$4.5 Million Gift Establishes Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center

May 2007 | Iyar 5767

Greetings from Jerusalem. We are delighted to present this month's edition of Shalem E-News. It's packed with news of the latest developments at the Center, exclusive upcoming events, scholarly activity and achievements, along with our Essential Reading picks.

Our goal is to share a large sampling of Shalem activities and happenings with friends and supporters, and readers of Shalem publications. We appreciated your encouraging replies from the first edition, and look forward to additional feedback in the coming months.

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$4.5 Million Gift Establishes Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies
With great pride, the Shalem Center and the Adelson Family Foundation have jointly announced the creation of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Center.  Its mission? To develop and articulate the concepts and values needed for tackling the challenges facing Israel and the West. Distinguished Fellow Natan Sharansky is the  founder and chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies.
Click here for more information on the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies:

President of the United States to Address Adelson Institute Conference in Prague
We are honored to confirm that President George W. Bush will address the Institute's first conference in Prague, June 4-6. To accommodate the President's speech, the White House added a 24-hour state visit to the Czech Republic en route to the G-8 summit. The President will deliver a thirty minute speech, which will not only be the conference's keynote but will be his main address during this European visit. He will also participate in a round-table discussion with the large group of dissidents who will be attending. For more information on the Adelson Institute's first International conference in Prague, click here:

40 Years of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern World
Long recognized as a war that shaped the modern Middle East, Shalem scholars argue that the June 1967 War's impact was global and has led directly to some of the most significant issues facing the U.S. and the world today. On Monday, May 28, the Shalem Center will host an exclusive Jerusalem press briefing featuring a panel of our expert scholars-- including Natan Sharansky, Michael B. Oren, Yossi Klein Halevi, Moshe Yaalon, and Martin Kramer-- to explore the global ramifications of the Six Day War. Shalem will also be sending out special communiques on each of the six days of war detailing the events that occurred on that day with audio and video analyses from the conference. Please reply to e-news@shalem.org.il if you do not wish to receive these messages. For more information on the event as well as upcoming media coverage, click here:

Yoram Hazony's The Jewish State  Makes First Appearance in French
Appearing at a critical time in French-Israeli relations, Shalem Center Founder Yoram Hazony's The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul has been published in France as L'Etat Juif: Sionisme, Post-Sionisme et Destins d'Israel. Hazony, the director of Shalem's Institute for Philosophy, Political Theory and Religion, marked the book's release with a series of events, lectures and interviews with the media in Paris. During his visit, Hazony responded to the de-legitimization of Israel in France and laid out his vision for the Jewish state's future. Visit our website for reviews from Le Monde and other major French publications in the coming weeks and months. For more information on L'Etat Juif, click here:

Winograd Commission: Time to Examine Israeli Aspirations, Soul
The just-released Winograd Commission's preliminary report into the Second Lebanon War sharply criticizes the political and military handling of last summer's conflict. Beyond the examination of failures in decision-making, however, the report urgently calls for an exploration of Israel's long-term aspirations and identity. In summarizing the report, the commission concludes with a set of questions whose answers are essential to Israel's continued existence as a Jewish and democratic state. 
Click here to read the English summary of the report:

Professor Bernard Lewis - Muslim Migration Biggest Influence on Islam of Tomorrow
In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute in March 2007, Prof. Bernard Lewis identifies increased migration to Europe as a significant turning point for Muslim issues of identity. Tracing the millennial struggle between Islam and Christianity, he highlights issues of acceptance and assimilation as key to the future of Europe, and asks how the West might best approach its newest citizens. Parsing past trends and present realities to understand the possibilities and choices ahead, it's powerful reading:
Click here to read Lewis' analysis of Europe's current struggle:

Author, Scholar Gordis: To Restore Hope, Build a College
110 years after the First Zionist Congress, observes author and scholar Daniel Gordis, people are wondering openly if Zionism is failing. Bringing neither safe refuge nor normalcy to the Jewish people, many of Zionism's original promises are left unfulfilled. The question: how can hope be restored and the continuation of the Jewish people ensured? One fix he proposes: An elite institution of higher education to train a qualified core of Jewish leaders. Concludes Gordis, "If the system's broken, let's fix it."
Click here to read the complete text:

Second Phase Findings: Mazar's "Palace" Most Massive of Its Period
Dr. Eilat Mazar, a Senior Fellow at Shalem's Institute of Archaeology of the Jewish People, is back in the laboratory analyzing data collected during the recently concluded second phase of her excavations in the City of David. The Shalem-sponsored dig conducted in partnership with the Ir David Foundation seeks to determine whether the massive building dating to the 10th century B.C.E. that she uncovered is, as she has posited, the remains of King David's Palace. The new excavations revealed walls that are up to 23 feet (7 meters) thick and showed a connection between Mazar's structure and the famed "stepped-stone structure." The latest finds suggest that the building is the largest from this time period discovered to date in the land of Israel. The lavishly illustrated full color report of the first phase of the dig is available through Shalem Press now and from booksellers across North America in the coming months.
Click here to see images from the latest phase of the excavations:

Scribner to Publish David Hazony's The Ten Commandments: A Blueprint for the Redemptive Society
Scribner, an Imprint of Simon and Schuster Publishers, has won the rights to publish Azure Editor-in-Chief David Hazony's The Ten Commandments: A Blueprint for the Redemptive Society in 2009. The book examines the importance and meaning of the Ten Commandments, both for individuals seeking to live moral, socially engaged lives, and for a democratic nation looking to survive and thrive in a time of flux, moral relativism and political danger. Hazony is presently at work on the book, in addition to his regular duties at Azure.
Click here to read more about David Hazony:

Guest Lecture Series Draws Israel's Finest to Shalem
Shalem's weekly guest lecture series exposes Shalem students and faculty to a wide variety of issues and opinions from across Israel's academic spectrum. Among the recent lecturers were the Hebrew University's Chariklia Tzireki- Sega ("Material Imprinting: Jewish vs. Greek Ideas in Medicine - A Test Case"), Hebrew University Prof. Yermiyahu Yovel ("Kant's Conception of God and Religion"), and University of Michigan Prof. George Bornstein ("The Colors of Zion: Black, Irish, and Jewish Nationalism a Century Ago").
Click here for the Lecture Series' Spring Schedule:

One Man Can: Polisar Spearheads Herzl Day 2007
A year after the Prime Minister appointed him to head the National Herzl Council, Shalem Center President Daniel Polisar oversaw festivities marking Israel's third Herzl Day, the Shalem-initiated holiday that commemorates the thought and legacy of Theodor Herzl. Led by Polisar, the Herzl Day Committee developed educational and cultural programming for Israeli schools, the armed forces, and municipalities across the country, and staged dozens of events in the weeks leading up to the holiday and on the day itself. On Herzl Day, Polisar was among the officials attending the state memorial ceremony at Herzl's grave in Jerusalem and presided over the first annual Herzl Day conference. Attended by some 600 scholars, officials and individuals, the conference was themed "One Man Can" and featured a series of reflections from leading academics on Herzl's legacy and contemporary relevance. A large delegation from the Organization of Zionist Youth Groups testified to the continued inspiration Herzl offers the young.
Click here for more Jerusalem events:

"Kaddish" Examines Halevi's, Generations' Post-Holocaust Fears, Yearning
To mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, on April 15th, the Shalem Center screened "Kaddish," the critically-hailed documentary about Shalem Center Senior Fellow Yossi Klein Halevi's search for reconciliation following his Holocaust-survivor father's death. Named by the Village Voice as one of the ten best films of 1985, the film is a personal reflection on the emotionally turbulent implications of growing up the child of a survivor. Following the film, Halevi answered questions from a packed audience of Shalem students and scholars, including whether he sees the possibility of a second holocaust and what responsibilities the third and fourth generations after the Holocaust bear.
Click here for more upcoming Jerusalem events:

Azure-Sponsored Student Journalism Confab Gets Heated, Productive
Jump-starting a new conversation in an increasingly polarized political landscape, top Jewish student journalists from across North America engaged Jewish intellectuals, editors and public figures during the National Student Journalism and Writing Seminar in New York. Co-sponsored by the Azure Student Journals Project, conference highlights included a rousing debate over the media's coverage of Israeli politics between Azure Associate Editor Noah Pollak and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Carol Murphy. Additionally, the conference gathered all Azure Student Journal Project editors in person, for the first time ever, allowing them to exchange ideas, trouble-shoot and chart the project's future. To learn more about the Azure Student Journal Project click here.

Guests from Far and Wide Break Matzah, Build Shalem Bonds
Friends and supporters of the Shalem Center, including participants from both the Jerusalem and Manhattan seminars, celebrated the Passover holiday in Jerusalem at Shalem's annual Passover party. The evening included music, dinner, and remarks from various Shalem scholars. The keynote speech was given by Shalem Founder and Senior Fellow Yoram Hazony, who discussed why Israel needs a Jewish liberal arts college.
Click here for more information on the Jerusalem Seminar:

Halevi Addresses European Policy Seminar, Comes Away More Optimistic
In a closed-door forum this spring, Shalem Center Senior Fellow Yossi Klein Halevi addressed top-tier European policy makers, ambassadors, and politicians on the threat of a nuclear Iran. The question that split the group: Which is more dangerous -- A nuclear Iran or the military strike needed to prevent it? During the three-day seminar sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and the German Marshall Fund, Halevi discovered a much greater sensitivity to the Iranian threat than he initially imagined. He reports that he was surprised at the lack of homogeneity he encountered among the policy-makers. "If there is a military strike on Iran," he says, "Europe's response will be more divided than we imagine: some Europeans will actually support it." 
Click here for more information on Yossi Klein Halevi:

Shalem Senior Fellow Martin Kramer Warns 'Anticipate End of the Golden Age'
With both a Jewish state and the support of the world's most powerful nation, the Jewish people has rarely enjoyed such geopolitical strength. But, warns Senior Fellow Martin Kramer, "History stops for no man-- and for no people." In an address to a Jerusalem meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major North American Jewish Organizations, Kramer analyzes various possibilities of how the future might unfold and asserts there is one clear reality: The status-quo in the Middle East will not last indefinitely and we need to make plans accordingly.
Click here to read the complete essay: 

Circumcision as Rebellion
An ancient tradition currently under attack in parts of the West actually embodies a Jewish world-view of strength, resistance and resilience. In "Circumcision as Rebellion," Shalem Center Associate Fellow Ido Hevroni unpacks meaning from a seemingly obscure midrashic account of the Biblical commandment of Brit Milah. Hevroni's piece marks the debut of Azure's new "Readings" section which offers philosophical discussions of classic rabbinic texts.
Click here to read the full article:

The following web addresses provide an easy to access directory of all Shalem Center sites:
The Shalem Center: www.shalemcenter.com
Azure: www.azure.org.il
Techelet: www.tchelet.org.il
Hebraic Political Studies: www.hpstudies.org
Michael Oren: www.michaeloren.com
IDF Lt. Gen.(Res.) Moshe Yaalon: www.mosheyaalon.com

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