer Felix Bonfils caught the city around 1880. Other powers beyond Germany invested in the city – for example Russia built part of the harbour. A Persian district was born, populated partly by the believers of the Baha’i faith.The Jewish presence also started during that decade with Jewish immigrants from Europe populating the city, although it will take a long time until Jewish population will become the majority in Haifa – this happened only after the Independence War and the establishment of the State of Israel.

Haifa viewed by Julius Rotschild 1915

By 1915 the city was well developed and shadowed quite for a long while its Northern neighbor Acco. In October 1918 it was conquered by the Indian corps of the British Army, and soon after the British mandated started. The Ottoman period came to its end, and the modern era of the history of the city started.

I also found a collection of photos on youTube with many other interesting aspects from the history of the city, complementing what I saw in the exhibition today.

Back outdoors we had a few more minutes to wonder through the streets of the former German Colony. Many of the houses are renovated, some host restaurants, and the opening of the main street of the area (which is called today Ben Gurion Road) provides nowadays a spendid panorama to the Baha’i gardens on one side and to the sea on the other.

Haifa German Colony building

HaShdera Restaurant in a 1872 building

German Colony area nowadays

Baha'i Gardens viewed from the German Colony main street

The ‘Ottoman Haifa’ exhibition is open at the Haifa City Museum until the end of February.

I learned today from a History Today article that the first legislation of religious freedom, pluralism and prevalence of the state power over religious autorities was given by king John II Sigismund of Transylvania in the city of Turda in 1588.

king John II Sigismund

His majesty, our Lord, in what manner he – together with his realm – legislated in the matter of religion at the previous Diets, in the same matter now, in this Diet, reaffirms that in every place the preachers shall preach and explain the Gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like it, well. If not, no one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied, but they shall be permitted to keep a preacher whose teaching they approve. Therefore none of the superintendents or others shall abuse the preachers, no one shall be reviled for his religion by anyone, according to the previous statutes, and it is not permitted that anyone should threaten anyone else by imprisonment or by removal from his post for his teaching. For faith is the gift of God and this comes from hearing, which hearings is by the word of God.

coat of arms of Turda

At that time Transylvania was under Turkish suzerainty. The edict covered the various West European Christian faith – Catholicism, Reform, and the Unitarian church to which the king belonged. Orthodox Christians to which most of the Romanians belonged and Jewish faith were just tolerated. Yet, it was the first legislative act of pluralism at the end of a century marked by the Reform, Counter-Reform and the bloody religious conflicts.