UC Partners with American Jewish Archives to Host Renowned Legal Scholar Nov. 1

Legal scholar Pnina Lahav will discuss “The Political Leadership of Golda Meir: Pioneer Women and the Campaign for Jewish Statehood” at

4 p.m., Nov. 1, 2016, at Hebrew Union College.

The event will begin at 4 p.m. with a reception and display of the newly acquired Phyllis R. Sutker papers. Gary Zola, executive director of the American Jewish Archives, and Christopher Phillips, head of the Department of History at the University of Cincinnati McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss the importance of this collection. Lahav will speak at 4:30 p.m. Members of Na'amat USA's national board and the Sutker family (from Chicago) will be present for the occasion.

This event will take place at The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archive on the campus of Hebrew Union College, 3101 Clifton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio. It is free and open to the public. The event was co-sponsored by: the American Jewish Archives, NA'AMAT USA, the University of Cincinnati History Department and the Center for Studies in Jewish Education and Culture at the University of Cincinnati.

Mark Raider, professor of modern Jewish history in the Department of History at the University of Cincinnati said, “Prof. Pnina Lahav’s lecture is a very special occasion for the University of Cincinnati community and our partners, the American Jewish Archives, Hebrew Union College, and Na’amat USA. Dr. Lahav’s scholarly biography of Golda Meir promises to be a path-finding contribution to the fields of modern history and Jewish studies. Meir was a founder of Na’amat USA’s predecessor, Pioneer Women. Dr. Lahav’s talk, on the occasion of Na’amat USA’s 90th anniversary, is a timely reminder of the impact of Jewish women’s political activism and the importance of the United States-Israel relationship.”

Pnina Lahav Receives Na’amat USA Research Fellowship in 2015-2016

A distinguished legal scholar, Professor Lahav has taught at Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzlia, Oxford University and Université Jean Moulin Lyon III. At Boston University, she teaches constitutional law. Lahav has published numerous articles on constitutional law, freedom of expression and women’s rights. She is the author of "Judgment in Jerusalem: Chief Justice Simon Agranat and the Zionist Century." Lahav was awarded the Na’amat USA Research Fellowship in 2015-2016 for her work on a new biography "Golda: Through the Gender Lens."

“We believe Lahav’s fascinating biography project will prove to be of significant public and scholarly interest as well as an enduring contribution to the history of Pioneer Women and Na’amat USA,” noted the Na’amat USA committee members who awarded Lahav the fellowship. Among those committee members was Professor Raider, who added, “Lahav is a leading scholar of Israeli history and singularly qualified for this undertaking. That her research brings her to Cincinnati is hardly surprising given the vast treasure trove of materials housed by the American Jewish Archives, including a sizable collection of records pertaining to the Labor Zionist movement, of which Meir was a central figure.”

About Na’amat USA

The Zionist women’s organization NA’AMAT USA, the sister movement of Na’amat Israel, is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for women, children, and families in Israel, the U.S., and around the world. Founded in 1925, NA’AMAT USA (originally named Pioneer Women) has a rich and storied history. Over the course of many decades, it has been instrumental in helping to create, build, and sustain the State of Israel.

About the Phyllis Sutker Papers

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives added to its holdings the papers of Phyllis R. Sutker (1923-2006). Ms. Sutker was the national president of NA’AMAT USA (formerly Pioneer Women) for many years, served on the American Section of the World Zionist Executive and the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel, and was a major figure in American Zionism in the second half of the 20th century. Her extensive papers provide thorough documentation of these and many of her other activities. Ms. Sutker’s husband, Calvin Sutker (1923-2013), a former Illinois legislator and Cook County Commissioner, was a significant figure in Chicago and Illinois Democratic party politics. For more information contact Kevin Proffitt, senior archivist,

kproffitt@huc.edu

www.americanjewisharchives.org