The Herzog - Toynbee Debate 

The Herzog-Toynbee Debate. Date: January 31, 1961. Location: McGill University.

An excerpt from, “When an Israeli Ambassador Debated a British Historian on Israel’s Legitimacy—and Won” By Yair Rosenberg, Tablet, January 31, 2014:

It’s a familiar chain of events: A prominent scholar and public intellectual visits an elite college campus to speak to students. In his remarks, he shocks his audience and the Jewish community by questioning the right of the Jewish people to a state, and asserting that the Zionist treatment of the Palestinians is morally equivalent to the Nazi treatment of the Jews. Naturally, the address elicits strong condemnation from the local Israeli ambassador.

But this is 1961, not 2014. The setting is Montreal, where the famed British historian Arnold Toynbee, a specialist in international affairs, delivered a controversial lecture to students at McGill University. And the story didn’t end with an exchange of op-eds, press releases, and public apologies. Instead, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Yaacov Herzog, responded by challenging Toynbee to a public debate, just five days after his initial comments. On Jan. 31—53 years ago today—the two squared off at McGill’s Hillel House for an exchange that was broadcast live across the country and later that evening in Israel.

Shimon Peres has called the ensuing disputation “one of the most dramatic debates in the history of our people.” Last week, in welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Israel, Herzog’s nephew Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, cited the event from the Knesset podium. Yet as the years pass, fewer and fewer have even heard of it.

On its anniversary, the debate between the scholar and the diplomat is worth revisiting, not only because its terms remain fresh, but because it offers a way of talking about Israel that has largely been lost.

Video Title: Herzog – Toynbee Debate (1/6). Source: halbanpublishers. Date Published: June 22, 2021. Description:

A rabbi, erudite scholar, and gifted diplomat, Yaacov Herzog was one of the shining stars in Israel’s leadership. He served as a close advisor to four Israeli prime ministers, and was ambassador to Canada. Herzog became best known for his public debate with renowned British historian Professor Arnold Toynbee, who had described the Jews as a “fossilized” nation and compared Israel’s military actions against Palestinians to Nazi atrocities. Herzog immediately invited Toynbee to a public debate, reminiscent of medieval debates between Jewish and Christian scholars. Herzog’s performance bested Toynbee and won international accolades. For more information about Herzog, see Michael Bar-Zohar’s excellent biography of this formidable Jewish statesman: https://www.halbanpublishers.com/nonf… 

Audio Copyright © 1961 by the estates of Arnold Toynbee and Yaacov Herzog. ℗ 2005 by Halban Publishers Recording courtesy of Sony/CBS