We’re delighted to announce a series of lectures focusing on key issues in Israeli politics and foreign policy.
In partnership with JW3, eight online lectures will be delivered between April and June. Given by some of Israel’s leading experts, topics include political representation in Israel, Judaism and Democracy in Israel, the future of US-Israeli relations, women in the IDF, and Israel ‘s role in the oil and gas politics of the Mediterranean.
Full lecture series below with links to booking pages.
THE FOUNDATIONS & FUTURE OF THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL with Prof Jonathan Rynhold
The US and Israel have a special relationship.
Israel has received more foreign aid from the US than any other country and the US has used its veto in the UN Security Council more times for Israel than for any other country. Why is this? Is it because of shared strategic interests, or the influence of the pro-Israel lobby in American politics, or the fact that many Americans have traditionally identified with Israel as a pioneering democracy, or for religious reasons?
This lecture will examine the questions and assess the future of the relationship in light of the changes in Israel, the Middle East and America itself.
Thurs 27th April, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN ISRAEL: THE CITIZENS’ PERSPECTIVE with Dr Liron Lavi
What does it mean for Israelis to be represented? How does it affect their support for democracy?
Political representation has been central in the design and workings of the Israeli political system since its very beginning. This representation is continually challenged by profound social and issue-based divisions and attendant collective identity dilemmas. Most recently, as Israelis went to the polls five times over the three and half years, they have witnessed the perils of representation firsthand.
The lecture will discuss representation in Israel’s political history, how Israelis perceive its perils, whether they feel well represented, on which dimensions, and by whom – the Knesset, the parties, or politicians. Finally, we will see how these perceptions of representation shape Israelis’ support for democracy and play into the polarization of Israeli politics.
Thurs 4th May, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
JUDAISM AND DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL: TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES with Dr Moshe Hellinger
This lecture will examine the tension between religion and democracy in Israeli politics and discuss how the Jewish religious tradition can underpin a religious foundation for democracy.
Dr Moshe Hellinger is currently a lecturer in political science at Bar-Ilan University. A teacher and educator, expert in Jewish political thought and in the study of Israeli society. He served as the head of the Schwartz Institute for Ethics, Judaism and State at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem, as academic head of the “Israeli Hope” programme and of the programme of dialogue between different cultural groups and as director of the Democracy and Citizenship programme at Bar-Ilan University.
Thurs 11th May, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
MOSHE DAYAN: THE MAKING OF A STRATEGIST with Dr Eitan Shamir
The lecture will explore various aspects of Moshe Dayan, one of the most influential figures in the history of the first few decades of Israel’s existence as a modern State.
At the same time, Dayan is also one of the most controversial of modern Israel’s historic individuals, though even his fiercest critics would not deny the impact Dayan had on Israel’s development. In fact, Dayan’s story is the story of the State and of Zionism. To a large extent, his personal achievements, as well as his lowest points correspond to Israel’s accomplishments and failures during the state’s initial three decades.
While Dayan never served as prime minister, in his roles as Chief of Staff, Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, he shaped the nation’s principles of security and foreign affairs on an array of key issues, most of which continue to interest us and evoke controversy to this day.
The lecture is based on a forthcoming book based on recently released archival materials and interviews which shed new light on Dayan’s involvement in key historical events.
Thurs 18th May, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
RUSSIAN-JEWISH COMMUNITY IN ISRAEL AND THE DIASPORA: IDENTITY AND POLITICS with Professor Ze’ev Khanin
Professor Khanin will examine the Identity and Politics of the Jewish community that came from Russia with all its intricacies.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than two million Jews left their home. They dispersed not only to the United States and Israel, but also to Central Europe, Canada, Australia and other places. However, about 900,000 Jews still live in post-Soviet countries. Together with the Jews who left, they form a new, transnational subethnic entity, mostly as a Russian-speaking Diaspora.
While successfully integrated in the non-Jewish surrounding (or in the Jewish State of Israel), many former Soviet Jews keep on customs, stances and networks of their own, create new cultural ideas and intervene in political and other public issues. The session will give a general overview of these trends, and try to answer the question whether this transnational entity will survive the current Russian-Ukrainian war.
Thurs 8th June, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
GOD, GIRLS AND GUNS: THE CURRENT DEBATE ON WOMEN IN COMBAT IN THE ISRAELI MILITARY with Dr Elisheva Rosman-Stollman
Israel is the only western country with mandatory conscription for women. While women have traditionally served in different postings in the Israel Defense Forces, since 1994, the roles open to women have begun to change.
While after 1948, women were stationed in what is termed as “pink collar jobs,” they have gradually moved to more combat-oriented postings, for various reasons. At the same time, this shift has not been unidirectional, and fluctuations mirror social debates within Israeli society.
This talk will follow the debate surrounding women’s military service in Israel since the pre-state (yishuv) era until the 21st century, looking at both religious and operational considerations, as well as social considerations.
Thurs 15th June, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
OIL AND GAS POLITICS IN ISRAEL AND THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN SEA with Dr Elai Rettig
Dr Rettig will focus on patterns of conflict and co-operation over newly discovered energy resources in Israel and the East Mediterranean region.
He will examine the geopolitcal implications of Israel’s different gas export options to Europe, how viable each option actually is, and how Europe’s energy crisis has affected oil and gas flows in the region.
Dr Elai Rettig is a lecturer in the Dept of Politcial Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He specialises in energy geopolitics, national security and international environmental politics. He previously served as the “Israeli Institute Teaching Fellow’ in the Dept of Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (JIMES) at Washing University in St Louis and as an adjunct lecturer of energy management in Texas.
Thurs 22nd June, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
ISRAEL’S FUTURE IN A WORLD OF CIVILISATION IDENTITIES with Dr Toby Greene
Israel was founded as a Jewish and a democratic state. Today it is caught in an internal struggle over how to balance these two characteristics.
This struggle will increasingly define not only Israel’s domestic politics, but also its international relations. Israel is not alone in this. Across the world, states are pulled between universal values of liberal democracy, and demands to preserve local, regional and even civilizational values and identities. This lecture will explore the relationship between Israel’s internal identity struggle, the intensifying global struggle over values and identities, and Israel’s international relations – including with Arab neighbours, Western states (including Britain), and the Jewish Diaspora.
Thurs 29th June, 11am, £15 – MORE DETAILS & BOOK HERE
