Upcoming: AFTAU Gala Dinner to Honor “Master of the Past” Bernard Lewis

In honor of Prof. Bernard Lewis and the recent publication of his memoir Notes on a Century: Reflections of a Middle East Historian, the American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) will be hosting a special fundraiser on September 12, 2012, at New York’s Pierre Hotel.

Dinner chairs for this highly anticipated event are Nobel Peace Prize recipient Henry Kissinger; TAU Board of Governors Chairman Harvey M. Krueger; former Israeli Ambassador and former TAU President Itamar Rabinovich; and U.S. News & World Report editor-in-chief Mort Zuckerman. MacArthur Fellowship winner and notable author Prof. Fouad Ajami will pay a special tribute to the legacy of Prof. Lewis during the event.

A distinguished scholar and historian, Prof. Lewis is considered one of the foremost experts on the Middle East and his impact on scholarly discourse and foreign policy has been vast. Author to dozens of highly regarded books, his new, witty memoir reflects on his prolific career as well as the transformative events that have shaped the Middle East over the past century.

The evening will also honor Prof. Lewis’s involvement with Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. The Bernard Lewis Visiting Scholar Program is being established to bring talented graduate students from around the world to the Moshe Dayan Center so they can benefit from the University’s extensive academic resources. In addition, the program will send Tel Aviv University students abroad to supplement their academic research and bolster scholarship in the field.

Prof. Lewis’s support of education and research at Tel Aviv University spans decades. His work and lectures have contributed to nuanced and thought-provoking dialogue on campus regarding the Middle East, past and present. A professor emeritus of Princeton University, Prof. Lewis holds an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University among numerous honors and accolades.