Nehemia Levtzion ( he, נחמיה לבציון; November 24, 1935 — August 15, 2003) was an Israeli scholar of
African history
The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (''Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of dive ...
, Near East, Islamic, and African studies, and the President of the
Open University of Israel
The Open University of Israel ( he, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CH ...
from 1987 to 1992 and the Executive Director of the
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (VLJI) is a center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture, and education. The Institute was established in to create a body of knowledge and discourseto ...
from 1994 to 1997.
Early and personal life
Levtzion was born in the
moshav
A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...
of
Be'er Tuvia
Be'er Tuvia ( he, בְּאֵר טוֹבִיָּה, ''Be'er Toviya'', "Tuvia's Well") is a moshav in the Southern District of Israel. Located near the city of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In its ...
.
His parents were Pnina (née Perlow) and Aron Lubetski, who later changed their surname to Levtzion, and he had an older sister named Hanna.
He was Jewish, and had four children.
["Nehemia Levtzion; 1935—2003,"](_blank)
''Sudanic Africa'', 14, 2003, 21-32. His wife Tirtza was a teacher and deputy head of Jerusalem's
Gymnasia Rehavia
Rehavia Gymnasium or the Jerusalem Rehavia Gymnasium, by its Hebrew name Gymnasia Rehavia ( he, גמנסיה רחביה, Gimnazya Rehavya), is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem.
History
The high school's initial name wa ...
high school in Jerusalem.
They lived for a time in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, where he studied the spread of Islam in Africa;
the family also lived in
Beit Hakerem in Jerusalem.
Levtzion completed a dissertation at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
in 1965.
Career
Levtzion was a scholar of
African history
The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (''Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of dive ...
, Near East, Islamic, and African studies, and especially
Islam in Africa
Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed faith behind Christianity. Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from Southwest Asia, during the early 7th century CE. Almost one-third of the world's Muslim popula ...
.
He taught at (starting in 1965) and was Professor of History and Asian and African Studies and the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities (1978-1981) at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, the Director of the
Ben-Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the East (1982-1987), the President of the
Open University of Israel
The Open University of Israel ( he, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CH ...
(1987-1992), the Executive Director of the
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (VLJI) is a center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture, and education. The Institute was established in to create a body of knowledge and discourseto ...
(1994-1997), and the Chairman of the
Council for Higher Education in Israel
The Council for Higher Education in Israel ( he, המועצה להשכלה גבוהה, ''HaMo'atza LeHaskala Gevoha'') is a supervisory body for universities and colleges in Israel. It is the only organization with the authority to award academic ...
’s Planning and Budgeting Committee (1997-2003).
The Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies was established at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2004.
Selected publications
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Further reading
* McDougall, E. Ann, ed. (2014).
Engaging with a Legacy: Nehemia Levtzion (1935-2003)'. Routledge. .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levtzion, Nehemia
Open University of Israel faculty
20th-century Israeli historians
20th-century Israeli educators
1935 births
2003 deaths
People from Jerusalem
Deans (academic)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty
Presidents of universities in Israel
Moshavniks
People from Southern District (Israel)
Historians of Africa
Historians of Islam
Alumni of the University of London
Israeli male writers
Israeli expatriates in Ghana
Israeli expatriates in the United Kingdom