Description

Free Book Talk & Signing with Jehuda Reinharz, PhD Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and Shakespeare & Company present a free Book Talk and Signing with Jehuda Reinharz PhD, President Emeritus of Brandeis University and recipient of the President of Israel Prize (1990 and 2024) for a discussion of the life of Chaim Weizmann. In Chaim Weizmann: A Biography, Jehuda Reinharz and Motti Golani show how Weizmann, a leader of the World Zionist Organization who became the first president of Israel, advocated for a Jewish state. Born in 1874, Weizmann grew up in Russian-controlled Poland. Within his family, Weizmann noted how the return to a Jewish homeland in Palestine “was at the center of ritual, a longing for it implicit in our life.” Weizmann’s initial career was as a biochemist. His research offered significant aid to Britain’s military efforts during World War I; this work later allowed him to meet with major British political figures on Zionism’s behalf. A fierce advocate for education and research, Weizmann founded what would become the multidisciplinary Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot in 1934. Co-sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and Shakespeare & Company. This event is free, but tickets are required. For more information, call the Box Office at 413.637.3353 or email news@shakespeare.org.