Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The ‘Revival of the East,’ Pan-Semitism and Pan-Asianism within Zionist Discourse
Hanan Harif’s dissertation explores the varied ways in which Zionist thinkers and writers viewed the Orient and its inhabitants. The work (written under the supervision of Prof. Steven Aschheim and Prof. Israel Bartal) studies Zionism against the background of the “Pan-Movements” and sheds light on various neglected elements within Zionist discourse about Asia, the Semitic race, Arab-Jewish brotherhood and Abrahamic religions.
Dr. Hanan Harif specializes in modern Jewish history and the cultural-intellectual worlds of nationalism. His research examines Arab-Jewish encounters, educational institutions, German and Jewish Orientalism, and transnational academic networks. A faculty member at Tel-Hai Academic College (soon to become the Kiryat Shmona University of the Galilee), he has published on pan-Asianism and pan-Semitism in Zionist discourse and on the circulation of knowledge between Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. His book “For We Be Brethren: The Turn to the East in Zionist Thought” (Hebrew) appeared in 2019. He is currently working on a biography of S.D. Goitein.