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Shalem's Adelson Institute to Partner With Annual Herzliya Conference
January 2008 | Tevet 5768
Welcome to the January 2008 edition of Shalem E-News. Every year the Shalem Center adds substantially to its academic operations: new research institutes that attract top scholars, works of historical research and archaelogical excavations, classic works of philosophy and provocative national best-sellers, international conferences and magazines, student programs for hundreds of students and more. We are proud to update you on our growth and achievements, and are grateful for your friendship and support.
As always, we encourage you to be in touch with your comments, questions, and/or the email addresses of friends and colleagues who you think would like to receive the Shalem E-Newsletter. Write to e-news@shalem.org.il. If at any time you'd like to unsubscribe from the E-News list, please follow the instructions below for removal. If you'd like to receive the Shalem E-Newsletter in Hebrew, please write to he-news@shalem.org.il (remember to unsubscribe if you want to receive the Hebrew edition in place of the English).
Californian Venture Capitalist Isaac Applbaum joins Shalem Board of Trustees
The Shalem Center has announced that Isaac “Yitz” Applbaum, business leader and philanthropist, has joined the Board of Trustees of the Shalem Foundation. Applbaum’s business interests have brought significant investment to Israeli companies, and he serves as a Special Advisor for Economic Development to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. His philanthropic interests include chairing the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, and serving as President of the California-Israel Chamber of Commerce. "Yitz is an experienced and trusted friend, "said Shalem President Dan Polisar, "we are pleased and grateful to have his energy and advice available to us." Added Applbaum, “I am proud to be associated with the work of the Shalem Center as a member of its Board. I look forward to playing a more direct role in aiding Shalem as it develops the ideas needed to guide and sustain the Jewish people in the decades to come.” More on Applbaum here:
Shalem’s Adelson Institute to Partner With Annual Herzliya Conference
The Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies of the Shalem Center will be a co-organizing partner of the prestigious 8th annual Herzliya Conference for the first time this year. At Adelson Institute chairman Natan Sharansky's request, the conference will open in Jerusalem. Shalem Center Senior Fellows Michael Oren and Eilat Mazar will chair two of four panels on the opening day, and will address the conference on the subjects of patriotism and Jerusalem respectively. Natan Sharansky will address the opening dinner of the conference together with President Shimon Peres, IDC Herzliya founder Uriel Reichman Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. In the panel dealing with Risks and Opportunities in the Final Status Negotiations Distinguished Fellow Moshe Ya'alon will present a policy paper outlining the institute's alternative to a two-state solution. Adelson Senior Fellow Martin Kramer will assess Arab-Israeli negotiations in “Forecasts for the Region”. For more on the Herzliya conference, click here:
Shalem President Polisar Speaks at Reburial of Theodor Herzl's grandson
Shalem President Daniel Polisar, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Council for Commemorating Theodor Herzl's Legacy, was joined by Israel Minister of Diaspora Isaac Herzog and Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski in addressing a formal government ceremony marking the reburial in Jerusalem of Stephen Theodor Norman. Norman was the grandson and last direct descendant of Theodor Herzl. He fought for the British against the Nazis during WW2 but committed suicide in Washington in 1946 after learning that his parents had perished in the Holocaust. One year earlier, Norman had visited Palestine and recorded his vivid impressions, thoughts and views on Zionism. Click here to read Norman's essay on visiting Palestine in 1945, translated for the first time in Azure:
Michael Oren Prepares Marathon Tour to Promote Power, Faith and Fantasy in Paperback
Senior fellow Michael Oren will be touring the United States in February to promote the paperback version of his bestselling book Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present. The book is an acclaimed account of America's military, political and intellectual involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to the present. The book has been a New York Times bestseller, and was recommended to journalists by Condoleezza Rice. Oren's tour will take him through ten major US cities: New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, Charlotte, St. Louis, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.
Journal Catharsis: Strikes are “Not the Issue” as Higher Education Crisis in Israel Deepens
All of Israel’s universities have been closed for almost an entire semester due to a nation-wide strike of professors and senior lecturers. A recent editorial from the Israeli journal of the humanities, Catharsis, argues that the real problem in Israeli higher education is much deeper than issues addressed by striking faculty. The article argues that beyond matters of finance, the Israeli system suffers from a deep erosion in the quality of instruction. Click here to read about higher education in Israel:
Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Tells Condoleezza Rice Israel “Needs to Be Raped” by the U.S.
At a recent dinner held at the residence of Richard Jones, America’s ambassador to Israel, David Landau, editor-in-chief of the influential Ha’aretz daily, was quoted as telling the American Secretary of State that Israel “needs to be raped” by the U.S. in order for a final settlement to be imposed. Landau later confirmed his comments, adding that he had no regrets, and mentioning that he was congratulated by several Israeli professors in the room at the time. To read the full article as it appeared in the Jewish Week, click here:
Palestinians Refuse to Recognize Israel as a Jewish State
A number of recent statements by Palestinian leaders and prominent figures cast doubt on their readiness to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, and Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat have each made statements expressing their rejection of the legitimacy of Israel's connection to the Jewish people. To learn more about the Palestinian position on the idea of a Jewish state click here:
What is a University For?
It is often argued that the study of humanities is in crisis. This has in turn led some to wonder if the humanities serve any purpose in modern and market-driven societies. An article by Peter Berkowitz in Policy Review renews the debate surrounding the purpose and aim of a liberal education. He tackles one of the most important recent books on the subject and in “What is a University For” argues that “the humanities destroyed themselves by abandoning secular humanism in favor of the research ideal, which for a century and a half now has been gaining ground,” yet still remain “capable of restoring our appreciation of the grandeur and the limits of the human.” Click here to read the article:
Oxford University Press to Publish Shalem Associate Fellow Joshua Berman on the Bible
A step in the journey to a new understanding of the history of Western thought took place in December, when Associate Fellow Joshua Berman was notified by Oxford University Press that his manuscript on political thought in the Bible, prepared under a two-year fellowship at the Center, has been accepted for publication. Tentatively titled "Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought",Berman's book claims that the Books of Moses constitute a blueprint for a society far more egalitarian than any known to the ancient world, and that this is manifest in its theology, politics, and economics. For more about the book click here:
New Milestone: 1000th registration for Shalem Student Courses
The Shalem Center has been offering a variety of courses unavailable to students elsewhere since fall 2005 in the framework of its undergraduate and graduate programs. This year, Shalem counted its 1000th student registration for a course. Adam Rosner, a Princeton graduate in Slavic Languages and Literature with a minor in Hebrew, became the 1000th student to enroll in a course at the Shalem Center. Rosner, whose senior thesis at Princeton was on the interpretation and appropriation of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky in American popular culture, is working with Adelson Institute Senior Fellow Yossi Klein Halevi to investigate Russian culture in Israel. Click here for information on applying for Shalem's student programs:
Yirmiyahu Yovel to Present Annual Zalman C. Bernstein Memorial Lecture
Since 1999 the Shalem Center has sponsored the annual Zalman C. Bernstein Memorial Lecture in Jewish Political Thought. The lecture series offers a forum for leading scholars from Israel and abroad to develop and present original work. This year, the lecture topic will be "Stages in the Western history of the Will: From Philo to Augustine, Descartes to Hegel." Professor Yovel is the former head of the philosophy department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a Hans Jonas professor for social research at the New School in New York. His books examine both the Western philosophical tradition and its relation to the Jewish tradition. This year's lecture will be given on January 23, at Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem. Click here for information on attending the lecture.
Moshe Ya’alon to Address Delegation of American Muslims on Reform
Adelson Institute Distinguished Fellow Moshe Ya’alon will take part in a January meeting at the Shalem Center with prominent American Muslims. The encounter has been organized by Project Interchange under the auspices of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations. Ya’alon will speak to six key moderate representatives of the Muslim community in America on the "Possibility of Educational, Governmental and Social Reforms in Muslim Societies in the Middle East."
"Insult to Intelligence": Yossi Klein Halevi Confronts American Assessments on Iran
In a recent article published in the New Republic, Shalem senior fellow Yossi Klein Halevi tackles the American intelligence assessment on Iran. Klein argues that the recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which casts doubt on Iranian nuclear aspirations has left Israel with little room for maneuver. “Until now, pessimists here could console themselves that a last-resort Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would likely draw wide international sympathy and even gratitude.” From now on Israel will have to reappraise its strategy for dealing with the Iranian threat. Click here to read Halevi’s appraisal of what needs to be done:
Former Shalem Students Make Their Opinions Known
Two former Shalem students separately published their views in two of Israel’s most important dailies. Eitan Tzafrir, who as a law student at Hebrew University initiated Shalem's undergraduate student programs, published an op-ed piece in Yediot Aharanot. Tzafrir’s piece, "It's the Economy, Stupid," argues that emigration from Israel is not caused by a volatile security situation which actually brings out the best in Israelis, but rather economic paralysis caused by a lack of free competition. Another Shalem alum, Rotem Sella, addresses the current national strike of senior university lecturers in his recent "Ha’aretz" article. Shoddy Work from the Lecturers calls for the immediate end to the strike which is threatening to cancel an entire semester of studies.
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
Daniel Gordis: www.danielgordis.org Michael Oren: www.michaeloren.com
IDF Lt. Gen.(Res.) Moshe Yaalon: www.mosheyaalon.com
We want to hear from you. Please send comments and questions to e-news@shalem.org.il.
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