Fordham-NYPL Lecture Series in Jewish Studies: Jacob Beckert, “New York Capital and the Making of the State of Israel”

In the 1920s and 1930s, British-ruled Palestine captured the imagination of Western investors, transforming it from a distant land of religious pilgrimage into a promising frontier of economic opportunity. Driven by a mix of religious sentiment, humanitarianism, and the allure of profitable investments, Palestine became a site for ambitious economic ventures.

Central to this movement was a small but influential circle of wealthy New York Jews who established the Palestine Economic Corporation (PEC). These prominent figures, including notable New Yorkers such as Felix Warburg, Herbert Lehman, and Louis Marshall, envisioned Palestine not as a Jewish national home but as a refuge for Jewish refugees at a time when most nations were shutting their doors. By emphasizing investment over charity, they sought to distance themselves from Zionism, a controversial movement in the Jewish world at the time, and maintain what they claimed to be a “non-political” approach to the region.

Yet, despite their stated neutrality, the PEC’s economic initiatives deeply influenced the region’s trajectory, playing a critical role in the establishment of Jewish settlements and infrastructure. In fact, their ostensibly apolitical investments inadvertently placed them at the heart of the region’s unfolding inter-ethnic tensions and the eventual establishment of the State of Israel.

Join us for this fascinating exploration of New York’s economic influence in shaping modern Israel, revealing how the complex interplay between finance, politics, and humanitarianism laid the groundwork for one of the twentieth century’s most significant geopolitical events.

Jacob Beckert is a historian of Israel/Palestine, American Jewish history, and global capitalism. His research focuses on the complex intersections of economic development, finance, and political transformation in Israel/Palestine, particularly how American Jewish investment shaped the region in the twentieth century. He is especially interested in the ways financial actors and institutions have influenced questions of nationalism, philanthropy, and development, often blurring the boundaries between economic and political projects. In 2025-2026, Beckert is a short-term fellow in the Fordham-NYPL Fellowship in Jewish Studies program.