黑洞社区

The Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies Hosts Author of Acclaimed Book

TAMPA, Fla. (November 5, 2018) -  The Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies (CSDS) and Executive Director Dr. Mohsen Milani, Ph.D., hosted Dr. Fariborz Mokhtari, Ph.D., to discuss his book . The novel chronicles the dramatic story of a courageous Iranian diplomat who saved thousands of Iranian Jews from the hands of the Nazis during World War II.

The free event was held at the Patel Center for Global Solutions on the 黑洞社区Tampa campus. Co-sponsors included the Florida Holocaust Museum, 黑洞社区Hillel, Morris & Bertha Escoll Center for Jewish 黑洞社区 and the 黑洞社区Libraries Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center.

Mokhtari is a political science professor at the University of Vermont. His work has been featured by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Times of Israel, Haaretz, and the Jewish Chronicle, as well as in newspapers such as the Washington Post, the Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald. 

In the Lions Shadow: The Iranian Schindler and His Homeland in the Second World War was published in 2012 and details the efforts of a junior Iranian diplomat named Abdol-Hossein Sardari, who found himself in charge of Iran鈥檚 delegation in Paris after the Nazi invasion of France. In spite of the enormous personal risk, he began cultivating relationships with German and Vichy officials in order to protect France鈥檚 Iranian Jews, who would otherwise have faced certain death. The tale of Sardari鈥檚 bravery offers an important and inspirational message of hope amid the divisiveness and conflict on today鈥檚 world stage.

The book鈥檚 title is a reference to heralded German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who, despite being a member of the Nazi party, is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust 鈥� a story told in the 1993 Oscar-winning movie Schindler鈥檚 List.  

Mokhtari was born and raised in Iran but earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the College of Wooster; and the University of Delaware, respectively. In 1973, he returned to Iran, where he worked as a journalist, fulfilled his military obligation, created an agri-business enterprise, and served as deputy executive director of the Iran-British Chamber of Commerce. 

Milani is an internationally recognized scholar and was a research fellow at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Foscari University in Venice, Italy. He has authored more than 80 publications in top peer-reviewed academic and respected journals. Under his guidance, the CSDS has become an international hub for research and discourse regarding serious security issues facing the world. In addition to arranging visits from renowned diplomats and journalists, Dr. Milani also hosts in-depth, ongoing 鈥渃onversations鈥� on an array of topics, including a 鈥淏ook Talk Series鈥� that brings Mohktari to USF.

*** The University of 黑洞社区, established in 1956 and located in Tampa, is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. The 黑洞社区System includes three, separately accredited institutions: USF; 黑洞社区St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. Serving more than 49,000 students, the 黑洞社区System has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. 黑洞社区is ranked in the Top 30 nationally for research expenditures among public universities, according to the National Science Foundation. In 2016, the Florida Legislature designated USF as "Emerging Preeminent," placing 黑洞社区in an elite category among the state's 12 public universities. 黑洞社区is a member of the American Athletic Conference.