Prof. Rachel Brenner Z”L

Prof. Rachel Brenner, Z”L

My homage to our dear friend and colleague, Professor Rachel Brenner will be short, not only because we all would like to hear what many of us want to say about the various aspects of her academic career and personality, but also because Rachel was a person of one to one or small group talks, and she did not feel comfortable talking in front of large audience.

Rachel served as the President of the Association for Israel Studies (AIS) from 2007 to 2009.
When it came to giving the President speech at the AIS Gala dinner, she delivered it in a quiet voice, almost shyly, but nonetheless she conveyed what had to be said concisely, eloquently and to the point.
This is an authentic reflection of the type of her leadership as the AIS President.

During her term the AIS continued to expand the scope of the disciplines included in the annual conferences, and it is much to her tireless effortsand devotion that Israeli literature is well represented in the AIS
conferences. She managed to avoid frictions within the AIS caused by political disagreement, and though she was quite critical about the situation in Israel, she prevented the fusion of political and academic issues and
considerations. Her style of leading the AIS can be defined as a dialogic leadership.

Talking, and even more so – listening, and striving to reach a consensual decision.
All in all, though she seemed physically fragile, I found her strong like a rock.

Finally, a more personal note.
It was here, in Chicago, at the 1999 AJS conference, that I first met Rachel. Since then we met at least twice a year, at the AJS in the winter and the AIS in the summer, and sometimes also in between, during her visits to
Israel. I was so impressed by the wide scope of her intellectual and academic spheres of knowledge and interest. It was an intellectual and emotional pleasure to talk with her, mainly – to listen to her.
Part of my excitement before the annul AJS conference was the
expectation to meet Rachel.

She used to get in touch in advance, to make sure we’ll have a breakfast together and sit at the same table in the Gala dinners, so we’ll have a chance to talk about personal rather then official or professional matters.
Attending the AJS conferences will never be the same for me without the expectation to meet Rachel and with the painful frustration of not being able to see her, talk with her and above all hear her thoughtful and sensitive words.

May her memory be for a blessing.
יהי זכרה ברוך
Prof. Aviva Halamish
The Open University of Israel