Week two of the internship period is now behind me. This was a great week, filled with a lot of activities. The project I am currently tasked with at my internship – the Yad Ben Zvi Institute – is to read soldier memoirs from the North African campaign of WWII, summarize them, and post onto the YBZ online academic database. Individually the stories are not that interesting – a soldier reminisces about his loved one in London, another complains about the poor conditions of a POW camp. Other memoirs and war diaries have focused on the experience of being Indian or Jewish or Welsh and fighting under the British flag despite having some resentment toward the crown for policies directed towards the colonies. But when taken as a whole the stories tell a much broader narrative of the way in which the war was experienced by so many.
All of these men were individuals and their uniqueness comes through in writing style and what aspects of their war experience they choose to focus on. Some people are captivated with the places they pass through. Others relate the accounts of their comrades in arms. Others only write of their plans for after the war, using such vivid detail as if they were already living that dream as a kind of distraction from the harsh realities of their present circumstances. The goal of the project is to bring more focus onto the war in North Africa in order to broaden the narrative of the way the war is recorded and taught. Next week I will be moving on to reading about the experience of North African Jewry under Vichy and the Italo-fascist regime in Libya. Again here, we are trying to broaden the narrative in order to be more inclusive of the experience in the North African arena.
The highlight of my week was attending the President's Conference and getting to listen to so many politicians, academics and intellectuals. The conference focused on tomorrow and brought together influential people from around the world. My favorite session by far was listening to Shimon and Chemi Peres wax philosophical about their relationship and about their vision for Israel in the coming years. It was very inspiring. President Shimon Peres is an elder statesman with a lot of wisdom to impart and I listened attentively to their playful banter and anecdotes.
More interesting things to come, Im sure.
Bye for now – Eitan
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