In 1938, German Nazi totalitarianism, under the charismatic and mad leadership of Adolf Hitler, began its march toward world conquest and the destruction of the Jews. In an act of willful blindness, Western democratic leaders chose to negotiate and appease Nazism. Many Jewish leaders also downplayed the danger by convincing themselves that Nazi ideology was merely for domestic political consumption. Seven years later, over 50 million people, including six million European Jews, were dead: victims of World War II.

In 2007, extreme Islamist forces have spawned global Jihad, a state-sponsored terrorist war against the West as well as moderate Islamic states and their leaders, a war in which they openly proclaim their intention to destroy the Jewish State of Israel and its seven million inhabitants.  This time, the chief peril emanates from radical Islamist Iran, whose President Ahmadinejad openly pursues nuclear weapons capability while brazenly declaring, “The accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible.”

“IS IT 1938 AGAIN? A Major Conference on the State of World Jewry” presents an international array of scholars, writers, intellectuals and activists who will assess, debate and discuss today’s threat against the West and the Jewish people and identify options for meeting dangers to Jewish survival. Ample time will be allocated for Q&A.

 “IS IT 1938 AGAIN?” is a project of the Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College, CUNY. The Center for Jewish Studies promotes Jewish knowledge, scholarship, and culture outside the formal classroom setting. It reaches out to the larger community through lectures, symposia, conferences, films, music, and theater performances. It also publishes and disseminates its programs to both scholars and the general community. These activities have made the Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College a major regional center for Jewish life and culture, attracting thousands of people to its programs each year.

David Schimel
Conference Chair