Leo Baeck Institute Lecture Series, London 2019-20

Acting Jewish: Between Identity and Attire

A lecture series organised by the Leo Baeck Institute London in cooperation with the German Historical Institute London.

This season’s lecture series investigates the complex nature of what it means to act or appear Jewish and for whom this appearance is important. Examples are drawn from a wide range of performative settings: on stage, on screen, in daily life. Under which conditions do certain elements of fashion and attire appear ‘Jewish’? How do Jews consciously showcase or hide their identity by way of ‘acting’ and dressing in certain ways? And how were these elements conceptualised in the wider discourse: as ‘natural’ – self-expressions of an ethnical identity, as attire communicating a social role, or ‘prejudiced’ – as a ‘costume’ hiding the wearer’s true identity?

For more information on the lecture series please refer to the leaflet here.

We are delighted to be able to resume our LBI Lecture Series on Zoom. Dr Daniel Wildmann (Director, Leo Baeck Institute London) has the pleasure of warmly inviting you to the fifth lecture in the series: 

Svenja Bethke

Lecturer in Modern European History University of Leicester, UK 

How to dress in Eretz Israel? Clothing, Fashion and Nation Building, 1880s–1948

6.30pm, 19th November 2020

The identities of many Eastern European and German Jews who immigrated to Eretz Israel between the 1880s and the foundation of the Israeli state in 1948 oscillated between their roots and identification with the new Zionist project. This lecture explores how immigrants expressed social, cultural and political belonging through clothing and, focusing on gender and visual materials, offers fresh perspectives on how clothing became fashion, or ‘anti-fashion’, and to what extent a consensual mode of dress emerged. It also explores how clothing habits of Arab people and changing Ottoman and British occupying authorities influenced ‘Jewish’ fashion.  

Svenja Bethke is a Lecturer in Modern European History and the former Deputy Director of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester. Her research interests include the Holocaust, legal history, the history of modern Palestine/Israel, visual culture and fashion history. She is currently a visiting Marie Curie Fellow at the Abraham Harman Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University Jerusalem for her project on ‘Clothing, Fashion and Nation Building in Eretz Israel’.

This lecture will be held online via Zoom on Thursday, November 19th 2020 and will start punctually at 6.30pm (UK time).  

To join the event please click this link: https://zoom.us/j/97823750514?pwd=aC9xVDlmM2xYN2F2TzRvZXBFSVZWdz09 at the appointed date and time, wait to be admitted by the host and follow the instructions on your screen. If you have any difficulty joining us on the night, please contact volunteer@leobaeck.co.uk and a member of staff will be able to assist you. 

Admission is free but we would welcome if you could inform us of your intention to participate prior to the event by emailing us on info@leobaeck.co.uk. This would help us to prepare in advance for participant numbers and management.