Initially planned as an in-person event, Prof. Dachs lecture was held online due to the current corona situation in Austria.
Prof. Dr. Gisela Dachs is a journalist and media scientist. She received her PhD on immigrant identities and news consumption at Tel Aviv University and has been working for different newspapers, including “Die Zeit” and “NZZ am Sonntag”, for more than twenty years. Since 2016, she has been teaching and researching at the DAAD Center for German Studies and the European Forum at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Prof. Dachs focused in her talk on the Israeli society, which consisted and still consists of very different groups whose coexistence is characterized by antagonism in many respects. Prof. Dachs pointed out the resulting difficulties as well as forms of overlapping affiliations.
Dr. Ingrid Böhler and Dr. Noam Zadoff from the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck welcomed the guests virtually and moderated the discussion afterwards.
The positive effects of such an online event could be seen in the participation of about 45 people from Austria, Germany and Israel, including some Innsbruck students, currently spending their semester in Israel and therefore getting a first-hand-insight into the topic. All listened to Prof. Dachs' interesting talk and many participated in the discussion that followed.
AIANI hopes to welcome Prof. Dachs to Innsbruck as soon as the conditions allow for such a stay.
Special thanks to Dr. Ingrid Böhler and Dr. Noam Zadoff from the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck, all participants and of course, Prof. Gisela Dachs for this engaging evening event!