Paper short abstract:

In my presentation, I will discuss and demonstrate how through the connections and encounters of Gandhi and especially Tagore with the Jewish world, and their different approaches of Judaism, it is possible to examine the reciprocal understanding of the Indian and Jewish cultures at the time.

Paper long abstract:

Long Abstract

The most prominent Indian personalities in the Indian-Jewish cultural encounter were Mahatma Gandhi, and the poet and prose writer Rabindranath Tagore , who became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1913. Both Gandhi and Tagore had close and long lasting relationships with prominent Jewish personalities, but their conceptions of Judaism and of Zionism were different. Gandhi's closest supporters in the time of his struggle in South Africa were Jews, such as Herman Kallenbach and Henry Polak. In the late 30th , Gandhi even considered to mediate between Jews and Arabs. Still, he consistently objected Zionism. On the other hand, Tagore, within the context of his exploration of East-West relations, was supportive of Zionist ideals, and expressed interest in the unique role the Jewish people might play in bridging the gap between East and West. Tagore had a wide social network, which included personal contact with Jewish individuals, such as the Sanskrit scholars Moriz Winternitz, Sylvian Levy, The Yiddish author Peretz Hirshbein, Hebrew kindergarden teacher Shlomit Plauom, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, and many others. In my presentation, I will discuss and demonstrate how through the connections and encounters of Gandhi and especially Tagore with the Jewish world, and their different approaches of Judaism, it is possible to examine the reciprocal understanding of the Indian and Jewish cultures at the time.