Jewish History Nerds

Was Albert Einstein a Zionist?

Jewish History Nerds

Show Notes

Jewish History Nerds is a Signal Awards finalist. Vote for us in Listener's Choice by Thu 15 Oct: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/individual-episodes/genre/history

In part 2, Schwab and Yael explore Einstein's fight with Nazism, his views on Zionism, and his complicated connection to Israel reveal a side of Einstein most people never hear about. Einstein wasn’t just a scientific genius. As Nazi power rose, he became a target, a refugee, and a more outspoken Jewish figure.

Listen to Part 1: https://unpacked.media/albert-einstein-rebel-reject-genius-part-1/

Watch Part 1 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qr4zrGhf0cE?si=QiJysAvyXC09NCBJ

Be in touch. Write to us at [email protected]. We really want to hear from you.

Sources on Einstein and Zionism:

⁠⁠Einstein, His Space and Times, by Steven Gimbel⁠⁠

⁠Einstein on Israel and Zionism by Fred Jerome⁠

⁠Ein­stein Before Israel: Zion­ist Icon or Iconoclast? By Ze’ev Rosenkranz⁠

⁠Link to learn more about the history of Einstein and Yeshiva University⁠

Here is a summary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fjLz8yoDfeIwoJ3Ce09Bxq2jJlwBx-5aXjItaCJtPdc/edit?usp=sharing

Watch Yael and Schwab on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and check out the video of this episode.

This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media. Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out Unpacked on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Visit jewishlives.org to explore and buy books from the Jewish Lives book series. Use the discount code JLIFE to get a discount.

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