How a second Holocaust was prevented

April 29, 2015

Ralph Lowenstein, dean emeritus of the UF College of Journalism and Communications, will speak at 5:30 p.m. on May 12 in the Judaica Suite, on the second floor of Smathers Library East.

His talk, “The Planes of Spain Fall Mainly in the Drain: the American Origin of the Israeli Air Force in 1948,” tells the virtually unknown story of World War II aviators who raced against the clock in 1948 to prevent a second Holocaust. Lowenstein has archived the American participation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was an Israeli Defense Forces infantry volunteer. In 2011, he received the Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award from the American Jewish Historical Society. The award is the society’s highest honor and is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment to strengthening the American Jewish community.

The event is sponsored by the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica, George A. Smathers Libraries.