NEWS FROM THE JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM AND THE CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIES
■
FALL 2014
ISRAEL AND WATER CONFERENCE
In the Middle East, water scarcity is not just
a problem; it is a way of life. Yet Israel, located in one of the driest regions in the world,
is recognized not for its water scarcity, but
for its creative and innovative approaches
in addressing this challenge.
These approaches—as well as their potential for facilitating peacemaking in the
region—were the focus of the conference
“Israel and Water: Scarcity, Innovation and
Clive Lipchin, Arava Institute for Environmental
Studies and Monther Hind, Palestinian Wastewater
Engineers Group
Cooperation”, organized by AU’s Center
for Israel Studies. Held at AU on March
4, 2014, the conference brought together
academics, scientists, entrepreneurs, and
policy-makers to learn and reflect upon
diverse Israeli methods of water management and collaboration. Entrepreneurs like
Asaf Barnea, founder of Kinrot Ventures,
highlighted Israel’s success in desalination
and waste water re-use.
Keynote speaker, Alon Tal of Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev, heralded Israel’s
innovations but addressed “the perils of
viewing water technology as a panacea in
resolving conflict in the Middle East”. “To
facilitate peacemaking it is not enough to
simply increase quantities of water in the
region, even with the most sophisticated
technologies. That part of it cannot be divorced from water governance and building
relationships of trust and equity between
conflicting parties,” said AU professor Eric
Abitbol, a speaker at the conference.
I had feared that WATER would
be a reason that peace could not
come to the Middle East. At the
conference I learned that to the contrary,
water may be a major basis for cooperation among the countries in the area.”
—Lee O, conference attendee
The Jordanian water minister, His Excellency Dr. Hazim El-Naser, joined the conference via Skype to discuss the historic Red
Sea Dead Sea Water Conveyance project
agreement he signed in December 2013.
The first ever regional project endorsed by
Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians aims
to create a pipeline between the Red Sea
and the Dead Sea to address the drying of
the Dead Sea and drastically bolster the
area’s water supply. Because of the urgent
need for water by all parties, says El-Naser,
“It opens the gates for major regional cooperation.”
cont’d on page 4
AU DEBUTS ROTHFELD COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI ART
Last fall the American University Museum
in the Katzen Arts Center and the Center
for Israel Studies were thrilled to exhibit the
Rothfeld Collection of Contemporary Israeli
Art to the public for the first time.
The collection, a gift of Donald Rothfeld of
New York City, NY, in 2011, is dedicated to
former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren,
Israeli pianist Alon Goldstein performs in the AU
Museum Galleries
who attended the exhibition opening. It includes 165 pieces of contemporary, mixed
media Israeli art and chronicles Israel’s history. The numerous prominent and emerging Israeli artists represented include Moshe
Kupferman, one of the most prominent Israeli painters as well as a Holocaust survivor
and a founder of the Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot; Elad Lassry, whose work was shown
at MOMA; Siglat Landau; and Yael Bartana.
“The Rothfeld Collection is stunning,” says
museum director and curator Jack Rasmussen, “Don Rothfeld pursued artists who
were technically sophisticated (whether with video, photography, sculpture, or
paint) and had something to say about Israel and the world we live in. Viewers are
deeply engaged from the moment they
look beneath the beautiful surfaces and
find reality looking back.”
Michael and Sally Oren and Donald Rothfeld at the
Rothfeld Exhibition opening
Peter Starr, Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences added, “We are honored to
provide a home for this outstanding collection. What Don Rothfeld has assembled,
with great passion and aesthetic acumen,
is a testament to the vitality of contemporary Israeli art, and of the culture in which
it thrives.”
Yediaut | Fall 2014
1
FOCUS ON:
HISTORY, POLITICS & CULTURE
USA, GERMANY AND ISRAEL: TRANSATLANTIC
TRIANGLE UNITED BY VALUES & CHALLENGES?
In April CIS hosted the conference
“USA, Germany and Israel: Transatlantic
Triangle United by Values and Challenges?” The conference, co-sponsored by
the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, discussed the political, economic, and cultural relationships between these three
countries. In panels on the rule of law,
the economy, religion, and Israel’s relationship to the West, experts identified
affinities and shared values, while simultaneously highlighting differences and
challenges.
The panelists explored Israel’s relationship to the West. Each country learned different lessons from the twentieth century
about militarism, nationalism, and religion.
However, Israel, Germany, and the United
States share three central elements: the
rule of law, a market economy, and civilized, peaceful dispute about the role of
religion. On the basis of these common
values, the panelists concluded, these
three countries will remain strong partners
in the future.
THE FOUNDERS OF
ISRAEL AND THEIR
RELEVANCE TODAY
Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Inaugural
Lecture Series
Capacity crowds turned out for The Center
for Israel Studies Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair Inaugural Lecture Series: The
Founders of Israel and Their Relevance
Today. Three of the world’s leading scholars spoke about central figures who helped
create the Jewish state and their legacy for
the State of Israel today. The lectures were
each introduced by the inaugural Abensohn Chair, Dr. Michael Brenner.
• Derek
Penslar, University of Toronto
and Oxford University, discussed Theodor Herzl’s “Charisma and Leadership”.
• Anita Shapira, Tel Aviv University, Israel Democracy Institute, and the Itzhak
Rabin Center, spoke on David Ben-Gurion in “Leadership and the Shaping of
History”.
• Jehuda Reinharz, president of the ManEli Salzberger, University of Haifa and Dorit Beinisch, former president of Israeli Supreme Court
del Foundation and president emeritus, Brandeis University, spoke about
Chaim Weizmann, “Statesman Without
a State”.
SHLOMO BEN-AMI: GENEVA, THE ARAB
REVOLUTIONS AND THE PROSPECTS OF AN
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE
Former Israeli Foreign Minister and Tel
Aviv University Professor Shlomo BenAmi gave a presentation on a range of
Middle East foreign policy issues, including the Geneva interim agreement
over Iran’s nuclear program, the impact
of the Arab revolutions on the Middle
East, and the current Israeli-Palestinian
Shlomo Ben-Ami
2
Yediaut | Fall 2014
peace negotiations. Ben-Ami participated
with Prime Minister Barak in the Camp David Summit, after which he led the Israeli
team in all phases of the negotiations with
the Palestinians.
His latest book is Scars of War, Wounds of
Peace: The Arab-Israeli Tragedy.
Anita Shapira and Noah Nunez-Gross SIS’15
Derek Penslar
ARI SHAVIT’S MY
PROMISED LAND
AU COMMEMORATES 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE RESCUE OF BULGARIA’S JEWS
A standing room only crowd filled the
Abramson Family Recital Hall in the Katzen Arts Center to hear Israeli Journalist
Ari Shavit discuss his book My Promised
Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel
with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and
NBC’s David Gregory. In a private meeting
afterwards, twenty Jewish student leaders
asked Shavit questions about his presentation earlier in the day, and his views on
some of the most pressing issues facing
Israel and the Jewish people. Shavit also
asked several questions of the students,
seeking to “take the temperature” on campus and better understand the experience
of Jewish students at AU. The program was
co-sponsored by the Israel Institute.
AU’s Jewish Studies Program, Center
for Israel Studies and the Embassy of
Bulgaria presented a special screening of The Optimists: The Story of the
Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the
Holocaust, with Her Excellency Elena
Poptodorova, Bulgarian Ambassador to
the United States, and the film’s director,
Jacky Comforty.
The Optimists tells the dramatic story of Christians and Muslims from all
walks of life who acted individually
and together to foil the Nazis’ plans
to send Bulgaria’s Jews to concentration camps. Ambassador Poptodorova
notes that the film is “an illustration of
a truly unique act of valor in the dark
history of WWII, shrouded in secrecy
during the Cold War era… While Hitler was imposing his Final Solution
all over Europe, Bulgarians did what
was deemed unthinkable under the
circumstances of the time – they preserved the 50,000-strong Jewish population of ‘old’ Bulgaria, saving it from
certain death.”
Jeffrey Goldberg, Ari Shavit and David Gregory
HEARTBEAT
Heartbeat kicked off a world tour with an
uplifting concert in November at American
University in the School of International
Service Building Atrium. The performance
featured Jewish Israeli and Palestinian
musicians aged 17-21 performing a unique
hip-hop blend, interweaving Eastern and
Western music styles to amplify their message of cooperation, equality, and respect.
Heartbeat unites musicians, educators
and students to build mutual understanding and transform conflict through the
power of music. It was founded in 2007
with a Fulbright-mtvU Fellowship by SIS
Social Enterprise Masters student Aaron
Shneyer. Heartbeat empowers Israeli and
Palestinian musicians by creating oppor-
tunities for them to hear each other and
work together to build trust between their
communities.
In addition to performing original music,
Heartbeat members shared their experiences of growing up amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their creative effort to
build a better future in the region. “We believe that the silent majority of Israelis and
Palestinians desperately wants the same
thing yet has almost no opportunity to be
heard and we understand that music is an
incredibly powerful tool to amplify the voices of the silent majority,” Shneyer said.
Yediaut | Fall 2014
3
NEWS FROM THE FACULTY
Lynn Addington, School of Public Affairs
(SPA) was named editor of the international
journal Homicide Studies.
Dan Arbell, Israel Studies scholar in residence, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)
just published The U.S.-Turkey-Israel Triangle (Brookings).
Boaz Atzili, School of International Service
(SIS) was promoted to Associate Professor.
His Good Fences Bad Neighbors: Border
Fixity and International Conflict (University
of Chicago Press) won the Edgar S. Furniss
Book Award from Ohio State University’s
Mershon Center for International Security.
Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman,
Distinguished Professors in the Department of History, (CAS) won the National
Jewish Book Award in American Jewish
Studies for FDR and the Jews (Belknap/
Harvard University Press.
Michael Brenner, co-edited an issue of
Journal for Modern Jewish Studies. He was
elected to the American Academy for Jewish Research and was awarded the Order of
Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Erran Carmel, Acting Dean, Kogod School
of Business (KSB) took students in his undergraduate business course on Israeli management practices to Israel last March 2014
to study firsthand Israeli businesses. Carmel
co-chaired the March 2014 Israel and Water
conference at American University.
Max Paul Friedman, Department of History
(CAS), is a 2013-14 John Simon Guggen-
heim Fellow and 2014 American University
Scholar/Teacher of the Year.
Gershon Greenberg, Department of Philosophy and Religion, was visiting professor to the Department of Jewish Thought at
Hebrew University in spring 2014.
Gail Humphries Mardirosian, Emerita, Department of Performing Arts (CAS) directed
students and alumni in staged readings of
a new drama Signs of Life.
Alan Kraut, Department of History (CAS),
completed his year as President of the Organization of American Historians. He is
also chair of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island History Committee.
Lisa Leff, Department of History (CAS),
has a new book, The Archive Thief (Oxford
University Press) scheduled for publication
from Oxford University Press in 2015.
Saul Newman, Department of Government
(SPA), published “Faith and Fear: Explaining Jewish and Unionist Attitudes Towards
Compromise in Israel and Northern Ireland,” in Peace and Change.
Pamela Nadell, Department of History
(CAS) was elected vice-president for program for the Association for Jewish Studies.
New publications include “’Diamonds are
a Girl’s Best Friend’” in Chasing Dreams:
Baseball and Becoming Americans.
Naima Prevots, professor emerita, Department of Performing Arts (CAS), contributed
an essay about her father, Reuben Wallen-
WATER cont’d from page 1
A special thanks to the partners in and
outside of the AU community who helped
make Israel and Water: Scarcity, Innovation, and Cooperation a success:
AU partners: Center for Israel Studies
(CAS), Kogod School of Business, AU Global Environmental Politics Program (SIS),
Department of Environmental Science
(CAS), William K. Reilly Fund at Center for
Environmental Policy (SPA), Center for En-
vironmental Film-making (SOC), AU Office
of Sustainability.
Non-AU partners: American Associates,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Arava
Institute for Environmental Studies
Additional Support was provided by the
Embassy of Israel, Maryland/Israel Development Center and Richard * and Lois England (*deceased).
rod, and his immigration to Israel and then
America to Summer Haven, The Catskills
and the Holocaust.
Maina Chawla Singh, scholar in residence,
(SIS) spoke about her book Being Indian,
Being Israeli in many U.S. cities as well as
at the NIMOUD Conference in France.
Myra Sklarew, professor emerita, Department of Literature (CAS) and former president, Yaddo Artists Community, is completing a book titled A Survivor Named Trauma:
Holocaust and the Construction of Memory.
Jeffrey K. Sosland, School of Advanced
Professional Studies (SPEX), served as a
panelist on “The Future of Water Cooperation in the Region” at the AU conference
Israel and Water: Scarcity, Innovation and
Cooperation.
Russell Stone, Department of Sociology
Emeritus (CAS), participated in the program
planning committee for the 30th annual
meeting of the Association for Israel Studies.
Howard M. Wachtel, professor emeritus,
Department of Economics (CAS) and Founding Director of the Center for Israel Studies,
serves as a member of the American-Israeli
Cooperative Enterprise’s Israel Scholar Development Fund Advisory Board.
Thomas Zeitzoff, Department of Justice,
Law and Society (SPA), published “Terrorism and Voting: The Effect of Exposure to
Rockets on Voting in Israeli Elections.” in
the American Political Science Review.
CAS DEAN’S AWARD
Lillian Klein Abensohn, a scholar of Hebrew Bible, received the College of Arts
and Sciences Dean’s Award at a dinner
at AU President Neil Kerwin and Ann
Kerwin’s home in recognition of her
many contributions to the college.
.
Michael Brenner, Lillian Abensohn, AU President
Neil Kerwin, College of Arts and Sciences Dean
Peter Starr
Keynote speaker Alon Tal, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
4
Yediaut | Fall 2014
RECORD NUMBER OF AU STUDENTS TRAVEL TO ISRAEL
Four AU faculty from the School of International Service (SIS) and Kogod School of
Business (KSB) accompanied their students
to Israel on intensive academics experiences this year. These academic study trips
were in addition to over six dozen students
who studied for a semester at Israeli universities, went on birthright trips or travelled
on their own this summer. Students were
eager to speak about their experiences.
ENVIRONMENTAL PEACEBUILDING
IN A CONFLICT ZONE
SIS faculty members Eric Abitbol and Ken
Conca traveled to Israel and the Palestinian West Bank from June 7-20 with seven
SIS students to evaluate the environmental
peacebuilding significance of cooperative
household-level wastewater treatment systems. This was the second year of the SIS
sponsored practicum, working with Israeli
and Palestinian partner organizations, the
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
(AIES) and the Palestinian Wastewater Engineers Group (PWEG).
More than anything, I got context
from my trip... without actually
being able to go to Israel, I would
have never been able to truly understand
the environment. I was able to contextualize the differences and similarities between
Arab and Jewish cultures; grapple with the
discrimination, fear, and mistrust of communities in conflict; and begin to understand
how people live in conflict environments.”
—Matt Smither, MA/SIS International Peace
and Conflict Resolution 2014
My biggest surprise was the contrast between the urban/young
vibe of Tel Aviv and the tension
of the conflict that can be felt in Jerusalem”
—Kelsi Schegun, SIS MA’15
PROSPECTS FOR PEACE
SIS Professor Guy Ziv, who teaches U.S./Israel Relations and Negotiating Israel/Palestinian Peace, led nine students to Israel this
past summer to study the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, as well as how security, environmental, and human rights issues converge
to inform both domestic and foreign policy
in Israel. The students described their study
trip with SIS Professor Guy Ziv on “Prospects
for Peace” as “a life changing experience”.
Guy Ziv and students
Reflecting on our time here, I can
honestly say that my eyes have
been opened. Though I have a
much better understanding of Israel and
the conflict with Palestine, I am no closer to
having a solution. I think this trip has been
one of the most enlightening experiences I
have had.” —Ariel Ehmer SIS’15
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES: ISRAEL
Matt Smither and Kristine Smith
Kelsi Schegun
KSB Dean Erran Carmel took 20 students
from his class to Tel Aviv over spring break
to experience Israeli entrepreneurship firsthand. The group spent time at a 3D printing firm, in the Weizmann Science Park, the
Israeli stock exchange, and a major highend tire supplier owned by an AU alumnus’
family. They also visited with students of
the Management College of Rishon; these
students visited AU later in the year.
PHOEBE BRADFORD RECEIVES ISRAEL WRITING AWARD
Congratulations to Phoebe Bradford SOC
‘14 who received CIS’s award for the best
paper or poem related to Israel for her
paper “Meduzot’s Magical Multiplicity”.
Phoebe’s paper examined the use of alternative narrative devices in Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret’s 2007 Camera D’Or
winner, Meduzot (“Jellyfish”). The paper
explored the contemporary female experiences in Israel using the backdrop of Tel
Aviv and was an essay for her class on
Israeli film. Phoebe, who graduated cum
laude with a degree in film & media arts,
stated that film is the most accessible medium for storytelling, and that the “Israeli
Identifies in Film” class taught her to question assumptions and learn to ask the right
questions. “Unraveling identity issues
about a complex culture like Israel was so
much easier through film,” she said. “The
images in the class also made me want to
join a birthright trip.” Phoebe is currently a
videographer and photographer in Brooklyn, NY, and also holds the position of Creative Director for Boundary Stone Films, a
D.C. based production-company.
The award was created by Literature Professor Emerita Myra Sklarew in honor of
Benjamin and Eva Wolpe Reinkel and in
memory of Harry Rinkel.
Phoebe Bradford SOC’14, pictured with Laura Cutler
and Myra Sklarew
Yediaut | Fall 2014
5
ADDITIONAL LECTURES & PROGRAMS
Sponsored by the Center for Israel Studies and the Jewish Studies Program
“Ancient Jewish Sects: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes” Smithsonian Resident
Associates Program Evening Seminar by
Pamela Nadell.
“Beyond Ol’ Man River: Edna Ferber’s Novels,” Eliza McGraw, Department of Literature.
Dove’s Cry screening followed by screening of Album 61 as part of the Washington
Jewish Film Festival. Talkback with Director Ganit Ilouz moderated by Dan Chyutin,
Schusterman Visiting Israeli Film Professor.
Co-sponsored by WJFF and CIS.
“Environmental Issues Transcend Borders:
Water, Energy and Gas in Israel and the
Middle East”, Arie Nesher, Tel Aviv University. Co-sponsored by CIS and SPA Center for
Environmental Policy.
“Environmental Peacebuilding” panel discussion with Directors of Friends of the Earth
Middle East Gidon Bromberg, Nader al-Khateeb, and Munqeth Mehyar Co-sponsored
by Washington College of Law, SIS Global
Environmental Politics Program and CIS.
“Final Solutions in Yugoslavia: The Holocaust and Other Genocidal Murder, 19411942” Holocaust Studies Forum Lecture
by Emil Kerenji, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. Co-sponsored by JSP, US
Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Department of History.
“From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries
of the Bible”, Eric Cline, George Washington University.
Gallery Talk with Israeli artist Tzibi Geva
co-sponsored by CIS and AU Museum.
“Negotiating for Peace in the Middle East:
Egypt and Israel in 1978” William Quandt, University of Virginia. Co-sponsored by
American University Negotiation Project
and CIS.
“The Future of the Jews, How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel, and Its Relationship with the United
States” Amos Perlmutter Memorial Lecture
by Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat. Co-sponsored by School of Public Affairs and CIS.
“Tel Aviv After Dark”, Eyal Rob, Tel Aviv
University. Co-sponsored by CIS and AU
Students For Israel.
“Tensions Within Israeli Identity” Israeli
film screenings (Peeping Toms, Ballad of the
Weeping Spring, My Father, My Lord and
Jaffa) with talkbacks by Dan Chyutin, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Film Professor.
“Text and Traditions: Jewish, Christian,
and Muslim Visions of Afterlife” Panel Discussion with Pamela Nadell, Martyn Oliver,
and Reverend Mark Schaeffer. Co-sponsored by Philosophy and Religion Department, JSP, and the Office of United Methodist Chaplains.
“The Judaic Turn in Israeli Cinema”, Dan
Chyutin, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Film
Professor.
“The Last Great Nazi War Crimes Trial’:
Demjanjuk in Munich” Holocaust Studies
Forum Lecture by Lawrence Douglas, Amherst College and Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, USHMM. Co-sponsored by
JSP, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and
the Department of History.
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat
“The Phoenix Effect of Repression: Jewish
Armed Resistance during the Holocaust”,
Dr. Evgeny Finkel, George Washington University.
Tinghir Jerusalem: Echoes from the Mellah film screening and talkback with director Kamal Hachkar. Cosponsored by Department of World Languages and Cultures, JSP
and CIS.
IN APPRECIATION
MAY 1, 2013-APRIL 30, 2014
Donors to CIS and JSP
$2500-$4,999
Martin K. Alloy
Robert P. Kogod ’62, and Arlene R. Kogod
Jean P. Soman
$10,000 and above
Lillian Klein Abensohn
Carol Berman and Gary C. Berman
Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation
Debra Friedmann and Peter Friedmann
Lynn C. Greenfield ’79, P and Stephen E.
Greenfield P
Karen R. Keats ’62 and Robert M. Keats ‘62
Knapp Family Foundation Inc.
Galia D. Reiss P and Ori M. Reiss P
$5,000-$9,999
Lois H. England P and Richard England Sr. P +
Jeffrey M. Berman ’83 and Elizabeth A. Berman
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Cora and John H. Davis Foundation
Stuart L. Bindeman ’70
Marc N. Duber ’81 and Nancy E. Duber ‘82
KEY
6
$1,000-$2,499
Marilyn Wolfson Armel ‘63
Joy H. Baxt and Leonard J. Baxt
Miriam Benbassat and Eliezer H. Benbassat
Dottie Bennett
Michele Berman and Allan Berman
Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation
Ryna G. Cohen
Laura Katz Cutler AU
Michael C. Gelman
Susie Gelman
Carol V. Graham P
Sylvia Kay Greenberg
Ruby J. Halperin and Herbert Halperin
AU Current or former faculty or staff · P AU parent · + Deceased
Yediaut | Fall 2014
Toni Harris Paul ’71 and Ronald A. Paul
Margot Heckman +
Kenneth R. Heyman ’72 and Miriam Heyman
Deborah Greenspan and Jerald B. Greenspan
Jack Chester Foundation
Norman H. Lipoff P
Ron Kaplan
Amy E. Krupsky and Kenneth Krupsky
Stuart H. Lessans
Lynne Myers and Donald J. Myers
Annette G. Moshman and Jack Moshman +
Melanie F. Nussdorf P and Lawrence C. Nussdorf P
Arnold Polinger
Robert Russell Foundation
Norman H. Lipoff P
Levi Shemtov
Margaret A. Silver ‘94 and Sidney J. Silver
Russell A. Stone AU and Rala Stone
Howard M. Wachtel AU and Marie A. Tyler-Mcgraw
Diane A. Wattenberg
Shari Weisfisch and Ryan R. Weisfisch
$500-999
Judith M. Alembik ’60
Anonymous
Gabriela Bebchick and Leonard Bebchick
David Blumenthal MBA ’69 and Barbara Blumenthal
Ronald Brown ’77 and Lisa S. Brown
Jacqueline Cohen and Edward S. Cohen
Beth Dozoretz and Ronald I. Dozoretz
Michael A. Freeling ‘89
Jonah Gitlitz ’55 and and Sallie Gitlitz
Judith N. Herr MA ‘96
Louis and Ruth Herr Foundation
Cynthia F. Lubin P and David B. Lorsch P
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi and Victor Mizrahi
Susan Porter and Stephen W. Porter
Jack A. Serber
Myra W. Sklarew AU
Peter T. Starr AU and Alice C. Hill
$100-499
Ruth D. Bartfeld MEd ’82 and Charles Bartfeld AU
Susan J. Becker MA ’82
Marlene Beckman and Ken Speckler
Ellen Belkin and David H. Belkin
Beth Berk
Dava A. Berkman
Bryna Berman P and Fred Berman P
Marcia F. Billig MFA ’84 and George Spectre
Herbert I. Bloom
Barbara Bloomfield and John Bloomfield
James David Blum
Nathan Bluzer
Fani B. Brandenburg
Bernice Breslau and Joel Breslau
Florence Brodkey and Robert M. Brodkey
Kenneth S. Brown
Chenia Carmel and Yuval Carmel
Amira Chadwick and Richard S. Chadwick
Herbert Cohen JD ’68 P and Brenda Cohen P
Lynn F. Cohen ’71 and Arthur M. Cohen ‘71
Lois K. Cohen
Jessica Trisko Darden AU and Keith Darden AU
Eleanor Eilenberg
David L. Eisenberg P ‘17
Jack J. Exelbert ’57 and Trudy Exelbert
J. Casey Faiman ‘92
Eve Farber and David J. Farber
Judith H. Friedman, MS ’72, JD ‘77
Craig I. Gardy ‘91
Janet Getz and Sidney Getz
Barbara J. Goldberg MFA ’85 AU
Stanley R. Goldberg ‘63
Louis W. Goodman AU and Nancy R. Goodman
Samuel and Grace Gorlitz Foundation
Gail W. Gorlitzz and Cris Smith
Gayle Gross de Nunez P and Ramon
Nunez-Hernandez P
Martha W. Gross and Robert L. Tracy
Brenda Gruss and Daniel Hirsch
Jack Hahn
Margaret Hahn and Stephen Stern
Alan B. Hausman
Andrea R. Herman ’92 and Moshe Herman
Linda Herman and Jerry Herman
Kay Klass and Mark Levitt
Jill A. Klein MBA’91 AU and Frederick L. Klein
Julia L. Kogut ’93 and Boris Kogut
Joshua R. Kolchins ’94 MA ‘02
Jodi M Krame and Evan J. Krame
Lillian Kremer
Stuart S. Kurlander and David Martin
Amy M Lampert ‘94
Luis Landau
Joel L. Leibowitz ’62
Elihu Leifer
Dina B. Levine
Marvin R. Loewy ’58, JD ’60 and Toby G. Loewy
Dalya Luttwak and Edward Luttwak
Rona Mendelsohn and Allan Mendelsohn
Irene Mendelson and Sander Mendelson
Andrea Meyerhoff and Jacob G. Thiessen
Judith Millman Rosen ’86 P
Sidney I. Moskowitz ‘73 and Linda Moskowitz
Pamela S. Nadell AU P and Edward Farber P
Andrew S. Neft ‘86
Glenna D. Osnos and David M. Osnos
Leslie L. Palmieri AU and Peter E. Palmieri
Sandi Paul and Stanley Kogan
Karen Pierce P and Carey Weiss P
Norman Plotnick ’55 and Yetta G. Plotnick
Sandra Pollen and Richard Pollen
Sharon Rennert
Wendy S. Rudolph
Jeffrey S. Rum ’01 and Jessica Rum
Stephen M. Shapiro ’69 and Susana F. Shapiro
Leslie Shedlin and David Raim
Stuart J. Sigel ’73 and Bonnie Sigel
Myra Silberstein JD ’86
Stuart Sloame and Ellen Seeherman
Richard P. Solloway
Jeffrey Sosland AU and Mindy Sosland
Carol L. Starley and Steven Starley
Lillian Starr and Neil Starr
Gil Steinlauf
Jeremy S. Stock ’75 P and Merril Stock P
Janet G. Stotsky AU
Laura E. Udis
Robin Weinberg and Matthew Weinberg
Stanley J. Weiss AU and Joan Weiss
Esther Wilner ‘98
Frandee R. Woolf ‘77 and Steven M. Woolf JD ’78
Olga Zabluoff and Sidney J. Zabludoff
Under $100
Susan Arbuck
Susan H. Barocas
Jason Benkendorf ‘04
Renee Marlin-Bennett AU P and Charles Bennett P
Israel B. Benzvi MSTM ‘76
Susan Bikoff and Russell Bikoff
Joan E. Birnbaum ’71 MSTR ’76 MA ’77 and
Philip Birnbaum
Rayah Blumenthal and Robert P. Blumenthal
SallyAnn Carr
James F. Connors AU and Marlene Connors
Belle Davis and Martin A. Davis
Myra Deutsch and Stewart Deutsch
Norma J. Fenves
June Freeman and Ernest Freeman
Elayne B. Flax
Helen Goren and Isidore B. Goren
Ada Green ‘74
Rachel Greenberg
Shelly Guggenheim and Joseph Guggenheim
Ellen G. Haber
Mark W. Hart ’83
Toby R. Hyman
Avital N. Ingber ’03
Lauren B. Kart ’98, MAT ‘00
Aviva Kempner
Sandra Kloner and J.R. Franzen
Alan Levine AU and Lynn Addington AU
Roseanne B. Lieber, ’71, MA ’73 and Gary L. Lieber
’71, JD ‘74
David J. Manchester ‘06
Warren A. Manison
Elaine Mann + and Daniel Mann +
Arlene F. Markowicz ’71
Naomi McNally
Shereen L. Mendelowitz and Allan Mendelowitz
Albert Nekimken
Carol A. Oshinsky
David Paulson
Toba Penny
Judy Ramoy Johnstone ’68 and William
Johnstone ‘69
Sandra Robin and Gerald Robin
June A. Rogul
Joanne S. Rosendorf JD ’69 and Charles Rosendorf
Irving Rosenthal PhD ’65 AU and Suzanne Rosenthal
Jerry Rosenthal ’53 and Micheline Rosenthal
Jane Rosov
Craig D. Sager
Alan Schlaifer
Roberta Schneidman
Susan M. Silverman ’99 MA ’00
Bruce H. Sklarew
Gadi Soued ‘96
Judith D. Spector ’68 AU
Cary S. Tepper JD ’85
Norma S. Tucker EdD ‘84
Norman Turkish
Lisa D. Weiss P and Bernard M. Weiss P
Ina W. Young Med ’75 and Joseph Young
Special Thanks to our Community Co-sponsors
and Partners
America-Israel Cultural Foundation
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev
American Friends of the Arava Institute for
Environmental Studies
Embassy of Bulgaria
Embassy of Israel
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Habonim Investment Club
Israel Institute
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Maryland-Israel Development Center
Mcgraw-Hill Companies
PNC Foundation
Razoo Foundation
United Jewish Endowment Fund
THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS
DONORS, THESE STUDENTS
RECEIVED JEWISH STUDIES
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Claire Bailey
Eliza Burbank
Lucas Chapman
Estelle Seldowitz Endowed
Scholarship Fund
Martha Cramer
Hannah Ehlers
Aggie Grossman
Benjamin Hirsh
Ariel Mond
Yediaut | Fall 2014
7
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016-8012
FROM THE DIRECTORS
CENTER FOR
ISRAEL STUDIES
Left to Right: Pamela Nadell, Director, Jewish Studies; Michael Brenner, Director, Center for Israel Studies;
Laura Cutler, Managing Director, Center for Israel Studies
This was an exciting year for the Jewish
Studies Program and Center for Israel Studies. The Center celebrated its 15th anniversary year with a whole range of public
events exploring Israel in all its complexity.
Our explorations continued this fall, highlighted by an October 28 talk by scholar
and philosopher Moshe Halbertal capping
our conference, “How Jewish is the Jewish
State? Religion and Society in Israel”.
To the Gates of Jerusalem is based on the
diaries of James G. McDonald, first U.S.
ambassador to Israel. Ziv’s book asks Why
Hawks Become Doves: Shimon Peres and
Foreign Policy Change in Israel. Our scholarship and work in the classroom is augmented by regular public programs open
to the community exploring Jewish civilizations and the Jewish experience in its historical and contemporary contexts.
Upcoming books by our faculty exemplify
cutting edge scholarship. In the spring semester Richard Breitman and Guy Ziv will
speak about their new books. Breitman’s
Our accomplishments rest on your continued
generous support. Please consider gifts to
CIS and JSP to sustain these vital efforts.
WE COUNT ON DONOR SUPPORT TO ENSURE THE
VIBRANCY OF OUR PROGRAMS.
To contribute to our programs please contact:
CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIES
American University’s Center for Israel
Studies is one of the nation’s premier
centers for educating about today’s Israel—its achievements and its challenges.
Our approach is multidisciplinary, going
beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict to study
modern Israel’s history, vibrant society,
culture, multiethnic democracy, and
complex geopolitical issues. The center’s goal is to enhance scholarship and
knowledge in the university and the wider community about a multifaceted Israel.
Using AU’s expertise in global education,
and its central location in Washington,
D.C., CIS seeks to connect Israel to the
next generation of young leaders and to
serve as a national and international hub
for nurturing and catalyzing Israel studies.
JEWISH STUDIES
PROGRAM
American University’s commitment to the
Jewish Studies Program dates back to
the early 1970s. Since then, AU’s Jewish
Studies Program has included a major
and a minor and offered courses across
the curriculum, including in our General
Education Program, for all AU students.
The program takes great pride in being
the first in the nation to offer a minor in
Israel studies.
202-885-3780 | cutler@american.edu | www.american.edu/cas/israelstudies
JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM
202-885-2425 | pnadell@american.edu | www.american.edu/cas/js
An equal opportunity, affirmative action university. UP12-181