Under Quarantine: Immigrants and Disease at Israel's Gate

presented by Rhona Seidelman, Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma. Under Quarantine tells the story of Shaar Ha’aliya, a central immigrant processing camp that opened shortly after Israel became an independent state. This historic gateway for Jewish migration was surrounded by a controversial barbed wire fence. The camp administrators defended this imposing barrier as a necessary quarantine measure - even as detained immigrants regularly defied it by crawling out of the camp and returning at will. Professor Seidelman will explore the history of Shaar Ha’aliya and the remarkable experiences of the immigrants who went through it. The focus on the conflicts surrounding the medical quarantine at Shaar Ha’aliya will allow us to explore how this history can be of value during the Covid-19 pandemic, as we live through this critical moment in quarantine history.