The Origins and Ideology of Hamas

Historians have demonstrated that Hamas is an organization with deep roots in reactionary, racist, and antisemitic traditions including those imported from Nazi and Soviet propaganda. Hamas’ recent ideological statements and activities confirm this. Decades before Hamas’ founding, antisemitism played a key role in the Arab Israeli war of 1948, and today it continues to influence discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among the Western Left. This series of three webinars, curated by historian Jeffrey Herf, will elucidate Hamas’ origins and ideology; demonstrate how the history of Islamic antisemitism sheds light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and explore discourse around the October 7th massacres.

View the series bibliography.


Programs


Hamas and the Origins of Islamic Antisemitism

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024 | 1:00pm ET
Live on Zoom

Historians Matthias Küntzel and Jeffrey Herf discuss the origins of Hamas, the history of Islamic antisemitism, and Islamic antisemitism's causal significance in the war of 1947-1948.

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Colonialism, Racism, and the Arab Israeli War of 1948

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2024 | 1:00pm ET
Live on Zoom

Historians Benny Morris and Jeffrey Herf discuss the international politics surrounding Israel’s establishment, the causes and nature of the war of 1948, and the controversies of how this history is understood in contemporary discourse.

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Responses to October 7th

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024 | 1:00pm ET
Live on Zoom

Historian Jeffrey Herf will lead a panel featuring scholars Meir Litvak, Norman Goda, Karin Stögner, and David Hirsh exploring responses to Hamas’ October 7th massacres and to the state of Israel’s subsequent military response.

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