Monday, October 28, 2013 at 4:30 PM

Lecture by Tomer Levi, Ph.D.

“Jewish Education in Ottoman Beirut: The Case of the Tif’eret Israel School, Al-Madrasa al-wataniyya al-Isra’iliyya”

McCardell Bicentennial Hall 219
287 Bicentennial Way
Middlebury College

The case of Tiferet Israel, a Jewish school that was founded in Beirut in 1874, falls within the broader subject of the modernization of Jewish education (and generally, Jewish life) in the Middle East in the late Ottoman period. Dr. Levi will speak about this unique school, the reasons for its founding, and its relatively short life-span, placing them within context of colonialism in the late 19th century.
Dr. Tomer Levi is Director of the Brandeis University/Middlebury College Program in Israel.

A native of Haifa, Tomer received his B.A. (1998) and M.A. (2001) in History of the Jewish People from Haifa University. He then moved to the U.S. to study at Brandeis University, where he focused his studies on the modern history of Jews in the world of Islam. While at Brandeis, Tomer worked with the Hebrew faculty, and gained experience in Hebrew language instruction. He also taught Hebrew at Tufts University. After receiving his Ph.D. from Brandeis, Tomer returned to Israel (2009), and continued his research as a post-doctoral fellow at Ben-Gurion University, where he now serves as the director of the Brandeis University/Middlebury College Program.

Sponsored by the Programs in Jewish Studies and Middle East Studies