CMJS Spotlight on Jewish Communities

Dear community partners,

Like all of you our minds and emotions are reeling from the terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7. As we process our anguish for those who were murdered, injured, or taken hostage in that horrific attack, we also worry about continued violence in the months ahead.

At this time, instead of sharing community studies data, we would like to recommend other resources at Brandeis University that may be of help. The Crown Center for Middle East Studies and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, both at Brandeis, have recently hosted panel discussions that bring together important scholars and public intellectuals to provide analysis and context for the terror attack and related geo-political considerations. Please see information and links about these panel discussions below.

Going forward, we will continue to share efforts to aid Israel and strengthen Jewish communities.

With prayers for strength, resilience, and healing, 

Janet Krasner Aronson

Matthew Boxer

Matthew A. Brookner

Leonard Saxe

Can Arab-Israeli Peace Be Expanded Despite an Intensifying Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?: Teaching the Arab-Israeli Conflict at Brandeis

Crown Center for Middle East Studies

October 18, 2023

The three authors of Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East (one of the top five books on the topic recommended by Harper's Bazaar) came together to discuss how the unique approach suggested by the textbook and related course can also help explain the recent dramatic developments in the conflict and the possible ramifications of these developments on peacemaking efforts. What caused this recent horrific eruption of violence? What may affect where the conflict might go from here on? And finally, might these developments lead to renewed efforts to resolve the conflict and what might these efforts look like?

Panelists:

• Shai Feldman is the Raymond Frankel Professor in Israeli Politics and Society and the founding director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies.
• Abdel Monem Said Aly is the chairman, CEO, and director of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo, chairman of the Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, and a founding senior fellow at the Crown Center.
• Khalil Shikaki is the director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah and a founding senior fellow at the Crown Center.

Moderator:

• Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies at Suffolk University and a former senior fellow at the Crown Center.

Teach-in: War in Israel – Reflections from Brandeis Faculty

Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, cosponsored by Crown Center for Middle East Studies

October 12, 2023

Panelists:

• Eva Bellin, Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics in the Department of Politics and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies
• Yuval Evri, Assistant Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies on the Marash and Ocuin Chair in Ottoman, Mizrahi, and Sephardic Jewish Studies
• Shai Feldman, Raymond Frankel Professor in Israeli Politics and Society at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies
• Abdel Monem Said Aly, Chairman, CEO, and Director of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo; Chairman of the Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm; Founding senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies
• Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor; Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Department of Near Eastern & Judaic Studies

Moderator:

• Alexander Kaye, Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies; Karl, Harry, and Helen Stoll Chair in Israel Studies; Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies