In Memoriam: Alon Confino

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Alon Confino, director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies (IHGMS) and professor of history and Judaic and Near Eastern studies, died June 27. A funeral will be held Tuesday, July 2, at 11 a.m. at the Congregation B’Nai Israel cemetery at 476 N King St., in Northampton.

In the fall, the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies will also host a special event to commemorate the life and legacy of Confino. It will be held at the Institute, located at 758 North Pleasant Street, in Amherst, Mass., on Friday, Sept. 20, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. 

For those not able to attend, we invite you to participate on Zoom: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/92356390931.

The program will be followed by light refreshments and conversation. For those from other time zones, here are the equivalent times to join us virtually: 15:30-17:00 UK, 16:30-18:00 Western Europe, 17:30-19:00 Israel/Palestine.

Alon Confino was an extraordinary scholar whose work influenced many in fields ranging from German and European history, to the Holocaust, Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was also a visionary director of the IHGMS who ran a wide array of innovative and timely programs. His passing was a huge loss to family, friends, and colleagues, as well as to the IHGMS and the University of Massachusetts. We will remember him as a scholar, collaborator, colleague, mentor, friend, and as a husband and father.