In the middle of the second decade of the twenty-first century, events in many parts of the world demonstrate the continued, acute need for transnational philanthropic intervention on behalf of endangered communities. Jonathan Dekel-Chen’s research for the past decade has attempted to formulate a set of best-practice recommendations for contemporary transnational philanthropic organizations based on the aggregated history of Jewish cross-border efforts in philanthropy and political advocacy. A core goal of his research has been to determine whether the lessons learned from the successes and failures of nearly two centuries in Jewish transnational activism in illiberal societies can assist international non-government organizations today. Dr. Dekel-Chen’s lecture will map out that transnational activity, discuss the methodology used in his study, present the unique problems associated with the construction of applied history and share some of its findings.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen is a senior lecturer in modern history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work has been widely published at prestigious university presses and in scholarly journals. During the 2015-16 academic year he is an Israel Institute Visiting Professor in the Department of History and the Institute for Israel & Jewish Studies at Columbia University. He is a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, bordering on the Gaza Strip. In 2014 he co-founded the Bikurim Youth Village for the Performing Arts in Eshkol, which provides world-class artistic training for under-served high school students from throughout Israel.

His publications include Farming the Red Land: Jewish Agricultural Colonization and Local Power in Soviet Russia, 1924-41 (Yale University Press, 2005). Dr. Dekel-Chen co-edited (with David Gaunt, Natan Meir and Israel Bartal) Anti-Jewish Violence: Rethinking the Pogrom in East European History (Indiana University Press, 2010). His current work focuses on Jewish transnational philanthropy and migration.

Photo courtesy of The University of Southampton