TUESDAY, OCT. 21
The Future of the
Peace Process
Abraham Sofaer,
Hoover Institution; Former Legal Advisor, State Dept.
Janine Zacharia,
Stanford University; Former Jerusalem Bureau Chief,
Washington Post
5 pm | Bancroft Hotel
THURSDAY, NOV. 6
ROBBINS LECTURE IN JEWISH LAW
Maimonides on Mourning:
Jewish Law and Emotion
Moshe Halbertal,
Hebrew University/NYU
5 pm | Bancroft Hotel
PUBLIC EVENTS CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10
Canada and the Holocaust:
The Untold Story
Irving Abella
University of Ottawa
12 noon | Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law
Click here to RSVP
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10
Gourmet Ghettos:
Modern Food Rituals
Exhibit Opening Event
5 pm | The Magnes
THURSDAY, NOV. 13
Piyyut: Hebrew Poetry
and World Music
Prof. Robert Alter & Yair Harel, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artist
Co-hosted by The Magnes
7 pm | The Magnes,
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Berkeley Institute Newsletter
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A Word from the Faculty Director:
The Berkeley Institute is experiencing a growth spurt. Its role as a hub for student and faculty engagement has expanded exponentially, as has the national presence of its Program on Israel Studies and its Program on Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity. Our talented staff has doubled, with the addition of Andrei Dubinsky, Program Administrator, and Leah Wagner-Edelstein, Director of Institutional Advancement. As the fall term begins, I’d like to share a taste of the past year’s accomplishments, as well as some of what’s planned for this year – ten visiting faculty and scholars, seven new courses, programs on the future of the peace process and Israeli music and culture, the Annual Robbins Lecture in Jewish Law, and two speaker series for students. And that’s just the beginning. I look forward to seeing you throughout the year.
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Four Professors – Yudof, Davidoff Solomon, Lawton, and Zilberman – Join the Institute’s Faculty
The Institute welcomes four new members to its Faculty Advisory Committee: Mark Yudof, Steven Davidoff Solomon, Leora Lawton, and David Zilberman. Two hail from law: Mark Yudof, former UC President, is a leading scholar of education law, while Davidoff Solomon studies international issues of law and finance. Lawton, a demographer, heads the Berkeley Population Center and has extensive experience in Israel. Zilberman is a leading environmental economist working on water resources in the Middle East. Their addition to our faculty contributes greatly to the Institute’s programmatic scope, its resources for student advising, and its academic breadth.
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Welcoming Ten Visiting Faculty and Scholars
In addition to new faculty affiliates, the Institute has brought ten visiting faculty and scholars to spend the 2014-2015 year at Berkeley. Four Israeli visiting faculty will teach courses in History, Sociology, Environmental Policy, and Legal Studies. Six additional scholars –
American and Israeli – will conduct research and contribute to the Institute’s ongoing programs.
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Bidding Farewell to our 2013-2014 Visiting Professors:
As   we welcome our new visiting faculty, we also say goodbye and thank you to our 2013-2014 visitors, Lisa and Douglas Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor Sharon Aronson-Lehavi and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Visiting Professor Amnon Lehavi. Their courses greatly enriched Jewish and Israel Studies offerings on campus – engaging with topics in contemporary Israeli art and culture and Israeli law and society – and touched the lives of the many students they taught and advised and faculty with whom they collaborated. We are grateful for their many contributions in and outside the classroom during their year at Cal.
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Expanding the Student Focus: Student Fellows, Programs, and Support
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Ambassador Dennis Ross meeting with
Berkeley students
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The Berkeley Institute has over the past year magnified its resources and programming for students. Highlights include student programs with Ambassador Dennis Ross and Israeli writer Ari Shavit, and the facilitation of a successful student-initiated course, “Paradigms of Jewish Identity.” The Institute is expanding these programs this year and offering two lecture series for students. “Different Angles on the Middle East Conflict” will host discussions with campus and community experts. “Religion, Law, and State in Israel” will bring distinguished scholars and public intellectuals to Berkeley for student-focused talks. These programs will supplement the seven Israel and Jewish Studies courses supported this year by the Institute.
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Undergraduate Fellows
Tiana (left) and Mallory (right) |
Spring 2014 semester also saw the launch of the Institute’s Undergraduate Fellows program. Our Fellows serve as ambassadors of the Institute to the rest of the student body, promoting student engagement with the Institute’s existing courses, programs, and activities, and working with others in the student body to develop student-focused programming.
Examples of Fellows’ involvement include:
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Students conduct staged theater reading
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- Staffing and promoting the Institute’s programs
- Coordinating student events including a panel discussion on Israeli Start-Ups, the multicultural celebration “From India to Israel,” and a staged theater reading for Yom Hashoah
- Planning an Israeli film series for Fall 2014
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2013-2014 in Review: A Year of Landmark Programming:
The Institute achieved new programming heights in 2013-2014, attracting collaborations from across the Cal campus.
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Professor Michael Walzer at Berkeley
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Fall 2013: In the fall, the Institute hosted Fania Oz-Salzberger, Professor of History at the University of Haifa, who spoke about her new book, Jews and Words, written with her father, novelist Amoz Oz. Later in the semester, leading American political thinker Michael Walzer gave the Fifth Annual Robbins Collection Lecture: “What We Can Learn from the Jewish Political Tradition?” Fall public programming concluded with Ambassador Dennis Ross speaking before a packed audience about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, before meeting a group of Berkeley students for an in-depth dinner discussion.
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Dean Joan Bieder and Ari Shavit in conversation
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Spring 2014: Spring semester highlights included a series, co-hosted by the Graduate School of Journalism, on “Covering Israel.” Associate Journalism Dean Joan Bieder moderated discussions with three contemporary journalists: award-winning author and Ha’aretz columnist Ari Shavit; Ha’aretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn; and Janine Zacharia, former Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the Washington Post.
 In March, the Institute hosted an international conference titled “Israeli and Palestinian Waterways: History, Politics, and Technology of Water and Environment in the Middle East,” drawing seven institutional partners from across campus and beyond. Spring programs concluded during the week of Yom HaShoah with a staged reading of the play by Robert Skloot If the Whole Body Dies: Raphael Lemkin and the Treaty against Genocide.
Many of the Institute’s public programs, including the lectures by Ambassador Ross and Michael Walzer, the Journalism series, and the international conference, were recorded and are available for viewing online.
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Thank you to our supporters!
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Contact Information
Faculty Director
Kenneth A. Bamberger
Professor of Law
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Executive Director
Rebecca Golbert
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Director of Institutional Advancement
Leah Wagner-Edelstein, MA
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Program Administrator
Andrei Dubinsky
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For more information check our website at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/JLILES.htm
Follow us on Facebook
or contact Andrei Dubinsky at adubinsky@law.berkeley.edu
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Online Israel Studies Bulletin Board 