Howard Sachar

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Howard Morley Sachar (February 10, 1928 – April 18, 2018) was an American historian. He was Professor Emeritus of History and International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the author of 16 books,[1] as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals, on the subjects of Middle Eastern and Modern European history. His writings, which have been published in six languages,[2] are widely regarded as solid reference works.[3][4][5][6]

Early, personal life and education[edit]

Howard Morley Sachar was born to historian and academic administrator Abram L. Sachar and his wife, Thelma Horwitz,[7] during his father's tenure as a professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.[1][8] He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Champaign, Illinois. He was the eldest of three brothers; his brother Edward J. Sachar became a pioneering biological psychiatrist and David B. Sachar became a gastroenterologist.

Sachar completed his undergraduate education at Swarthmore College and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at Harvard University.[2][9]

He married Eliana Steimatzky and had three children: Sharon, Michele and Daniel.

Career[edit]

Sachar was a full-time faculty member of the Department of History and the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University for 40 years.[1] He was also a visiting professor at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, and a guest lecturer at nearly 150 other universities in North America, Europe, South Africa and Egypt.[2] In 1996 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He also received the National Jewish Book Award on two separate occasions.[2] In 1977, for A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time and in 1982 for Egypt and Israel.[10]

In 1961 Sachar founded Brandeis University's Jacob Hiatt Institute in Jerusalem,[2] one of the first study-abroad programs in Israel,[1] and served as its director until 1964.[2] Through his connections with the United States Foreign Service, where he worked as a consultant and lecturer on Middle Eastern Affairs,[2] he was able to obtain funding for the Jacob Hiatt Institute from the U.S. State Department in 1965.[1]

He was a member of the American Historical Association as well as one dozen editorial boards and commissions. In addition to his books, he was editor-in-chief of the 39-volume The Rise of Israel: A documentary history.[2]

Howard Sachar died at his home in Kensington, Maryland, on April 18, 2018, aged 90.[11]

Political position[edit]

Sachar was a member of the advisory council of the pro-peace lobbying organization J Street and an advocate of the two-state solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[12]

Works[edit]

  • The Course of Modern Jewish History (1959; updated 1990)[13] Lib. of Cong. Cat. No. 58-67-57
  • Aliyah: The peoples of Israel (1961)[14] Lib. of Cong. Cat. No. 61-12017
  • From the Ends of the Earth: The peoples of Israel (1964)[15] Lib. of Cong. Cat. No. 64-12064
  • The Emergence of the Middle East: 1914–1924 (1969) [16] Lib. of Cong. Cat. No. 76-79349
  • Europe Leaves the Middle East, 1936–1954 (1972)[17]
  • A History of Israel: From the rise of Zionism to our time (1976; 3rd edition 2007)[18]
  • The Man on the Camel: A novel (1980)[19]
  • Egypt and Israel (1981)[20]
  • Diaspora: An inquiry into the contemporary Jewish world (1985)[21]
  • A History of Israel, Volume II: From the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War (1987)[22]
  • The Rise of Israel: A documentary record from the nineteenth century to 1948 : a facsimile series reproducing over 1,900 documents in 39 volumes, Volume 1 (1987)[23]
  • A History of the Jews in America (1992)[24]
  • Farewell Espana: The world of the Sephardim remembered (1994; reprinted 1995)[25]
  • Israel and Europe: An Appraisal in History (1998; reprinted 2000)[26]
  • Dreamland: Europeans and Jews in the aftermath of the Great War (2002; reprinted 2003)[27]
  • A History of the Jews in the Modern World (2005; reprinted 2006)[28]
  • The Assassination of Europe, 1918-1942: A Political History (2004)[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Fuchs, Sam (11 September 2009). "All in the Family: Dr. Howard Sachar and the Jacob Hiatt Institute". Brandeis University. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Emeritus Faculty: Howard M. Sachar". George Washington University. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ^ Benn, Aluf (11 December 2009). "What To Read On Israeli Politics". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 31 January 2011. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. ^ Kaufmann, David (16 December 2005). "Narrative History in the Grand Tradition". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  5. ^ Zipperstein, Steven J. (4 September 2005). "'A History of the Jews in the Modern World': The Best of Times?". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  6. ^ Brown, L. Carl (1984). International Politics and the Middle East: Old rules, dangerous game. Princeton University Press. p. 290. ISBN 1-85043-000-4. howard sachar.
  7. ^ Lyons, Richard D. (25 July 1993). "Dr. Abram L. Sachar, Historian And 1st Brandeis U. President, 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  8. ^ Kirsch, Jonathan (28 December 1994). "BOOK REVIEW / HISTORY: A Poignant Celebration of a Rich Vein of Jewish History: FAREWELL ESPANA: The World of the Sephardim Remembered by Howard M. Sachar, Knopf, $30, 439 pages". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  9. ^ Silverman, Ellie (May 22, 2018). "Howard M. Sachar, GWU scholar and 'trailblazer' of Jewish history, dies at 90". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  11. ^ "Eminent historian Howard Sachar passes away at home at age 90". Jerusalem Post. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  12. ^ "Advisory Council". J Street. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  13. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1990). The Course of Modern Jewish History. Vintage Books. pp. 891 pages. ISBN 0-679-72746-9. howard sachar.
  14. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1961). Aliyah: The peoples of Israel. World Publishing Co. p. 475.
  15. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1964). From the Ends of the Earth: The peoples of Israel. World Publishing Co. p. 510.
  16. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1969). The Emergence of the Middle East: 1914–1924. Knopf. p. 518. ISBN 9780713901580.
  17. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1972). Europe Leaves the Middle East, 1936–1954. Knopf. p. 687. ISBN 0-394-46064-2.
  18. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (2007). A History of Israel: From the rise of Zionism to our time. Knopf. p. 1270. ISBN 978-0-375-71132-9.
  19. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1980). The Man on the Camel: A novel. Times Books. p. 308. ISBN 0-8129-0909-7.
  20. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1981). Egypt and Israel. R. Marek. p. 384. ISBN 0-399-90124-8.
  21. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1985). Diaspora: An inquiry into the contemporary Jewish world. Harper & Row. pp. 539. ISBN 0-06-015403-9.
  22. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1987). A History of Israel, Volume II: From the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504386-3.
  23. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley; Cohen, Michael Joseph; Friedman, Isaiah; Klieman, Aaron S. (1987). The Rise of Israel: A documentary record from the nineteenth century to 1948 : a facsimile series reproducing over 1,900 documents in 39 volumes, Volume 1. Garland Pub. ISBN 978-0-8240-4926-3.
  24. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1992). A History of the Jews in America. Knopf. p. 1051. ISBN 0-394-57353-6.
  25. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (1995). Farewell Espana: The world of the Sephardim remembered. Vintage Books. p. 464. ISBN 0-679-73846-0.
  26. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (2000). Israel and Europe: An appraisal in history. Vintage Books. p. 416. ISBN 0-679-77613-3.
  27. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (2003). Dreamland: Europeans and Jews in the aftermath of the Great War. Vintage Books. p. 400. ISBN 0-375-70829-4.
  28. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (2006). A History of the Jews in the Modern World. Vintage Books. p. 848. ISBN 1-4000-3097-8.
  29. ^ Sachar, Howard Morley (2014). The Assassination of Europe, 1918-1942. University of Toronto Press. p. 480. ISBN 978-1442609181.