Join IIJS online for "Trying to Make Sense of October 7, its Horrors and its Consequences: Thoughts from a Hostage Parent," a webinar on Monday, June 10, at 12:00 PM, with Jonathan Dekel-Chen (Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
Jonathan Dekel-Chen is a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, situated on the border with the Gaza Strip. The Hamas attack on Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 resulted in the massacre of dozens of its members, the captivity of many dozens more as well as the physical destruction and looting of the kibbutz. His 35 year-old son Sagui – a father of three young girls – is among the 39 hostages from Nir Oz still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Jonathan is a dual USA-Israel citizen, born and raised in Connecticut. He emigrated on his own to Israel in 1981 and is a father of four and grandfather of eleven. Since the Hamas attack on his kibbutz, he has advocated in the US and Israel for release of the hostages, including meetings with President Biden, VP Harris, Secretary of State Blinken, National Security Advisor Sullivan, CIA Director Burns and many senior elected officials. Jonathan has also made dozens of media appearances around the globe to inform the public about the plight of the hostages.
He is the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet & East European Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he holds a dual appointment in the Department of Jewish History & Contemporary Jewry and in the Department of General History. His current research and publications deal with modern Jewish history, modern Israel, transnational philanthropy and advocacy, non-state diplomacy, agrarian history and migration. He served from 2007-2019 as the Academic Chairman of the Leonid Nevzlin Research Center for Russian & East European Jewry and served as Chairman of the Russian Studies Department from 2006-2008, 2016-2020. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Rutgers University, the Kennan Institute in Washington, DC and at the Harriman Institute in New York. Until October 7, Jonathan was a frequent commentator and interviewee on East European affairs and the Middle East for media outlets that include the BBC, AP, Reuters, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Radio France, the Voice of America and many others.
Supported by the generosity of the Radov and Appel families.
While all IIJS events are free and open to the public, we do encourage a suggested donation of $10.