A Land of Two Peoples: Martin Buber and Bi-nationalism in Palestine

**REGISTRATION TO THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED. WALK-UPS WELCOME**

Most today remember Martin Buber for his collections of Hasidic tales, as well has his dialogical philosophy of I and Thou. However, Buber was also an active and concerned member of the Zionist movement, famously advocating against the UN partition plan on the grounds that the land should be shared between its two peoples. This talk will explore the theological and political basis of Buber’s views, arguing that while most of Buber’s opponents saw him as an idealistic academic unrealistically applying his philosophy to reality, he was actually much closer to contemporary religious Zionism than anyone would care to admit.

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Dr. Samuel Hayim Brody is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas. He received his education at the University of Virginia, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the University of Chicago. His first book, Martin Buber’s Theopolitics, was published by Indiana University Press in 2018. His scholarly interests revolve around the intersections of Judaism, philosophy, politics, and economics in the modern period.

LM