Former Israeli Defense Force member to visit UNT

Oded Neumann, who fought in four wars while serving in military intelligence for the Israeli Defense Force, will give two free public lectures at UNT Sept. 30 and Oct. 2.

Neumann, now a lecturer at Western Galilee College in Acre, Israel, is the first visiting professor in the UNT Jewish studies program. His visit is the result of a cooperative agreement between UNT and Western Galilee College signed last year. The agreement resulted from contacts the Jewish studies program made with the help of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas and its program, Partnership 2000.

Two UNT history faculty members — Adrian Lewis, associate professor of history, and Guy Chet, associate professor of history — have lectured or will lecture at Western Galilee this year. In the future, selected students from Western Galilee will enroll in master's programs at UNT while UNT students take summer classes at Western Galilee, says Richard Golden, professor of history and director of the Jewish studies program.

The topic for Neumann's Sept. 30 lecture is "The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1967-2002: A Personal Perspective." The topic of his Oct. 2 lecture is "Israel's Struggle with Palestinian Terrorism: October 2000-2002." Both lectures begin at 4 p.m. in Room 255 of the Eagle Student Services Center. The lectures are co-sponsored by the UNT Jewish studies program, the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences. Golden says Neumann, who began his career in higher education after 25 years in the military, will bring a unique perspective to both topics.

"He will bring the point of view of a historian, a former military intelligence officer and a citizen of both Israel and the United States," Golden says.

In addition to his two public lectures, Neumann will have an informal meeting with UNT's Jewish students and faculty, give a seminar for history faculty members, be the guest of honor at a private reception hosted by the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and lecture at Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound.

While still in the Israeli Defense Force, Neumann taught courses for senior intelligence officers at the College of Military Intelligence in Israel. After earning a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern and African studies from Tel Aviv University in 1980, he came to America and received his master's and doctoral degrees in modern Middle Eastern history from the University of California at Los Angeles.

He taught at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, Calif., and the University of Judaism in Los Angeles before assuming his post at Western Galilee College in 1996. Neumann has also lectured at Israel's Emek Jesre'el College. His research interests include the late Ottoman Empire period, Jews of the Ottoman Empire and the strategic balance of powers in the Middle East.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT enrollment reaches 30,256 students — an all-time high
• UNT Campus Master Plan provides beauty, functionality for future of campus
• UNT faculty, staff encouraged to participate in Parent and Family Weekend
• Hispanic Friends of UNT conference Oct. 4
• Staff Council elects officers
• SLIS associate dean appointed as faculty executive assistant to the president
• UNT is staying on top of compliance issues
• Decorate with Texas' Capitol

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