Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism
Following the British conquest of Ottoman Palestine, Jews across the British Empire—from Jerusalem to Johannesburg, London to Calcutta—found themselves at the heart of global Jewish political discourse. As these intellectuals, politicians, activists, and communal elites navigated shifting political landscapes, some envisioned Palestine as a British dominion, leveraging imperial power for Jewish state-building, while others fostered ties with anticolonial movements, contemplating independent national aspirations. In this talk, Clark University professor Elizabeth Imber (History) explores the intricate interplay between British imperialism, Zionism, and anticolonial movements from the 1917 British conquest of Palestine to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. With context from her new book, "Uncertain Empire: Jews, Nationalism, and the Fate of British Imperialism" (Stanford University Press, 2025), Imber will show how the British Empire's fate became central to Zionist and broader Jewish political thought during a time marked by profound urgency and exigency.
Copies of "Uncertain Empire" will be available for purchase at the event.
Admission is free and open to the public, and lunch will be provided. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 11:45pm for refreshments.
Sponsored by the Alice Coonley Higgins Institute for Arts and Humanities and the Department of History at Clark University
