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Brandeis University

Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus: The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise 2005-09 Annette Koren Emily Einhorn

January 2010

 Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

© 2010 Brandeis University Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies Additional copies of this publication are available from: Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies Brandeis University Mailstop 014 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 781.736.2060 www.brandeis.edu/cmjs

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Acknowledgments  Support for this study was provided by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The authors wish to thank members of the staff of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies for their contributions: research specialist, Monica Pevzner, and student research assistant, Hillary Nelson, for data analysis; senior research analyst, Graham Wright, for managing data collection, and managing editor, Deborah Grant, for carefully reading this report and providing many helpful suggestions. We also thank Professor Leonard Saxe for his guidance and critical feedback.

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Table of Contents  List of Tables and Figures .........................................................................................................................iv Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................3 Increasing Course Offerings About Israel ...............................................................................................5 University Participation ..........................................................................................................................5 VIP Expertise ..........................................................................................................................................8 Courses and Student Enrollment .........................................................................................................9 Creating Greater Understanding of Israel—In the Classroom ......................................................... 13 Motivation ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Student Experiences ............................................................................................................................ 14 Perception of Learning........................................................................................................................ 14 Interest in future study ....................................................................................................................... 16 Creating Greater Understanding of Israel—Beyond the Classroom ................................................ 19 Extracurricular Activities—On Campus .......................................................................................... 19 Extracurricular Activities—Off Campus.......................................................................................... 21 Conferences .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Media Appearances .............................................................................................................................. 23 Impact on the Field of Israel Studies..................................................................................................... 27 The Future of Israel Courses at AICE Universities........................................................................ 27 Israel Scholars—The Next Generation ............................................................................................ 30 Policy Issues .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Notes .......................................................................................................................................................... 37 References.................................................................................................................................................. 39 Appendix A: Facts and Figures (2005-06 through 2008-09) .............................................................. 41 Appendix B: Tables of Courses, Schusterman Israel Scholars Awards Recipients, and Universities ................................................................................................................................... 43

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List of Tables and Figures   Table 1: Courses, Students, and Average Enrollment by Topics 2008-09 .......................................11 Table 2: AICE 2008-09 Universities in 2009-10 ...................................................................................29 Figure 1: Universities by Israel-focused Courses in Addition to Those Offered by VIPs (2008-09) ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Figure 2: AICE VIP Universities by Size of Undergraduate Population (2005-09) .......................... 6 Figure 3: Universities by Size of Jewish Undergraduate Population (2005-09) ................................. 6 Figure 4: Number of Years Universities Have Hosted AICE VIPs (2005-06 through 2008-09) ................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 5: VIPs’ Areas of Expertise ........................................................................................................... 8 Figure 6: Number of Courses Offered by VIPs ..................................................................................... 9 Figure 7: Percentage of Courses by Class Size 2008-09 ......................................................................10 Figure 8: Number of Courses by Home Department 2008-09 ..........................................................12 Figure 9: Extracurricular Activities on Campus....................................................................................20 Figure 10: Sponsoring Organizations for Extracurricular Activities Off Campus ..........................22 Figure 11: Extracurricular Activities Off Campus................................................................................22 Figure 12: Conference Activities .............................................................................................................23 Figure 13: Media Appearances by VIPs .................................................................................................24 Figure 14: Visiting Professors and Teaching Postdoctoral Fellows 2005-09 ...................................28 Table A- 1: Overall Statistics 2005-06 through 2008-09 .....................................................................41 Table A-2: Length of VIPs’ Participation in AICE Program .............................................................41 Table A-3: Table A-3: Length of Host Universities’ Participation in AICE Program ....................41 Table A-4: Table A-4: Sponsorship of AICE VIPs .............................................................................41 Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic ..............................................43 Table B-2: Schusterman Israel Scholar Award Recipients 2005-06 through 2009-10 ....................48 Table B-3: Universities with AICE VIPs 2005-06 through 2009-10 .................................................51

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Executive Summary  The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, through the Israel Scholar Development Fund of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), brings highly qualified Israeli academics to the United States to teach about Israel. The Foundation also supports American graduate students pursuing Israel-related research topics. The Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professors program began in 2006 with eight visiting professors. Through 2008-09, a total of 52 visiting professors and teaching post-doctoral fellows (VIPs) taught at 40 different American colleges and universities.¹ This study, which represents three years of tracking VIPs and graduate fellows (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09) reveals enthusiasm for the program—the classes, extracurricular activities, and graduate fellowships—as well as challenges and policy opportunities. In its first four years, the program has had a significant influence on host institutions and their students, local and national communities, and the field of Israel Studies. Institutions The VIP program has contributed to a growing appetite for learning about Israeli culture, government, and society, as evidenced by strong enrollment in the courses of visiting professors. It has promoted the study of Israel as a normative element of the curriculum of higher education and has stimulated the desire, if not always the capability, of departments at host institutions to expand the teaching of Israel through permanent chairs or visiting chairs of Israel Studies.

Students The program exposed over 4800 students at 40 universities across the United States to Israel-focused courses with Israeli professors.² It has enabled these students to have firsthand experience studying Israel and getting to know Israeli professors. Further, for most of the students interviewed, VIP courses have stimulated interest in further study of Israel and the desire to travel or live there. Campus, local, and national communities The VIPs, from a range of academic disciplines, have given presentations from a range of academic disciplines to students, faculty, local community members, and national academic conference attendees in a variety of venues. These events demonstrate the excellence of Israeli scholarship and serve to raise the level of discourse about Israel both on and off campus. Israel Studies The Schusterman Israel Scholars Awards program has provided funding and professional development for graduate students studying about Israel. These graduate students—some now PhDs—credit the Schusterman funding and the contacts and professional development of the Schusterman Conference with enabling them to complete their research and attain their degrees. In 2008-09, several graduate students found positions at prestigious academic institutions. The program’s success is evident in the enthusiasm of the VIPs’ students, their department chairs, and university

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administrators. Other quantifiable indicators of success include: the number of courses offered, the depth and breadth of the subject areas, the numbers of students enrolled, the number and variety of extracurricular activities on and off campus, and the large number of individuals reached by the work of the VIPs in the public arena. The research raises a number of policy issues: • AICE places VIPs in a variety of departments and different kinds of institutions—large and small, public and private, and in places with small or negligible Jewish populations. AICE places professors in institutions with a range of existing Israel-related course offerings—from those that offer almost nothing except their VIP courses to those with extensive course listings related to Israel. This raises the issue of priorities: Which universities and departments should host the VIPs? In addition, AICE has institutions with more than one VIP and institutions that host for two or three years. Should AICE place professors in the same institutions for multiple years or enable students at a broader range of universities to have the opportunity to learn about Israel?



Interest in course topics, rather than the opportunity to study with Israelis, motivates students to enroll in the VIPs’ courses. Students may not even be aware that the professors are Israelis when they register. This fact suggests that the goals of the program could potentially be met with non-Israeli professors, assuming the requisite familiarity with the subject.



Although almost all VIPs were wellmatched to their institutions, one or two problem placements occurred each year. AICE and host colleges and universities need to work together to assure that the background and expertise of the VIPs meet the needs and expectations of the hosting institutions and departments.

This study documents the program’s success and explores some of these challenges. Overall, the picture is one of accomplishment. Measuring the extent to which the atmosphere on campus toward Israel has changed requires additional time and a larger study. In the meantime, however, this research explores the implementation of the program and its immediate impact on institutions, students, and the field of Israel Studies.

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Introduction  The Israel Scholar Development Fund of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) is supported by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (CLSFF) along with six individual funders and foundations.3 In order to address a lack of scholarly discourse about Israel on campuses in the United States, AICE and its funders bring Israeli academics with expertise in Israel Studies to colleges and universities across the country. AICE has three immediate goals: • To expose students at colleges and universities to information about modern Israel—its culture, society, and political environment—through the placement of Israeli academics in temporary positions on campuses in the United States • To enable these VIPs to take an active role in the public arena, portraying on and off campus an honest picture of the Zionist enterprise • To provide impetus and support for American students to pursue graduate work in the study of Israel AICE also seeks to achieve longer-term outcomes: • To stimulate further study about Israel and to help students become more sophisticated consumers of media coverage of the region • To help students and others develop an understanding and appreciation of Israeli culture, government, and society along with a recognition of the domestic and international challenges the country continues to face



To motivate host institutions to continue to expand the presentation of Israel Studies in an academically sound fashion and help them become places where balanced and reasoned discussion of Israel can take place

AICE works to achieve these outcomes through four strategies: 1. AICE creates a match between Israeli academics seeking temporary appointments in the United States and universities seeking individuals who can teach about Israel. This means advertising to the Israeli academic community in order to create a list of prospects and marketing the program to American academic institutions. AICE provides department chairs with individuals it believes are qualified and appropriate for teaching in the United States. No political litmus test is applied, but VIPs do need to accept the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. AICE markets the program to American academic leadership—chairs of departments and university administrators—through its contacts and word-of-mouth. In this way, AICE places its fellows in Jewish Studies, history, political science, Middle East Studies, and other departments. 2. AICE provides consultation to VIPs to help them navigate the American media and speak publicly about Israel in their Jewish and larger communities. 3. AICE administers grants to graduate students pursuing PhDs with a focus on Israel. Students do not have to be in a

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department or program of Israel Studies, but they are required to use the grant to study Israel.

evidence that many university departments of Middle East Studies provide nothing more than one-sided, polemical treatments of Israel.

4. AICE provides conferences and other opportunities for VIPs to meet with each other and with graduate fellows. These venues serve as forums for discussing experiences and challenges that arise in American classrooms and extracurricular situations. They provide space and time for VIPs to help the fellows with their graduate work and preparation for entry into the academic market.

In order to address this lack of scholarly discourse about Israel on campuses in the United States, AICE and its funders bring individuals who teach about Israel in an academically rigorous manner to colleges and universities.

AICE began this work in 2005-06, but the reasons for establishing the program and continuing its work remain salient. In 200809, campuses experienced a resurgence of anti -Israel propaganda activities (Israeli apartheid walls, etc.) stirred by the war in Gaza. These incidents occurred at campuses with a history of such activity such as Columbia, San Francisco State, and UC Berkeley (Tobin et al., 2005) but also at campuses where antiIsrael activity was less expected such as Emory University, University of Pennsylvania, and Boston College. Israel is a heterogeneous and complex society in the center of a political maelstrom, generating significant media attention but little serious study: “Americans gain their knowledge of these complex issues through overly simplified television and radio sound bites or the print media, which are not always well informed and often derivative” (Reinharz, 2003). Yet in many universities, no faculty member is available to provide a scholarly approach to Israel. In a report on campus antisemitism, the United States Commission on Civil Rights (2006) found substantial

This study, which represents three years of tracking VIPs and graduate fellows, relies on annual surveys of the VIPs, interviews with the chairs of departments in which the VIPs served, interviews with five students from each of ten participating universities, and written reports from graduate fellows. The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) research team has also relied on its update of In Search of Israel Studies (2006), currently in preparation. This report is in five sections. The first discusses the implementation of the program: the kinds of universities and colleges hosting VIPs and the courses they have offered. The second section discusses the extent to which the VIPs appear to be changing the way students understand Israel and their plans to learn more about the state and its people. The third section reports on the work of VIPs beyond the classroom on campus, in the local Jewish community, and in the public arena more broadly. The fourth section deals with AICE’s two-pronged contribution to the expansion of Israel Studies: 1) building commitment from host universities to continue Israel-related course offerings and 2) helping graduate students prepare for careers in the field. A final section presents conclusions and policy issues for the future.

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Increasing Course Offerings about Israel  AICE has unquestionably reached its goal of disseminating Israel courses in the United States. This can be measured in the expansion of the number of universities hosting VIPs, the rapid increase in the number of courses offered through AICE, and the sizeable numbers of students learning about Israel as a result. Students are learning about Israel not only as part of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but as a democracy, a society, and a culture worth studying comparatively and in and of itself. This section describes these three areas of success. University Participation AICE has had considerable success in reaching large, prestigious, and diverse campuses across the United States. In 2008-09 it had 33 VIPs teaching at 31 different schools, ranging in geographic diversity from Harvard University in the east and UCLA in the west to the University of Minnesota in the north and Tulane University in the south.

Twenty of the 40 schools served by AICE since 2005-06 were ranked among the top 50 national universities by U.S. News and World Report in 2008-09.4 VIPs teach at institutions with substantial numbers of Israel-related course offerings, such as NYU and the University of Florida, but also at schools with few or no courses. Of the 31 institutions that hosted VIPs in 2008-09, nine offered five or more Israelrelated courses in addition to those taught by the VIP. Six hosting institutions offered no courses about Israel other than the ones taught by the VIP (Figure 1). Most institutions that have hosted AICE VIPs have large undergraduate populations; 69% have more than 10,000 undergraduates (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Universities by Israel-focused Courses in Addition to Those Offered by VIPs (2008-09)

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Figure 2: AICE VIP Universities by Size of Undergraduate Population (2005-09)

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Most have substantial Jewish populations as well (Figure 3).5 Half of the universities that hosted AICE VIPs from 2005-06 through 2008-09 had more than 1000 Jewish undergraduates. Jews comprised more than 11% of the undergraduate populations at more than half (57%) of the VIP institutions.

Florida and NYU have very large Jewish populations. Local Jewish communities around the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) and Notre Dame (South Bend) are small while those of New York and Boston are sizeable and offer rich Jewish resources to draw on.

Only Rutgers University in Newark and Notre Dame had relatively few Jews; University of Figure 3: Universities by Size of Jewish Undergraduate Population (2005-09)

5% 12% 28%

0 or unknown 25%

30%

>0-4% 5-10% 11-20% >20%

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

The placement of VIPs entails numerous steps. The program must find institutions able and willing to provide matching funds, create the right pairing between the institution and the VIP, and prioritize institutions that can take fullest advantage of the program. The Schusterman VIPs are required to teach four courses a year with at least two on Israel.6 Teaching postdoctoral fellows received lower salaries and were required to teach two courses per year. The host universities are required to match the foundation’s contribution to salary and provide benefits. In 2009-10, due to the worsening economic climate, CLSFF exercised leniency regarding the universities’ financial contributions. The full match requirement was relaxed, although universities were still required to make a significant contribution. Including the cost of health benefits, host universities provided, on average, 46% of salaries (Interview with Mitchell Bard, 9.24.09). Nonetheless, some department chairs have had difficulty finding matching funds. A second challenge is matching the VIPs to the universities’ specific needs. In almost all cases, department chairs praised Mitchell Bard’s consultation and advice on placement, but in situations with time pressure and communication over vast distances, and given the large number of placements, some have been less successful than others. AICE also faces an issue of prioritization of the kinds of universities and departments that should host the VIPs. Should AICE place

professors in the same institutions for multiple years or enable students at a broader range of universities to have the opportunity to learn about Israel? Several department chairs and VIPs argue that continuity assures higher enrollment and greater value in the long term. These individuals note that establishing a reputation with students and finding the right mix of courses for the university requires an investment in time. Providing support for a longer time frame also enables VIPs to learn about the local communities and strengthen ties for speaking engagements and other extracurricular activities. A third argument for concentrating resources is to provide opportunities for deeper study of Israel for graduate students capable of building the field of Israel Studies in the future. On the other hand, 52 VIPs have served 40 universities, and some of these institutions already had substantial Israel offerings, and more than a few have already had more than a year with an AICE professor (Figure 4). Some have had the same VIP for two or, more rarely, three years, and others have had different VIPs.7

If someone comes for a year, you can’t tell anything about enrollment. Students don’t know them. There’s no positive word of mouth about them….Once someone is here for more than a year, courses tend to fill and departments are receptive. —Jewish Studies department chair

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Figure 4: Number of Years Universities Have Hosted AICE VIPs (2005-06 through 2008-09)

23% 4 7%

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30%

Despite this apparent concentration of resources, AICE has been able to place VIPs at 40 universities and has expanded from two appointments its first year to 33 in 2008-09. The program has placed VIPs in prestigious schools in many locations around the United States. In 2009-10 AICE expanded its placements into five new universities.

plurality of the VIPs in the program between 2005-06 and 2008-09 has been political scientists (21 of 52). Political scientists, International Relations specialists, and historians represent two-thirds of the VIPs, but AICE is expanding its list of potential instructors. This year, it included senior academics with expertise in film, literature, political philosophy, communications, the Middle East and Islam, health policy, education, sociology, anthropology, and Israel Studies. Figure 5 illustrates how the distribution has changed over the program’s first four years.

VIP Expertise The AICE VIPs represent a wide range of areas of expertise and come from a variety of Israeli institutions of higher learning. The Figure 5: VIPs’ Areas of Expertise 35

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Figure 6: Number of courses offered by VIPs 35

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This trend toward a greater diversity of VIP areas of expertise may suggest a “normalization” within the academy of the study of Israel beyond the conflict. Most VIPs come from Israel’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning. Of those who have participated since 2005, the largest number had appointments at Hebrew University (11); 10 had appointments at Haifa University, seven at Tel Aviv University, six at Ben Gurion University, and six at the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya. Together with Bar-Ilan University, these institutions represent 84% of the 52 VIPs involved through 2008-09. One of the VIPs was not an academic but had an appointment at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. One each came from Ariel and the Askelon Academic College. Five had no current appointments in Israel, but most of them were postdoctoral fellows. Almost all, including the postdoctoral fellows, have impressive lists of publications.

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Courses and Student Enrollment In 2008-09, AICE had its largest number of VIPs (33). They taught more courses (Figure 6) and reached more students than ever before. As mentioned above, Schusterman professors are required to teach four courses a year with at least two specifically related to Israel; postdoctoral fellows are required to teach two courses; VIPs supported by other funders have different requirements. The Schusterman professors are required to teach only two courses directly related to Israel. Most VIPs teach two courses specifically about Israel, but 45% teach three or more. One VIP who taught modular courses at four different universities offered a total of eight courses in 2008-09. In the same year, another VIP added an Israel-related summer course to her teaching load for a total of five courses.

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Class size for these courses varied from as small as two or three to as large as 100 students. The average class size was 29. Class size, of course, is not necessarily a measure of teaching effectiveness but may suggest student interest in the topic. Some VIPs hired later in the season were unable to cross-list their courses, and some did not know how to take advantage of faculty student communications systems such as Blackboard to build awareness of their offerings. Almost all of the department chairs said that the VIP courses stimulated demand. Although initial enrollments for VIP courses may have been weak at some universities, class size grew as the VIP established a presence on campus. Overall, about a third of courses had 30 or more students (Figure 7). A further measure of the dissemination of Israel Studies is the breadth and depth of the courses being offered through AICE. It is difficult to assess the latter without a careful review of syllabi beyond the scope of the present study, but AICE has had significant

success in expanding the number of topics that VIPs teach. From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the distribution of VIP Israel-related courses shifted in distribution, albeit not dramatically. Whereas in 2007-08 54% of courses were on the Arab-Israeli conflict or the history of Israel (many of the latter focused on the origins and conduct of the conflict), these types of courses comprised just 39% in 2008-09. Courses on the politics of Israel decreased from 20% to 15% of the total. The difference in offerings was picked up by communications, literature, cinema, and “other” courses. The latter ranged from philosophy of education courses taught at UC Berkley to a course titled “Power and Powerlessness in Jewish Tradition” taught at Brown University. (For a complete list of Israel-related courses taught by AICE VIPs, see Appendix, Table A-1.)

Figure 7: Percentage of Courses by Class Size 2008-09

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Number of Extracurricular Activities on Campus

Occasionally, however, VIPs spoke about showings or festivals, an indication of student issues and events in the news, whether or not interest in Israeli films. the subject fell in their specific areas of expertise. Three VIPs whose fields are outside VIPs also listed less formal extracurricular of political science lectured on the Israeli activities such as meeting other faculty or elections. Another VIP, whose student activists. AICE encourages field is philosophy, gave public He has added to the VIPs to become involved in Hillel intellectual life here— lectures on “the State of and to reach out especially to Taglitthere’s no question about Birthright Israel alumni—to Israel.” that.…People appreciate conduct the kind of follow-up him and his presence. Many of the VIPs have needed to maintain alumni interest He’s given a couple of concentrations in political in Israel after their return. AICE presentations in the science, and they perhaps have was directly involved in making department and a lot of a stronger claim to expertise those connections with Taglitpresentations across the most relevant to current Birthright Israel alumni at American university. People have events. Not surprisingly they University and George Washington been quite interested. lectured on the war in Gaza, University, but contacts with alumni —Political Science chair the Israeli elections, and the extended beyond these two peace process. Four were asked campuses. to speak about Gaza; one participated on a panel sponsored by Hillel and Palestinian Although not focused specifically on the student groups. Another, a historian, was Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni population, asked to talk about the withdrawal from Gaza more than half of the VIPs reported working in the context of a film event. Six VIPs with Hillel student groups—from informal reported being asked to speak at film conversations and lecture series to

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

consultations regarding how to make campuses more hospitable to open and honest discussions of about Israel. One gave talks for Hillel and the students for Israel group at her university. Another spoke to Hillel students about the Israeli political system and President Barack Obama’s policies for the Middle East. He also lectured on “Israel’s narrative” for a group of students promoting IsraeliPalestinian dialogue. A political scientist VIP spoke at Hillel about the Israeli election and secularization in Israel; a post-doctoral fellow consulted informally with Hillel students during an anti-apartheid week on his campus.   Extracurricular Activities—Off Campus Most of the almost 200 different off-campus activities reported by the VIPs took place under the auspices of four different types of organizations: local synagogues, other national and local Jewish organizations, national or local Israel organizations, and other universities. Local synagogues accounted for almost a quarter of the 200, and other Jewish organizations (federations, the American Jewish Committee, local JCCs, and JCRCs) comprised almost a third (Figure 10). Israel organizations such as AIPAC, Hadassah, CAMERA, American Friends of Hebrew University, American Friends of Tel Aviv University, and the Israeli consulate offices accounted for 14%. Although most of these Jewish and Israel group-sponsored activities were local, VIPs traveled across the United States to provide guest lectures in their

colleagues’ classes and participate in seminars or workshops. Such visits comprised 22% of the off-campus activities. The 10% that made up the “other” category were primarily lectures in churches or private consultations with government or NGO groups. There were very few public lectures that would have attracted an audience beyond the Jewish community, although a VIP in communications drew a crowd at the Library of Congress. VIPs discussed the Israel elections, the peace process, and American-Israeli relations. Some made use of the same lecture at several universities.  

Our VIP] has had an incredibly energizing effect. The lecture series on ‘Perspectives in Israel’ was borne out of her presence. And she is giving a workshop-lunch colloquia this Wednesday. On April 16, she will be on a panel organized on Jews and fashion. Because of her interest, the panel materialized. She has been an incredible presence for us. She comes to other Jewish Studies events and brings students from her classes to our events. It has been a new breath of air for us. We wish we could keep her. —Jewish Studies chair

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VIPs listed more off-campus activities than oncampus, but the comparison is marred by the fact that so many of the on-campus activities were multi-part programs or long-term responsibilities. Figure 11 presents the distribution of VIPs by the number of offcampus programs they listed. Six reported presenting 11 or more times in off-campus venues.

He has been very active in speaking engagements. He lead student groups for Birthright returnees, several sessions at a coffee house. Plus, he speaks locally and nationally to think tanks. He gives a high profile to the center. I have trouble with keeping up with [everything he does]. He’s speaking maybe once a week…in Washington, at NYU and on the west coast, at the Library of Congress….He maintains a high profile. —Israel Studies chair

Figure 10: Sponsoring Organizations for Extracurricular Activities Off Campus 10%

Jewish organizations

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Israel organizations in the U.S. Synagogues 23%

14%

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Figure 11: Extracurricular Activities Off Campus

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Conferences VIPs also gave papers and moderated sessions at conferences across the United States. VIPs were asked about the roles they played (presenters, moderators, or attendees) and their topics. Their research presentations at academic conferences allowed them to display Israeli scholarship and, perhaps in that way, to make an unspoken argument for fighting the boycott of Israeli scholars. Although not all VIPs participated in conferences actively, some of those who did were able to make contributions to their fields in more than one venue. For example, an expert on Israeli cinema presented or participated in panel discussions at six different gatherings from UCLA to the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival. Presenting more than one conference paper in a year filled with teaching and extracurricular activities on- and off-campus is a daunting challenge, and although some of the VIPs were able to do so, it was not easy, and not all of their presentations were at academic conferences. One, for example, participated in meetings of the AJC, AIPAC, and the Hudson

Institute. Fourteen VIPs did not present at any conferences, and four presented at only one (Figure 12). AICE has organized and supported academic conferences about Israel using its VIPs as a resource. The AICE conference at American University was deemed highly successful by the VIPs who attended and will be held again in 2009-10 in Washington and in San Francisco. As well, AICE has helped to support local conferences at hosting universities such as Tulane, again drawing on the VIPs as presenters and moderators. Media Appearances VIPs were also expected to write for, or become experts for, local and national media outlets. Some of them appeared in partisan publications such as Human Events or the Hoover Digest. Some wrote for their own websites and blogs. Others were written about in their local or campus newspapers. These usually centered on their roles as VIPs, although at least one reported on the VIPs opinion of anti-Israel activities on campus.

Figure 12: Conference Activities Number of VIPs

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As an expert on the Israeli elections, one appeared on a local television station. Another wrote letters to the editor of a local newspaper in response to anti-Israeli voices regarding the war in Gaza. A third gave interviews to CNN, BBC World, Canadian Jewish News, Middle East Broadcast Networks, and Galei Zahal. He briefed American, Canadian, and European journalists, as well as Israeli media and foreign journalists (American and European) stationed in Israel. Despite the success of the latter and AICE’s efforts to locate appropriate media outlets, finding a way into mainstream publications, radio, or television remains difficult and constitutes the weakest area of VIP activity. In part, this fact argues for longer tenure for the VIPs—so that they can build relationships with media reporters and editors. It may be too much to expect more than the amount of media coverage the VIPs have already been able to attain. Interactions through personal relationships, rather than through the media,

may be the forum for greatest impact. In addition to obstacles concerning media access, internal issues can hamper public visibility. Balancing the expectations for teaching as many as four courses a year with advocacy in the public square is difficult. Some of the VIPs object to the role of hasbara (public advocacy) altogether, even outside of the classroom. For others, especially those on state campuses, it may be against university policy for them to appear to advocate for a particular political position. Some of the Jewish Studies chairs interviewed for this research noted that they themselves were limited in their ability to work with advocacy groups either by the university of by selfimposed rules. Beyond that, chairs believe that AICE scholars are on campus to “flex scholarly muscles” rather than be good advocates because, in the words of a Jewish Studies chair, “being a good scholar is his advocacy.” An Israel Studies chair talked about listing courses taught by professors who

Number of VIPs

Figure 13: Media Appearances by VIPs 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

15

8

2

0

1

2

4

3 1

3

5-Apr

Number of Media Appearances

>5

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

believe there should be a binational state and not a Jewish state: “Israel Studies has to list those courses because they are about Israel. We’re not an advocacy program.” When asked about relations with Hillel, another Israel Studies chair said, “I must not be seen as engaged in advocacy. My function is not to educate Jewish students about Israel. That’s important, but it’s Hillel’s job. The academic study has to be seen as balanced and objective.” Some of the department chairs believe that asking the VIPs to give lectures outside of class may detract from the time they should be giving to students in the classroom. Particularly if VIPs language skills are weak, chairs feel they should not be asked to engage in public speaking. A final challenge to AICE’s work in the public arena is finding adequately visible and inviting venues for VIP communications. For this reason, AICE uses consulting services to help the VIPs establish relationships with community leaders and media outlets.

Despite these challenges, the record of achievements, both quantitative and qualitative, is impressive. Most VIPs lectured and taught classes in synagogues and JCCs and served as guest lecturers in classes across the country. They have endeavored to find platforms for speaking and teaching about Israel in their communities and have developed a presence on campuses outside of their classrooms. They have taken advantage of conferences to present papers, thereby raising their own academic stature while serving as representatives of Israeli scholarly excellence. Here again, AICE has a substantial record of success. She’s done seminars and has been well received wherever she goes. She’s done a lot of speaking. She went to some… church in New Hampshire and really turned them around. She conveys a positive message. —Jewish Studies chair

25

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Impact on the Field of Israel Studies  Throughout its work, AICE has strived to plant the seeds for Israel Studies in the academy. It has placed VIPs and funded graduate students in the field in order to build the capacity to teach about Israel on campuses in the United States. The VIPs, chairs, graduate students, and others involved in the program hold different opinions about what constitutes Israel Studies. For some, it should be a separate area studies program as a counterpart to Middle East Studies. Others think it belongs in Jewish Studies in order to enhance the knowledge of Israel among Jewish students. Proponents of this view argue that Jewish students coming back from Taglit-Birthright Israel are ripe and ready to study about Israel and will be most apt to leverage their Israel experience in Jewish Studies. Most Jewish Studies program chairs or directors, however, are quite adamant that their course offerings are designed for the broader student body and not specifically for Jewish students. Still others think that the study of Israel should not be “ghettoized” in either its own department or in Jewish Studies but instead should become a subject area within established disciplines such as history, political science, and international relations, but also literature, film, communications, and Middle East Studies. Further, there are those in the field who feel that the argument is academic. The locus or organization of Israel Studies is of less interest to them than its presence within universities and colleges. AICE has therefore taken a broad view and placed VIPs in Israel Studies programs, Jewish Studies departments, and a host of other established disciplines. In addition, graduate students have been supported in their studies regardless of whether they reside in Israel Studies, history, or political science.

This section looks at AICE colleges and universities and asks whether they have become more fertile places for the growth of Israel Studies. It also describes the graduate student fellows and assesses the extent to which they have moved on to teaching positions and become active in an emerging field. The Future of Israel Courses at AICE Universities Most schools that have had AICE-supported VIPs have continued in the program to the extent that AICE can continue to provide funding. The university is required to match CLSFF funding and provide benefits for the visiting Israelis (see page 7). Given that schools participate despite the recent economic downturn and the overall scarcity of funds, this says much about the overall quality of the program and its importance at these universities. Nonetheless, fewer VIPs were hired in 2009-10 than in either 2007-08 or 2008-09, due to cutbacks in funding at most academic institutions. In addition, the fact that so many VIPs were added in 2007-08 and 2008-09, meant that fewer were eligible to return. Universities also “maxed out” on the time that they were entitled to receive Schusterman funds. AICE intends the fellows to spend no more than two years at any one institution and has a commitment to bringing over new visitors. Also in 2009-10, the program terminated its funding of teaching postdoctoral fellows. (There is, however, one research post-doctoral fellow on its roster.) Twenty of the 26 VIPs in 2009-10 are new to the program. On the other hand, only six of

27

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

28

Figure 14: Visiting Professors and Teaching Postdoctoral Fellows 2005-09

Number of Visiting Professors and Postdocs

35 30 25

8

13 6

20 15 21

10

2

5 0

2

20

20

Returning VIPs and Postdocs New VIPs and Teaching Postdocs

6

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

the universities with placements are new— two Jewish institutions (Hebrew Union College in New York, the Jewish Theological Seminary) and four other universities (Northeastern, Ohio State, San Diego State and Chico State).

postdoctoral fellows were disappointed that this less expensive way to create a presence for Israel Studies had been discontinued. UCLA was able to continue its postdoctoral position through other funding, but this is not an option for many other institutions.

Some of the 2009-10 universities have had AICE VIPs in the past but not in 2008-09 e.g., Syracuse and the University of RutgersNewark. Although the new VIPs have fewer colleagues with experience to draw on, their host universities have experience with VIPs and understand the importance of acculturating visiting professors and helping them understand the teaching and syllabi expectations of students in the United States.

The state of the economy is the primary reason department chairs cite for not being able to continue Israel courses after their VIPs leave. Of the 31 chairs interviewed, 29 discussed budgetary problems, and of those who were not able to hire for 2009-10, all but one blamed it on the lack of funding.

Many of the chairs hosting VIPs, although grateful for the grants they received, feel these policies are unwise. They explained that the VIPs were only beginning to be known around campus and the two-year period limited their ability to nurture the seeds of interest they had generated. Those with



“[This university] isn’t entirely bankrupt financially but doesn’t have the financial resources to have a full time permanent person teaching about Israel and without that, it’s unlikely that students will get proper instruction.”



“[The university is] having a $90M budget cut for next year. As of July 1, the Judaic Studies Center budget will have been cut

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

40-48%. So, although the goal all along was to fund a permanent position [in Israel Studies], we have no money from the state to do so despite having been successful in attracting students. It’s purely economic.”

received the maximum years of support allowed through AICE or have not continued for other reasons (Table 2).

Despite cuts in external sources of funds and reductions in teaching positions, some chairs have engaged in their own fundraising efforts to create permanent positions in Israel Studies. Many remain hopeful for the future of Israel courses on their campuses—largely because the demand for Israel-related courses remains strong. Of the 31 schools in the 200809 cohort, 17 have a new or returning VIP, five have a visiting or permanent Israeli professor coming in to teach about Israel (not through AICE), and the others have either

Department chairs emphasized that their presidents and deans would like to continue to offer Israel-related courses. The administrators recognize that these courses are well enrolled, and it may be that as the economy recovers, some of the department chairs will be able to raise the necessary resources to find faculty to teach about Israel. Several of the Jewish Studies chairs discussed the challenge of fundraising in their local communities, and at least two said they wished they could learn more about how to approach donors more effectively. Perhaps fundraising training is an area in which AICE and the CLSFF could provide assistance.

Table 2: AICE 2008-09 Universities in 2009-10 Israel Studies in 2009-10

Institutions

Number

Returning same VIP or teaching fellow

Berkeley, Colorado, Notre Dame, Stony Brook, Wisconsin

5

New AICE VIP

Arizona, Colorado, HUC-LA, USC, Rutgers, Rice, Stanford(2), Tennessee, Tulane, UCLA, Texas, UVA, SFSU

12

American, Florida, Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Oklahoma

5

Brown, BU, Emory, GW, NYU, Minnesota, U of North Texas

9

UC Davis, Princeton

2

Returning or new Israel professor, but not through AICE No one, “maxed out” None, other

29

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

AICE and the VIPs helped build demand for Near Eastern and Judaic Studies to Jewish academically sound and unbiased courses philosophy and sociology, and each has a about Israel on campus. Chairs suggest a distinct area of focus. The fellows are at variety of ways of meeting that demand— different stages in their graduate studies— lengthening the term of residence for VIPs, some have not yet taken comprehensive reinstituting postdoctoral teaching exams, while others are in the final year of appointments, supporting adjunct faculty thesis writing. (For a complete list of scholars, positions, and training in fundraising for their universities, areas of study, dissertation department chairs. Two chairs (San Francisco completion targets and current status, see State University and the University of North Table B-2 in the Appendix.) Texas), whose universities do not have VIPs in 2009-10 sent permanent faculty members The grants provide financial assistance, but to study at the Summer Institute for Israel also opportunities to develop professionally. Studies in 2009. Yet another means to address AICE encourages the fellows to participate in education about Israel on campus is by the Schusterman conferences in Washington preparing graduate students within the United to present their work and receive feedback States for future positions in the academy— from senior scholars in the field. The fellows something AICE is already doing through the remarked that this aspect of the program has Schusterman Israel been enhanced substantially The Israel scholar award has helped me in since its beginning and has Scholars Awards a number of ways. One simple way is that had a significant impact on program. it has made living considerably easier in a them and on their work. Israel Scholars—the city in which the cost of living is high and Next Generation hard to manage on the stipend provided The grant money, of by my home school alone. course, is still of From its inception in —Graduate fellow paramount importance, as 2005-06 through it allows graduate students 2009-10, AICE has more time to focus on their research and supported 25 graduate students focusing on reduces their need to serve as teaching Israel-related topics. The Schusterman Israel assistants or adjunct faculty. Two scholars Scholar Award program gives qualified reported using the time to expand their candidates $15,000 per year for living research into areas they might not have expenses while they attend graduate school considered otherwise. Three students used the and work on their dissertations. Now in its grant to travel to Israel, and one student used fourth year, the program attracts impressive the grant money to learn German, a scholars from across the academic spectrum. requirement she needed for her program but was able to achieve faster with the financial The 2008-09 cohort consisted of 13 support. The scholars also stated that the participants from prestigious American fellowship’s prestige would help them to universities such as NYU, Brandeis, move on in their graduate work and find Columbia, and Harvard. The fellows have academic positions in the future. concentrations in a variety of disciplines from

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Previous cohorts of grant winners reported that that the conferences with the VIPs lacked adequate content geared to the graduate students. They noted they did not have the opportunity to network or make connections adequately during these meetings. AICE incorporated this feedback into recent program changes and arranged for more opportunities for interaction. As a result, the 2008-09 grantees said they are making important connections with both professors and other award winners. In their year-end reports, 10 wrote about the usefulness and quality of their AICE contacts. They discussed the developing sense of community among the scholars and professional and personal contacts made at the conferences. The number of students and faculty working on Israel [in my university] is small and my perspective can be limited by the areas of research in which the people (directly) around me are engaged. However, the Schusterman award has allowed me to broaden my perspective and gain a larger appreciation of the research and concerns of faculty and students in Israel Studies across the United States and in Israel. —Graduate fellow The fellows mentioned some of the same concerns regarding Israel Studies as a field as did the VIPs. Several fellows said they preferred to be identified within their disciplines rather than with Israel Studies as a separate area. The preference seems based primarily on the issue of marketability in the academy. Students believe that they will have to find positions within their disciplines and that very few campuses will ever have Israel

Studies programs or positions in Israel Studies. One said she thinks Israel Studies should be part of Middle East Studies so that it can be seen within the “context of broader regional trends.” Israel Studies programs, she wrote, are often used to “counterbalance” the perceived bias of Middle East Studies departments, rather than to complement ongoing scholarship about the region. Another fellow also expressed the importance of maintaining the academic integrity of her work and expand her range so that she could be viewed as a scholar rather than an advocate for Israel. Looking toward the future, most of the fellows discussed whether there would be positions for them in the academy. Two graduate students suggested more professional advancement seminars and career advice as regular parts of the conferences. Fellows believe this would help them learn more about departments at other universities, find openings, develop contacts in the field, and in general, expand their prospects as competitive candidates in the job market after they receive their PhDs. One suggested creating a network and mentoring relationships between current and previous grant recipients. Now that three of the latter have tenure-track positions, this may be something to begin thinking about. It is still too early to measure the long-term success of the Schusterman Israel Scholars Awards program, but five of the 20 fellows (2005-09) have completed their PhDs. All have jobs in the academy: One fellow, who received awards in 2005-06, 2007-08, and 2008-09, is now an assistant professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Institute for Work and Employment Research. Another, a fellow in 2006-07 and 2007-08, is

31

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

an assistant professor at the School of International Service at American University. A third fellow, from the 2005-06 cohort, serves as the assistant director of Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University. One of the other PhD recipients has two visiting professor assignments, one at Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute and the other as a program associate at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. The fifth former fellow with a completed doctorate is serving as an executive assistant to the dean of the University of Texas College of Liberal Arts. Two former fellows expecting their PhDs this fall also have positions in the academy: One is an assistant professor of linguistics and humanities at the University of Toronto in Scarborough, and the other has a temporary position as a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. The institutionalization of Israel Studies in the academy, whether within individual disciplines or as part of area studies or Jewish Studies, is a long-term goal of the AICE program. Four years, however, is not an adequate time for

judging its success. Most fellows of the Israel Scholar Development Fund are still engaged in graduate work, and those who have recently graduated face a job market severely constricted by economic forces beyond AICE or its funders’ abilities to influence. These economic forces have acted as constraints on universities that otherwise wanted to hire permanent faculty or create ongoing, selffunded visiting professor positions. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of department chairs, and their perception of increased demand from students for opportunities to learn about Israel, suggest that these goals may be attainable once the economy recovers. It remains important to me not to pigeonhole myself politically, to seek colleagues and contacts in both the Middle Eastern Studies and Jewish Studies communities, the resolutely proIsrael community and that community that is more critical of Israel, at times extremely critical. —Graduate fellow

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Policy Issues  Findings in this report raise several issues with policy implications. Resource Allocation. Through 2008-09, AICE has facilitated the engagement of 52 professors and teaching post-doctoral fellows at 40 institutions in the United States. This represents a concentration of resources in a number of large, prestigious institutions, several of which already have substantial strengths in the field. The question remains whether to continue to strengthen these strong universities or to provide stimulus on campuses that may not be able to offer any courses about Israel without AICE funding. In the current economy, this question extends to whether and how to provide continued VIP resources—perhaps funding in gradually decreasing amounts over time—for institutions with a commitment to teaching about Israel but currently lacking the capacity to raise the necessary resources. Because AICE has had alternative sources of funding and has been able to experiment with alternative visiting professor arrangements, it may be wise to consider institutionalizing some of these approaches. For example, one VIP spent the past three years teaching one trimester a year in the United States. He taught two courses per trimester and was considered a success with students, both in class and in extracurricular activities, and with his department and university as a whole. The program may want to consider this formula as well as the two year-fulltime approach. AICE also has found that different departments in the same universities can be fertile sites for courses about Israel. For example, the University of Wisconsin hired a

VIP in its Center for Jewish Studies to teach a course in Israeli literature in translation; the university’s political science department hired a postdoctoral fellow to teach about the Israeli political system. Perhaps stipulations on the length of a VIP appointment should be based on the particular department rather than the university. Seminars on fundraising. Department chairs again suggested that they would like to develop or hone their fundraising skills. AICE may want to consider a seminar or webinar with experts on fundraising for chairs from the host universities. Such a seminar could provide academics—typically untutored in raising money—with an opportunity to learn more about ways to support visiting or permanent appointments. The expertise of chairs with notable success in this area could be drawn on as well. Americans or Israelis? Two findings from this study may suggest that American scholars, particularly the young postdoctoral fellows, could be substituted for Israeli scholars as temporary visiting professors. The first is the popularity of the postdoctoral fellows with some of the department chairs. The second concerns the motivation for choosing the courses. Almost all of the students interviewed for this study chose their Israel course based on the subject matter rather than the nationality of the professor. Few knew that their course would be taught by an Israeli. An argument for retaining the focus on Israeli professors, however, is the unique perspective that they bring to their teaching. Most students appreciated the particular perspective that their Israeli VIPs brought to their subject matter.

33

34

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

As a practical matter, searches for American scholars who can fill chairs in Israel Studies and meet the needs of universities have been frustrating. The fulfillment of the goals of this program will continue to require Israeli scholars until there are adequate numbers of American scholars with expertise on Israel.

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Conclusions  AICE has been a catalyst for change on university campuses throughout the United States. While it may be too early to assess long-term outcomes, AICE has implemented its goals. •

In early discussions of the research plan, CLSFF suggested that AICE would place 10-15 VIPs per year during the three years from 2006-07 to 2008-09. The program placed two VIPs in its first year (2005-06) prior to CLSFF involvement, eight in its second year (2006-07), but more than doubled the expected numbers in the following two years.



The original plan called for 10 Schusterman Israel Scholar Awards each year, and although there were only seven in 2006-07, 11 awards were given in 2007-08 and 13 in 2008-09. In 2009-10, 14 graduate students received awards.

• •

VIPs were required to teach four courses about Israel, with two specifically about Israel. Postdoctoral fellows were required to teach two courses a year, with one specifically about Israel. But in the past three years, 52 VIPs and postdoctoral fellows taught over 200 courses, with over 180 of those specifically focused on Israel. Enrollments for the three years totaled over 4600 students on 40 different campuses.

Beyond the numbers, however, we hear the program’s impact in the voices of students and department chairs. Most remarked on the presentation of serious, unbiased scholarship; the creation of expanded demand for more learning about Israel; and, in many instances,

the students’ changed perceptions of Israel. Students, chairs, and the VIPs noted the influence of the program outside of class. VIPs provided a source of information and support for students who felt under attack by anti-Israel activities. The scholars educated the larger university community on a wide array of topics. VIPs filled the same roles off campus—in synagogues, JCCs, and other public venues. Some of them traveled extensively to lecture and participate in academic conferences. Although the impact of these activities is beyond the scope of this research, their number represents successful implementation of several of the goals of the AICE program. There are three significant indications of the program’s success. First, chairs at many universities intend to continue to offer courses about Israel, and their administrations are willing to consider hiring visiting professors for longer periods of time without AICE funding. These developments indicate progress toward the longer-term goal of establishing an ongoing presence for Israel study on campus. Although the economic climate may not be conducive to actualization of these intentions at present, the commitment is there—stimulated, no doubt in part, by the work of AICE and the VIPs. Second, five graduate fellows now have teaching positions in the academy and two hold other academic positions in the academy. As other fellows move closer to completing their dissertations and moving into job searches, the positions they attain will be important benchmarks for SISA. Third, students who studied with AICE VIPs communicated very clearly a desire to continue to study about Israel and to visit or even live in Israel.

35

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

In these ways, AICE continues to make important contributions to the teaching and understanding of Israel in the United States. As a consequence of AICE’s efforts, highcaliber scholars across the country bring rigorous academic perspectives to courses, lectures, and discussions concerning Israel both on and off campus. The program continues to build capacity and demand for teaching about Israel within the United States, and communities throughout the United States have benefitted from the expanded and informed public discourse about Israel, its people, and its culture.

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

 Notes  ¹In this report, visiting Israeli professors (VIPs) include post-doctoral fellows unless otherwise noted. Postdoctoral fellows are required to teach only two courses a year in contrast to the Schusterman Visiting Professors’ requirement of four courses. ²See Appendix A for a table of facts and figures for the program’s first four years. ³The Israel Scholar Development Fund has been made possible through a major grant from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and support from the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Foundation; the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds; the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund; the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Fund; the Feldman Foundation; the Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington; the Alan B. Slifka Foundation; Joyce Saffir; the Dollye and I Wolford Berman Foundation Inc., Natan, the Herbert Bearman Foundation, and Jack and Ellen Zager. 4Of

the other institutions, two are unranked, two are considered masters degree universities and ranked separately, and one is a top tier liberal arts college. The rest are ranked between 50 and 110 of national universities. 5Estimates

of Jewish populations are taken from the Hillel’s Guide to Jewish Life on Campus. http://www.hillel.org/HillelApps/JLOC/Search.aspx.

6Because

AICE has other funders for its VIPs, it is able to offer other arrangements.

7Of

the nine schools that have hosted VIPs for three years, seven were recipients of Schusterman-supported VIPs, either solely or in addition to other funders’ grants. VIPs recorded the number of courses they taught about Israel (94). They also named courses they taught that were not specifically about Israel (24) for a total of 118 courses taught in 2008-09 (Appendix A, Table A-1). The VIPs provided names and departments for a total of 91 Israel-focused courses and student enrollments for 84 of those.

8

9Interviewers

did not ask students whether they were Jewish. Many, however, volunteered that information when asked what they knew about Israel coming into the course or their motivation for taking the class.

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

References  Koren, A., & Einhorn, E. (2010). Searching for the study of Israel: A report on the teaching of Israel on U.S. college campuses 2008-09. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University. Reinharz, J. (2003). Israel in the eyes of Americans: A call to action. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University. Tobin, G.A., Weinberg, A.K., and Ferer, J. (2005). The uncivil university. San Francisco: Institute for Jewish & Community Research. United States Commission on Civil Rights. (2006). Campus anti-Semitism. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/081506campusantibrief07.pdf.

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Appendix A: Facts and Figures (2005‐06 through 2008‐09)  Table A-1: Overall Statistics 2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2005-06 through 2008-09

Individual VIPs and teaching post-docs

2

8

29

33

52

Schusterman

2

7

23

24

39

1

6

9

12*

9

27

31

40

Total courses

26

70

118

214

Courses specifically about Israel

18

70

94

182

Number of students enrolled in Israel courses

580

1700

2500

4800

Other funders Colleges and universities served

2

* One of the VIPs served as a Schusterman VIP in 2006-07 and a Rosenbloom VIP in 2007-08.

Table A-2: Length of VIPs’ Participation in AICE Program Years VIPs held AICE positions Number of VIPs

1 Year

2 Years

3 Years

35

14

3

Table A-3: Length of Host Universities’ Participation in AICE Program Years Universities served as hosts to AICE VIPs Number of Universities

1 Year

2 Years

3 Years

19

12

9

Table A-4: Sponsorship of AICE VIPs VIP Sponsorship

Schusterman

Other Funders

Number of VIPs

34

7

Different Funders Schusterman at Different Times Postdoctoral Fellowships 2

9

41

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Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Appendix B: Tables of Courses, Schusterman Israel Scholars  Awards Recipients, and Universities  Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic Categories assigned by the research team based on title and goals listed by the VIP. Course Title

University

Home Department

Enrollment

Arab-Israeli conflict

Boston

History

8

Gender & Terrorism

George Washington

Political Science

27

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

George Washington

Political Science

19

Arab-Israeli Conflict

Harvard

Department of Government

15

Arab-Israeli Relations

Notre Dame

Department of Political Science

39

Arab-Israeli Conflict

NYU

Politics

10

Political Theory and Middle Eastern Practice

Princeton

Woodrow Wilson School

20

Ethnonational Communities and Conflicts

Princeton

Near Eastern Studies

5

Rice

Political Science

15 & 30

Rutgers

Bildner Center for Jewish Studies

50

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

San Francisco State

Jewish Studies

38

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Tulane

History and Jewish Studies

28

UC Davis

Political Science

77

UCLA

Political Science

100

Holy Places and Conflict in Israel and Palestine

U of Minnesota

Political Science

60

The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Its Roots and Attempted Solutions

U of Oklahoma

International and Area Studies

24

THE CONFLICT

Arab-Israeli Conflict (2 Semesters) The Israeli Palestinian Conflict

Arab-Israeli Conflict Israel's Identity: Conflict Peace and Neo-liberalism

43

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

44

Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic continued Course Title

University

Department

Enrollment

American

History

35

The History of Zionism: An Introduction

Boston

Religion

17

The Birth of a State: Israel, 1945-1955

Boston

History

18

The History of Israel

Boston

History

67

Israel's Youth 1880s - 1970s

Boston

History

20

History of Israeli Politics: Institutions and Society

Emory

History

18

Diplomatic History of the Middle East

Notre Dame

Political Science

28

Israel and the Holocaust

Rutgers

Jewish Studies

50

The History of Zionism

Rutgers

Jewish Studies

45

Palestinian Nationalism, Past and Present

Stanford

International Relations/ Political Science

11

Tulane

Jewish Studies

14

UC Davis

History

77

Modern Israel and the Politics of Genocide

U of Arizona

Judaic Studies

50-70

Modern Israel

U of Arizona

Judaic Studies

50-70

U of Colorado

History

51

U of Virginia

History

3

American

Government

24

Zionism, Anti-Zionism & Post-Zionism

Brown

Judaic Studies

7

Contemporary Issues in Israeli Politics and Society

Emory

History

14

Left, Right, and the End of Politics in Israel

NYU

Hebrew and Judaic Studies

3

SUNY at Stony Brook

Political Science

29

HISTORY OF ISRAEL History of Israel

Origins of the State of Israel History of Modern Israel

History of Israel The State of Israel: The First Decade, 1948-1958

POLITICS OF ISRAEL Israeli Politics

Issues in Israeli Politics

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic continued University

Department

Enrollment

Radical Right in Israel and Europe

SUNY at Stony Brook

Political Science

28

Liberal Nationalism and Zionism

UCLA

Political Science

80

Middle Eastern Politics: The Role of Islam

U of Minnesota

Political Science

80

Contemporary Israeli Society and Politics

U of Oklahoma

History

28

Religion, Politics and Society in the Middle East

U of Oklahoma

History

24

Israel and the Gulf States

U of Texas at Austin

Middle East Studies

4

Key Issues in Israeli Politics

U of Texas at Austin

Middle Eastern Studies

28

The Politics of Health and Healthcare in Israeli Society

U of Texas at Austin

Middle Eastern Studies

8

The Israeli Welfare State in a Comparative Perspective

U of WisconsinMadison

Political Science

14

Immigration Politics in Comparative Perspective

U of WisconsinMadison

Political Science

17

Israeli National Security Strategy and Policy

Harvard

Political Science

15

Comparative National Security of Middle Eastern Countries

Columbia

Political Science

American

Sociology

33

Modern Israel Society

NYU

Israel/ Jewish Studies

8

From Zionist-Sabra to Cosmopolitan Israel

NYU

Israel/ Jewish Studies

8

Collective Memory in Israel

NYU

Hebrew and Judaic Studies

3

Gender in the Middle East

U of Colorado

Anthropology

29

Course Title POLITICS OF ISRAEL cont.

ISRAELI SECURITY POLICY

ISRAEL IDENTITY/ CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI SOCIETY Israeli Society

45

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

46

Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic continued Course Title

University

Department

Enrollment

U of Florida

Center for Jewish Studies

14

The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Society

U of Texas at Austin

Middle East Studies

9

Israelis Talk about Israel

U of Texas at Austin

Middle East Studies

Summer

Israeli Culture Gender Nationality Ethnicity

U of Wisconsin

Hebrew & Semitic Studies

32

Israel, Zionism and the Modern World

USC and HUC

Louchheim school of Jewish Studies

7

San Francisco State

Jewish Studies

42

U of Minnesota

Political Science

60

Introduction to Jewish Cultures

U of Colorado

Jewish Studies Program

48

Cultures of Israel and the Middle East

U of Colorado

Anthropology

47

Modern Hebrew

U of Florida

Languages, Cultures and literatures

20

Hebrew language

U of Florida

Languages, Cultures and literatures

14

The Creation of a New National Culture in Jewish Palestine

U of Virginia

History

58

Israeli Fiction in Translation

U of Wisconsin Madison

Hebrew & Semitic Studies

29

Israeli History Through Film

U of Wisconsin Madison

Hebrew & Semitic Studies

32

Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature

U of Wisconsin Madison

Hebrew & Semitic Studies

13

ISRAEL IDENTITY/ CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI SOCIETY cont. Identity and Memory on Modern Jewish Literature

Israel: Democracy and Society Israel and Its Arab Minority

ISREALI LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

47

Table B-1: VIP Israel-focused Courses Offered in 2008-09 by Topic continued Course Title

University

Department

Enrollment

The Arab Minority in Israeli Society

Stanford

International Relations

7

International law and the Arab Israeli Conflict

Stanford

History

14

Democracy and Human Rights in Israel

UCLA

Political Science

95

Democracy and Human Rights in Israel

UCLA

Political Science

U of Texas at Austin

Middle East Studies

9

American

Communication

24

Israeli Media Studies: Cultural Approaches

U of Tennessee

Religious Studies

25 & 25

Israeli Filmmakers: Israel in Documentary Film

U of Tennessee

Religious Studies

35

Israeli Filmmakers: Cinema and Society

U of Tennessee

Religious Studies

35

The Image and Marketing Israel around the world

U of North Texas

Journalism

17

The Middle East Conflict and the International Media

U of North Texas

Journalism

31

Media, Politics and Society in Israel

U of North Texas

Journalism

26

Brown

Program for Judaic Studies

2

U of Texas at Austin

Middle East Studies

12

Brown

Program for Judaic Studies

9

Issues in Citizenship Education

UC Berkeley

Education

4

Educating Identity: Becoming Jewish in Israel and America

UC Berkeley

Education

4

LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Jewish Law (Halakha), Women and the State in Israel

COMMUNICATIONS Comparing Media Systems, Europe and Israel (2 semesters)

OTHER Power & Powerlessness in the Jewish Tradition Religion and the Military in Israel Current Events in Israel (in Hebrew)

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

48

Table B-2: Schusterman Israel Scholar Award Recipients 2005-06 through 2009-10 Year

Student

Institution

Area of Study

Dissertation Target Completion

Current Status

2005-06

Ariel Berry

Columbia

Jewish Philosophy

MPA, NYU; director PresenTense Group, editor, publisher PresenTense Magazine

2005-06

Aaron Bernay

Harvard

Middle Eastern Studies

Did not receive the grant. Currently in the class of 2010 at University of Cincinnati Law School

2005-06: 2007-08; 2008-09

Ofer Sharone

UC Berkeley

Sociology

Complete

Assistant Professor in the MIT Sloan School of Management's Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER)

2005-06

Stephanie Gerber Wilson

Brandeis

Middle East/ Israel Studies

Complete

Assistant Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Eric Fleisch

Brandeis

Near Eastern and Judaic Studies

June 2011

Dissertation topic: “Changing influence and contours of the partnership between American Jewish donors and Israeli NGOs in effecting on-the-ground realities in Israel”

2006-07: 2007-08; 2008-09

Joshua Gleis

Fletcher School at Tufts

Near East Studies

Complete

Visiting Scholar at Columbia Saltzman Institute and Program Associate at Belfer Center at Harvard University

2006-07

Sophia Meskin

Tel Aviv University

Middle East History

2006-07: 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Liora Halperin

UCLA

History

Winter 2012

Conducting research in Israel on language

2006-07: 2007-08

Alejandro Paz

U of Chicago

Anthropology

Fall 09

Assistant Professor of Linguistics & Humanities, University of Toronto Scarborough

Unknown

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Table B-2: Schusterman Israel Scholar Award Recipients 2005-06 through 2009-10 continued Year

Student

Institution

Area of Study

Dissertation Target Completion

Current Status

2006-07: 2007-08

Guy Ziv

U of Maryland

Government

Complete

Assistant Professor, School of International Service at American University

2007-08

Lauren Apter

U of Texas at Austin

History

Complete

Executive Assistant to Dean Esther Raizen in the College of Liberal Arts.

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Rachel Berry

NYU

Israel Studies

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Rachel Fish

Brandeis

Near Eastern and Judaic Studies

May 2011

Dissertation topic: “Portraits of intellectuals within the Yishuv and the State of Israel and their understanding of Jewish values and ideas, universalism vs. particularism, and relations with Arabs”

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Jonathan Gribetz

Columbia

History

November 09

Temporary postdoc appointment at University of Pennsylvania Center for Judaic Studies

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

Joseph Ringel

Brandeis

Near Eastern and Judaic Studies

May 2010

Dissertation topic: “Modern Sephardic religious identity in Israel, as seen through the textbooks and the curricula being used in the Sephardic Shas school system”

2008-09

Naomi Baldinger

UCLA

Comparative Literature

Taking second round of comprehensives In December 2009

Taking 2009-10 off

49

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

50

Table B-2: Schusterman Israel Scholar Award Recipients 2005-06 through 2009-10 continued Year

Student

Institution

Area of Study

Dissertation Target Completion

Current Status

2008-09; 2009-10

Randall Geller

Brandeis

Israel Studies/ Middle Eastern History

Fall 2009

Adjunct instructor of Jewish History, Hebrew College

2008-09

Hillel Gruenberg

NYU

Hebrew & Judaic Studies

2008-09; 2009-10

Sara Hirschhorn

U of Chicago

History

Spring 2011

Dissertation topic: “City on a Hill(top): The Political Activism of American-born Immigrants within the Israeli UltraNationalist Movement Since 1967”

2008-09; 2009-10

Hannah Pressman

NYU

Modern Hebrew Literature

May 2010

Dissertation topic: “Confessional Texts and Contexts: Studies in Israeli Literary Autobiography”

Taking Comprehensive exams in September 09

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09    

Table B-3: Universities with AICE VIPs 2005-06 through 2009-10 Institution

Year

Undergraduate Enrollment

2005-06; 2007-08; 2008-09

6,311

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

29,719

Boston University

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09

18,534

Brandeis University

2007-08

3,196

2007-08; 2008-09

6,008

Colorado

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

26,725

Columbia

2008-09

5,667

2007-08; 2008-09

5,214

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09

34,654

George Washington University

2007-08; 2008-09

10,590

Harvard University

2007-08; 2008-09

6,678

HUC-LA

2008-09; 2009-10

100*

HUC-NY

2009-10

120*

2007-08; 2009-10

31,626

James Madison University

2007-08

16,916

JTS

2009-10

566*

Middlebury College

2007-08

2,455

Minnesota

2007-08; 2008-09

32,557

North Texas

2007-08; 2008-09

27,779

Northeastern

2009-10

12,387

Notre Dame

2008-09; 2009-10

8,371

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09

21,269

Ohio State

2009-10

39,209

Oklahoma

2007-08; 2008-09

20,736

Princeton

2008-09

4,918

2008-09; 2009-10

3,051

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

26,829

2007-08; 2009-10

6,685

American University Arizona

Brown University

Emory University Florida

Indiana

NYU

Rice Rutgers Rutgers (Newark)

51

Expanding the Study of Israel on Campus, 2005‐09  

52

Table B-3: Universities with AICE VIPs 2005-06 through 2009-10 continued Institution

Year

Undergraduate Enrollment

2009-10

30,460

San Francisco State

2007-08; 2008-09

24,378

Stanford University

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

6,532

SUNY Stony Brook

2008-09; 2009-10

15,519

Syracuse University

2006-07; 2007-08; 2009-10

13,203

2008-09; 2009-10

21,369

2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

37,459

2007-08

5,035

2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

6,449

UC Berkeley

2008-09; 2009-10

25,151

UC Davis

2008-09; 2009-10

23,499

UC Irvine

2007-08

21,696

2005-06; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10

26,536

USC

2008-09; 2009-10

16,384

Virginia

2008-09; 2009-10

15,078

Washington University

2006-07; 2007-08

6,985

Wisconsin

2008-09; 2009-10

30,618

San Diego State

Tennessee Texas, Austin Tufts Tulane University

UCLA

* Indicates graduate numbers, since these institutions do not have undergraduate students.

The Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University is a multi-disciplinary research institute dedicated to the study of American Jewry and the development of religious and cultural identity.

Brandeis University