Featured this week

Students Rally for Kidnapped Soldiers
by Megan Jacobs

Amid banners urging: "Don't let apathy kill them," some 3,000 students and soldiers, along with members of the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, kicked off a weeklong effort in Jerusalem to urge foreign governments to work toward the release of abducted IDF soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. The World Student Solidarity Event for the Kidnapped Soldiers was a collaborative effort by the Jewish Agency's Education Department and the WZO's Hagshama youth division. ome 40 rallies took place in 70 cities around the world, including in the United States, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Canada. (Jerusalem Post)

Brandeis: Scholar Discusses Israel Feminism
by Sri Kruehnlenz

Israeli feminist scholar and activist Hannah Safran gave a presentation on America’s possible influence on the feminist movement in Israel last week at the Women’s Studies Research Center. During the course of the lecture, entitled “America in the Promised Land: Is Feminist Activism in Israel Local or Imported?” Hadassah-Brandeis Scholar-in-Residence Safran gave both an objective and personal perspective on feminism in Israel. (Brandeis Hoot)

Columbia: Bollinger Reaffirms Stance on Ahmadinejad
by Melissa Repko

University President and Chair of the University Senate Lee Bollinger reviewed the visit of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and was criticized by various faculty members at last last week’s Senate meeting. Bollinger debriefed the visit from start to finish and commended students for their participation in actions he felt highlighted the significance of free speech. He stressed the academic purpose of the visit and said that he does not anticipate the event to have detrimental repercussions for Columbia. "At the end of the day, despite the threats and unhappiness...this will not have a negative effect on the institution. I am now confident of that," he said. He later added, "There are many different views on this [the visit] and I respect most all of them."  (Columbia Spectator)

Emory: Israel Divided, Journalist Says
by Susan Barkley

Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, spoke on life in Israel behind the headlines, and how the region’s political atmosphere affects and divides Israelis last week. Hoffman’s lecture focused on several aspects of Israeli life including relations with Syria, which he said are mostly censored in Israel. He joked about “recycling politicians” and President Bush’s “axis of evil.” But past the jokes, Hoffman stressed that Israeli people do have real lives outside the headlines on war and turmoil. Hoffman cited conflicts with Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine and internal rift as major threats and challenges to Israel today. “We are a very divided people in Israel,” he said. (Emory Wheel)

Harvard: Israeli Festival Draws 500 Students
by Chelsea L. Shover

Students who stepped out of the drizzle last week and into the tent on the Science Center lawn were welcomed with music, Hebrew name bracelets, and free falafel. iFest, the annual celebration of Israeli culture, drew about 500 people, said event organizer Dana A. Stern ’09. "It’s a chance to bring the beauty of Israel’s society and Israel’s history to the greater student body,” said Stern, president of Harvard Students for Israel (HSI). Tables were set up around the edge of the tent where students could plant a seed to simulate the communal farming of kibbutzim, make a bracelet with Hebrew letters, or compare Israel’s size to Argentina, Eqypt, France, the U.S., and Maine. (Harvard Crimson)

King's College, UK: UK Academic Delegation Seeks Research Cooperation
by Jonny Paul

In an effort to promote cooperation between Israel and the UK universities in the light of the defunct academic boycott, a delegation of senior British university heads visited Israel last week. Prof. Prof. Rick Trainor, president of Universities UK, the umbrella organization of all UK universities, and vice-chancellor of Kings College London, said at the end of the visit that he was "struck by the tremendous academic strength of Israeli universities" and that Israeli academia is "something we want to interact with." (Jerusalem Post)

Monash, Australia and Hebrew: Aussie Educators Visit Israel
by Sharon Berger

A delegation of 12 Australian senior educators and public figures has completed a 13-day instructional trip to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The group travelled to Israel to learn more about its pioneering work with immigrant students and accelerated learning practices. It was the second high-level visit to Israel this year by an Australian educational delegation. The visit was organized in conjunction with the Hebrew University’s National Council of Jewish Women  Research Institute for Innovation in Education, to learn from Israeli experiences in developing the numeracy and literacy skills of students who are socially at-risk. The Australian delegation, led by Professor Sue Willis, the dean of education at Monash University, observed various programs designed by Israeli educational experts. (Australian Jewish News)

Peking, China: Livni 'Encouraged by Debate Caused by Iran Sanctions'
by Ronny Sofer

The sanctions imposed on Iran are not against the Arab world, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni explained last week in a meeting with students at the Peking University. According to Livni, "The sanctions will add to the stability in the region, as Arab countries are also threatened by Iran." Answering to a question on Beijing's part in the sanctions, Livni said that "China has a deciding role on this matter, as it is a permanent Security Council member, and the consensus with which these decisions are made is highly important." (Ynet News)

Qatar: Professor Says That Israel Is the Most Arab Country in the Middle East

Presenting a "view from Jerusalem", Eldad Pardo, an expert from Hebrew University said, Israel is the "most Arab country" in the Middle East with Arabic as one of its two official languages, the other being Hebrew. “We have bilingual schools, which offer special education in Arabic. We are very much a Middle Eastern country," said Pardo. He said the common areas that bind Israel and America are democracy, free press, Judeo-Christian relations, among others. America is made of individuals but in the Middle East family, tribe, religion, and ethnic groups are predominant. Separation of religion from the state is not practical in this region," said Pardo. (The Peninsular)

Yerevan, Armenia: Groups Slam University For Honoring Ahmadinejad
by Ben Harris

Armenian Americans slammed the decision by a university in the Armenian capital of Yerevan to honor Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad during a state visit to Armenia last week was presented with a gold medal and an honorary doctorate Monday from Yerevan State University. An editorial in the Armenian weekly, the house organ of the Armenian National Committee of America, condemned the university, noting that Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier who has disregarded historical research. "The university's decision to bestow an honorary doctorate is simply unacceptable," the editorial said. "We are surprised that as the officials in charge of the alma mater of a nation that rose from the ashes of another genocide, they did not take this fact into consideration before deciding to award the honorary degree." (JTA News/Baltimore Jewish Times)
    See also ADL Praises Armenian Jewish Community's Condemnation of Yerevan State U  (Jerusalem Post)

Ben-Gurion: Israeli Students Tackle Poverty in Tanzania

Ten Israeli students from Ben-Gurion University's Beersheva campus arrived in Tanzania last week to launch a program designed to demonstrate the effects of poverty and the ways in which it can be overcome, IsrAID reported. The students, who are studying a number of different disciplines, will remain in Africa for three months, working with humanitarian aid projects such as a tourism micro-finance program, a local orphanage, and a hostel which cares for children with disabilities. The program was initiated by Dr. Tamar Golan, former Israeli Ambassador to Angola and the Congo and now head of the African Department at BGU, and looks set to grow further in the future. The next stage of the project has already attracted dozens of applicants, who will join the group in Tanzania and Angola. (Israel21c)

Brown: Prof's Essay Alleges Threat to Academic Freedom
by Matthew Varley

In the current issue of the American Association of University Professors' publication "Academe," Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Elliott Colla alleges that Rabbi Serena Eisenberg '87, executive director of Brown Hillel and an associate University chaplain, attempted to "send students to disrupt a forum on academic freedom at Brown" that he co-hosted.  In response to Colla's article, which was titled "Academic Freedom and Middle East Studies," four Brown faculty members have written a letter to the publication refuting Colla's claims, and President Ruth Simmons has personally expressed her support for Eisenberg in the dispute. (Brown Daily Herald)

Two Backers Give UConn A Boost

West Hartford developer Simon Konover and his wife, Doris, have endowed a faculty chair to support teaching and research by a leading scholar in Jewish life, religion and history at the University of Connecticut. With their $1.5 million donation, the Konovers hope to attract a faculty member with an international reputation to develop new courses and provide research leadership in the field of Judaic studies. The center is dedicated to academic research and teaching, public service, and community outreach and offers one of only six master's degree programs in Judaic studies at a public college in the country. It also offers an Israel Study Program, co-sponsors an archaeological dig at Sepphoris in Israel and houses the Berman Institute-North American Jewish Data Bank, the central repository of social scientific studies of North American Jewry. (Courant)

George Mason: U.S.-Israel Police Symposium Seeks to Join Minds on Terror
by Rebecca Anna Stoil

Academics and police brass, Americans and Israelis, sat side by side in Jerusalem this week, hoping that a symposium two years in the making would help them pave new roads on the path to confronting terrorism in civil society. The joint symposium - organized by top Public Security Ministry researcher Dr. Yisrael Barak and his counterparts at the U.S.'s National Institute of Justice and convened under the banner "To Serve and to Protect: Police and Policing in the Age of Terror," paired up American-Israeli research duos who had worked together to formulate position papers. Participants in the symposium included Prof. David Weisbord, head of Hebrew University's Criminology Institute, as well as professors from George Mason University in Virginia, the University of Haifa, Herzliya's Interdisciplinary Center, the University of Maryland, the John Jay College for Criminal Justice in Manhattan and the University of South Carolina. (Jerusalem Post)

Keele: The 'Double Standards' of Tony Judt

At the Chicago conference on academic freedom this month, the New York University historian Tony Judt spoke about how the promiscuous manner in which the charge of anti-Semitism has been leveled against critics of Israel is creating something of a backlash. In essence, Judt claims that Israel's advocates risk fostering a resurgence of anti-Semitism. Eve Garrard, a senior lecturer at the Center for Professional Ethics at Keele University, is very skeptical of Judt's argument. Garrard writes that Judt's logic suffers from a grievous double standard whereby critics of Israel (like Judt) should speak the truth as they see it even if it places them in bed with some unseemly companions, while critics of Judt (like Garrard or the Anti-Defamation League) should bite their tongue lest they unwittingly encourage a spike in anti-Semitism.  (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Louisiana State: Activists Want to Divest State Money from Iran
by Ginger Gibson

Several campus groups want to ask the state Legislature to remove state support from any company that does business with the Iran government or other businesses in that country. Tigers for Israel along with the College Democrats and the College Republicans met Wednesday night to discuss an effort the groups plan to undertake to lobby the state government. Tigers for Israel President Ari Krupkin told the 20 people who gathered inside the Union that the groups are going to start researching and lobbying for legislation that would bar the state from investing any state money in companies that do business in Iran. The restrictions would put pressure on the Iran government to stop developing nuclear weapons, said Krupkin, music performance and fiance junior. (Daily Reveille)

One-State Plan Defeated at Oxford Debate

A motion calling for a one-state solution was defeated at the famous Oxford Union debating forum. The motion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lost last week by a vote of 191-60 at Oxford University in Britain. Professor Norman Finkelstein, a far-left critic of Israel, was scheduled to be on the team opposing the motion but was replaced by the Oxford Union at the last minute because of protests by the pro-Israel group Peace Now UK. After Finkelstein's replacement by Peace Now UK activist Paul Usiskin was announced, the team that proposed the motion withdrew from participating in the debate. The motion was proposed by Professors Avi Shlaim of St. Antony's College Oxford, Ilan Pappe of Exeter University and Ghada Karmi of the Center for Islamic Studies at Exeter. (JTA News)

Princeton: Era of Interim Accords Has Passed, Former U.S. Envoy Says
by Sheldon Kirshner

Israel and the Palestinians should use the forthcoming Mideast conference in the United States to signal an interest in signing a comprehensive peace agreement, the former American ambassador to Israel and Egypt said recently. Warning that the conference could fail should final status issues - permanent borders, Israeli settlements and the status of Jerusalem - not be addressed, Daniel Kurtzer said that the era of interim accords has definitely passed. “It’s time to move beyond incrementalism,” he said in a reference to the abortive Oslo peace process. “It’s imperative to talk about final status issues.” (Canadian Jewish News)

Wisconsin: Mayor Gets Back from Jerusalem, Meets Students in Israel
by Bridget Roby

Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz returned last week from his first trip to the Middle East where he attended a conference in Jerusalem with nearly 50 city leaders from around the world. While at the conference, Cieslewicz also had the opportunity to meet with University of Wisconsin students who were currently studying abroad at the Hebrew University through the George Mosse exchange program. As part of a joint effort between UW’s history department and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, six UW graduate students are currently studying abroad in Jerusalem, and four students from the Hebrew University are currently studying at UW. According to John Tortorice, director of the George Mosse program at UW, 26 Israeli students studied at UW since the program’s birth in 2000, while only 22 Madison students have ventured to the Hebrew University. “I certainly encourage anyone who is interested in that program to get involved,” Cieslewicz said. “It’s a tremendous experience.”  (Badger Herald)