Israels Three Wars of Independence
Professor David Gutman

Tuesday 24th June

We are delighted, in conjunction with the Zionist Federation, to provide you with a unique opportunity to hear Professor David Gutmann of Northwestern University, U.S.A.

David Gutmann served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during WWII, and then in the Jewish struggles for independence against the Arabs and the British. Initially, he sailed the ships of the "Aliyah Bet" - the clandestine attempt by the Jewish underground to break the Royal Navy's blockade of Holocaust survivors to Jewish Palestine. Subsequently, during the Israeli War of Independence, Gutmann trained with the Hagana, and then served as an engineering officer on one of the first warships of the nascent Israeli Navy. He was twice arrested and imprisoned by the British.

Guttman will provide us with a first hand account of the fateful twists and turns of the War of Independence, with his personal testimony on the intentions and actions of the British forces, the flight of Palestinian refugees and the miraculous triumph of the Jewish "David" against the might of the Arab "Goliath".

David Gutmann is currently Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University Medical School. His cross-cultural explorations into the mental life of the aged have been reported in his books, Reclaimed Powers, and The Human Elder. He and his wife Joanna now live in Vermont, U.S.A.