Israel to host 44th International Congress of Military History
Over 150 guests expected to come from across the world
By ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: AUGUST 28, 2018 00:14IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
More than 150 guests from Israel and abroad representing 27 defense ministries are expected at the 44th International Congress of Military History, being held September 2-9 at the Yearim Hotel in Kibbutz Ma’ale Hachamisha west of Jerusalem.“We are proud to host the annual conference of the International Association for Military History,” said Col. (res.) Benny Michelson, chairman of the Israeli Military History Association. “This is the first time that an academic conference of this magnitude has been held in Israel by representatives of security institutions from around the world.”The conference, which marks the centenary of the armistice ending World War One and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel and the IDF, will examine the creation of new states and the collapse of old empires.“These two events provide an opportunity to discuss the end of the First World War and the large number of countries that followed, and the birth of states in a war of independence, as in the case of Israel,” read a statement released by Israel’s Ministry of Defense.The International Association of Military History, established in France in 1938, today comprises 41 member countries.The association aims to improve the discourse between the military establishments of various countries, and strives for peace by discussing the injustices and human suffering of past wars.“While searching relentlessly for peace, I am fully aware that the study of the past provides a better understanding of the present and enables a preparation for the future,” said Michelson.In addition to the lectures by military historians, conference participants will visit the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv, the Yad La-Shiryon (armored corps museum) at Latrun, and the Crusader fortifications in Acre.