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College of Arts and Sciences Dean Peter Starr has announced the hir-ing of Dr. Michael Brenner as the first Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies. “Dr. Brenner is a world-renowned historian who brings a pro-lific record of scholarship to AU,” said Dean Starr. “We are indebted to Lillian and Seymour Abensohn for having the vision to create a permanent chair in this young field which American Uni-versity helped to create.”

Dr. Brenner built the first and only program in Jewish history and culture in Germany at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. The study of

Israel is a large part of this academic program. Dr. Brenner will take an extended leave of absence from the University of Munich in order to build up the Israel Studies program at AU. He has written six books, co-authored many journals and edited major Jewish Studies book series. A revised edition of his book Zionism: A Brief History has just been published.

After studies in Heidelberg and Jeru-salem, Dr. Brenner received a Ph.D. in Jewish history from Columbia Univer-sity. He has taught previously at Indiana University and Brandeis University, and served as visiting professor at Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, the University of Haifa, the Central Euro-pean University of Budapest, and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris. As Ina Levine Invitational Scholar Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Pro-fessor Brenner conducted research on, “German-Jewish History in Modern Times.” Dr. Brenner will join the AU faculty in 2013. ■

American University Welcomes Michael Brenner as First Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies

NEWS FROM THE JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM AND THE CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIES ■ WINTER 2012

FROM THE DIRECTORS

A merican University's Jewish Studies Program and Center for Israel Studies emphasize the study of Jewish civilizations and explore, inside and outside the classroom, the Jewish experience in its historical and contemporary contexts. Our award-winning faculty from

across the university teach students in a variety of innovative courses, advance scholarship and partner with a wide range of institutions in the nation’s capital and beyond. We serve the wider community beyond our campus, especially by shining a spotlight on Israeli culture and society.

While we invite you to take note of our activities of the past year, we hope you will join us in the coming year for lectures, concerts, symposia, film screenings, and conferences. In particular, please save the date for our March 3, 2013 academic conference, “Israel Studies and Jewish Studies in America” featuring Dr. Michael Brenner, our first Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies. ■

JEROME COPULSKYDirectorJewish Studies Program

LAURA CUTLERDirector Center for Israel Studies

Vision for Israel Studiesby Michael Brenner

It is an honor to join American Universi-ty as the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies. AU was a pio-neer in the field of Israel Studies and is positioned to remain a major center in this rapidly expanding academic field. AU’s setting in the capital of the United States allows us to draw upon a diverse political and international community. We will educate the future generation of journalists, politicians, lawyers, and academics with a balanced view of what Israel was, is, and can be.

My vision is that Israel Studies at AU will become an international forum, embracing diverse perspectives, ideas, and cultures—just like Israel itself. I plan to further strengthen AU’s con-nections with academics and institu-tions in Israel. We will offer a broad range of classes and will continue to emphasize study in Israel as part of the Israel Studies curriculum.

The program will provide a forum for debate and education. Two conferences are already in the planning stages. This spring we will examine the relationships

See Brenner on p. 2

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Holocaust Studies Forum Inaugurated in fall 2009, the Holocaust Studies Forum connects top scholars in the field of Holocaust research with American University students and the broader public in a series of lectures and discussions. The forum is jointly sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program, Department of History, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

The 2011-2012 lectures were:

¡ “Jewish Survivors in Occupied Germany: Close Encounters and Entangled Histories,” Atina Grossmann (Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art), 2011-12 Diane and Howard Wohl Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, USHMM.

¡ “Jewish Theological Responses to the Holocaust,” Steven Katz (Boston University), 2011–12 J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Senior Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

¡ “Pillage and Killings of Jews by their Neighbors,” Dr. Jan Gross (Princeton University), 2011-2012 Sosland Foundation Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

¡ “The Samuel Golfard Diary of the Holocaust in the Ukraine,” Wendy Lower, Research Fellow in Eastern European History, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich. Dr. Lower discussed her new book, published in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s series, Documenting Life and Destruction: Holocaust Sources in Context. Dr. Robert Litman, whose father rescued the diary of this slave laborer, joined the panel.

¡ “Together and Apart: Jewish Studies at Polish Universities Between the Two World Wars,” Natalia Aleksiun (Touro College), 2012 Pearl Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. ■

WELCOME NEW COLLEAGUES JEROME COPULSKY joins American Univer-sity as the new Director of Jewish Studies and assis-tant professor. Copulsky's research and writ-

ing focuses on political theology, civil religion, and modern Jewish thought. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon, The New Republic, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Daily Forward, Religion Dis-patches, and in such scholarly journals as The Journal of the American Acade-my of Religion, The Journal of Religion, and Perspectives on Political Science.

Copulsky is on leave from his posi-tion as Director of Judaic Studies at Goucher College. He was previously Assistant Professor and Director of

Judaic Studies at Virginia Tech, and has taught at the University of Massa-chusetts (Amherst) and Indiana Uni-versity. He holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. from the Uni-versity of Chicago.

DAN ARBELL, Scholar in Resi-dence, is a 25 year veteran of the Israeli Foreign Service, serving in senior posts over-seas in the UN, the US and Japan,

and holding senior positions at the Min-istry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Jerusalem. Most recently he was Depu-ty Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC and worked as Ambassador Michael Oren’s second in command for nearly three years (2009-2012). He is teaching Politics and Public

Policy in Israel and Arab-Israeli Rela-tions and consulting to the director of the Center for Israel Studies.

DANA HERCBERGS joins the faculty as the Abensohn Post-doctoral Fellow in Israel Studies. She earned her doctorate in Folk-lore and Folklife

from the University of Pennsylvania. As a post-doctoral fellow at American University, she will work on a book based on her dissertation research: Narratives in a Divided City: Childhood and Memory in Jerusalem, 1948-2008. She will teach the following courses: History of Israel, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Historic and Cultural Perspec-tives, and Divided Cities in the 21st Century. ■

between Israel Studies and Jewish Studies in the academy. Israel’s history cannot be understood without Jewish history. However, not all Israelis are Jews, and not everything about Israel is part of the Jewish experience. We will explore how Israel Studies is consid-ered part of and separate from Jewish history and culture.

In the fall we will host a gathering of international scholars to discuss Euro-pean and American influences on Israeli society. While the founders of Zionism and the first generations of immigrants were of European background and have influenced Israeli institutions, during the last decades the Unites States has been Israel’s closest ally and many aspects of Israeli society are being shaped by American values.

I look forward to returning to the United States where I started teaching Israeli history nearly twenty years ago. I am enthusiastic to build Israel Studies upon the firm groundwork laid over many years under the able leadership of Howard Wachtel, Russell Stone, and Laura Cutler. ■

BrennerBrenner from p. 1

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From solar-powered water heaters to hydrogen-fueled cars, the significant impact Israel has made as an innovator in green technology and the push for a more sustainable society is unexpected from a country of Israel’s small physical size. “Israel is unusually good at look-ing at problems and then taking solu-tions from lab to venture to commer-cialization,” says Erran Carmel, a pro-fessor in the Kogod School of Business and one of the coordinators, with CIS, for last February’s packed Greener, Cleaner, Better: Israeli Innovation in Greentech symposium. “Israel has had the unusual characteristic of being highly isolated and threatened for over 60 years and has no energy sources in fossil fuels.” This isolation, which was originally characterized as a disadvan-tage, has spurred a wave of green inno-vation in Israel by necessity.

The keynote speaker for the all-day symposium was Michael Granoff, head

of oil independence policies for Better Place, an Israeli-American company working to produce transportation infrastructure to support electric vehi-cles. He explained how his firm is over-coming historical objections to all-electric vehicles, such as their limited range and relatively high cost.

An array of distinguished speakers included Eli Groner, Israel’s minister for Economic Affairs to the United States; Jack Gilron and Eilon Adar from the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; and Andrea Yonah, a representative of the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, which offers up to $1 million to U.S. and Israeli companies that jointly develop and commercialize innovative technolo-gies. Many green entrepreneurs like Brad Dockser of Green Generation Solutions attended, and said they found the Israeli case studies useful.

“There are few nations in the world that are on par with Israel on green innovation and on a per capita basis, Israel may be first,” says Carmel. “Israel has a unique role for government action, in active partnership with uni-versities and the private sector, to take the lead in developing green and alter-native energy technology.”

KSB Professor Richard Linowes orga-nized a team of student volunteers who researched and created displays about 45 of the most innovative Israeli Green-tech companies.

The symposium, which was scheduled to coin-cide with the Jewish holiday of Tu B’shevat (the New Year for Trees, Israel’s Earth Day), had sev-eral sponsors. At AU they were the College of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Israel Studies and Environmental Science Program, the Kogod School of Business (KSB) and its MS in Sustain-ability Management Program, the School of International Service Global Environmental Pol-itics Program, the School of Public Affairs Cen-ter for Environmental Policy, and the AU Office of Sustainability.

The event was also sponsored by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Embassy of Israel, as well as Nixon Peabody LLP and Honest Tea. ■

FOCUS ON ISRAELI BUSINESS

Speakers for January 2012 CIS-hosted event, “The Knowledge Economy Trian-gle: India, Israel, and the United States”: Dr. Maina Chawla Singh, American Uni-versity; Nissim Reuben, American Jew-ish Committee; Stanley Bergman, Chair-man and CEO of Henry Schein, Inc. and co-chair, India-Israel Business Forum; Ambassador Arun Singh, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India; Ohad Cohen, Minister for Trade, Embassy of Israel; KSB Dean Michael Ginzberg, moderator. Co-sponsored by CIS, KSB, Embassy of India, Embassy of Israel, American Jewish Committee and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (Office of the Governor). ■

AU Hosts Greentech Conference on Tu B’shevatAdapted from AU web article by Josh Halpren

Above: Greentech keynote speaker Michael Granoff in AU's LEED-certified SIS Building.

Left: Noah Nunez-Gross, SIS ’14, with his research for the Israeli Innovation in Greentech conference. That experience led to a recom-mendation from CIS for a rewarding summer internship with the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.

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FOCUS ON ARTS & CULTURE

Israeli Love StoryEighty-four year old Israeli actress and playwright Pnina Gary waited 60 years to write An Israeli Love Story, a 70-minute monodrama about coming of age in pre-state Israel. Her personal story of unre-quited adolescent love—gained and then lost again—made its Washington debut in front of a capacity crowd at the Abramson Family Recital Hall in the Katzen Arts Center last September, thanks to a collaboration by AU’s Center for Israel Studies and Department of Performing Arts, and the Embassy of Israel.

The monodrama tells the story of how Gary met and fell in love with a young fighter of the Pal-mach (the unofficial army of the Jewish settlement in pre-state Israel), and how he died a few days before they were to be mar-ried. While the play is an adoles-cent love story that anyone can relate to, the backdrop of the play is the battle of Israeli immigrants idealistically fighting to establish the state of Israel in 1948. “Pnina's tale is an Israeli one, and like Israel it is strong, beautiful, humorous and tragic. It is our story,” said Adi Bielski, who starred in the play, and participated with Ms. Gary in a talkback moderated by Dept. of Performing Arts Professor Gail Humphries Mardirosian.

Ms. Gary also offered a master class for Performing Arts students on “the process of turning a real life story into a dramatic art." ■

Idan Raichel: Inside the Artist’s StudioIsraeli music sensation Idan Raichel came to AU Katzen Arts Center’s Abramson Fam-ily Recital Hall last March for an intimate interview and performance arranged by the Center for Israel Studies. The conversation with students was moderated by SIS/WCL 2011 alum Joshua Kaller and CIS director Laura Cutler. The New York Times recently labeled Raichel’s Idan Raichel Project the “soundtrack of Israel” for its incorporation of everything from traditional Orthodox Jewish chants to Caribbean salsa to Ethiopian tribal melodies into its songs.

Raichel sees himself as a bridge between cultures—both within Israel and out-side. Raichel said ultra-Orthodox rabbis have attacked him for taking the most sacred texts of Judaism, and setting them to pop music sung by women in front of a mixed audience. “On the other hand, one of the most important cantors in the world came to me backstage and said that I was getting many people to read the Bible!” Said Raichel, “You can write amazing love songs, but the most beautiful song will always be the Song of Songs by King Solomon. This is the bread and sugar and water and salt of everything we do."

He said his most moving experience ever was when he visited a San Francisco Jewish day school and witnessed a classroom of first-graders learning Hebrew by singing one of his songs, “Bo’i” (Come to me). “I walked into the class and they looked at me, thinking ‘who is this weirdo?’ They couldn't care less about me, but they were singing my song,” said Raichel, who concluded his talk at AU by playing that iconic song on a Steinway, to the great appreciation of the students. ■

CIS Hosts AICE ConferenceIn May 2012 CIS hosted its fourth annual Israel Studies academic conference co-sponsored by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. This year’s theme, “Israel: Cultural Images and Political Realities” featured morning sessions devoted to Israeli film and media messages and an afternoon roundtable discussion on Fateful Issues in Israeli Politics and Society, chaired by Dr. Ilan Troen, Stoll Family Chair in Israel Studies and Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University. Fred Lazin, AU Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor, participated in that discussion with Gerald Steinberg, Bar Ilan University, and Nurit Novis-Deutsch, UC Berkeley. ■

Israel Cultural Images and Political Realities

A c a d e m i c C o n f e r e n c e

M o n d a y , M a y 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t y

Joshua Kaller and Idan Raichel

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Robert Pines received CIS’s award for the best paper or poem related to Isra-el for his paper, “Ancient Societies, Modern Diplomacy: Analyzing the Relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel.” “I was inspired to study the history of the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel during my semester abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in fall 2011, when I took a ‘Foreign Policy of Israel’ course taught by Dr. Meron Medzini, a former spokesperson for Prime Minister Golda Meir. As modern incarnations of the world’s two oldest civilizations, I thought it would be interesting to see

how these two countries have interact-ed on the world’s stage. As China’s influence rises worldwide, Israel has much to gain by cultivating friendly relations with Beijing. To understand the dynamics at play today, it is impor-tant to see how relations have evolved since both countries gained indepen-dence in the late 1940s.”

Pines is currently a BA/MA student in the School of International Service and is double majoring in the Kogod School of Business. He has held internships with the Anti-Defamation League and The Israel Project. He had an op-ed published in the Baltimore Sun in August 2012 on the political status of Jerusalem.

The annual award was established by professor emerita of literature Myra Sklarew in memory of her uncle Benjamin Reinkel and aunt Eva Wolpe Reinkel and in honor of her uncle Harry Rinkel. ■

Laura Cutler, Robert Pines, and Myra Sklarew

STUDENT AWARD

¡ “Can the Peace Process Be Saved?,” Israeli Major General (ret.) Danny Rothschild, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, cosponsored by CIS and SIS International Politics Program.

¡ “From Frank Sinatra to Anne Frank: The Holocaust in Hollywood Films, 1944-1959,” Lawrence Baron, San Diego State University.

¡ “Israel’s Changing Collective Identity,” Fred Lazin, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor.

¡ “Is Peace Still Possible?,” Gershon Baskin, Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), cosponsored by CIS and SIS International Peace and Conflict Resolution program.

¡ Mom and Dad I have Something To Tell You, documentary film screening and discussion, actor and screenwriter Assi Azar, cosponsored by AU Students for Israel and CIS.

¡ “Princess or Prisoner?” Jerusalem Maiden book talk by author Talia Carner, cosponsored by CIS, Jewish Studies Program and Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation.

¡ “Reflections On the Eve of 9/11,” panel discussion with Ambassador Akbar

Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and Shana Cohen, Cambridge University’s Woolf Institute of Abra-hamic Faiths, moderated by SIS Dean James Goldgeier; cosponsored by CIS and SIS, Inter-cultural Management Institute, Jewish Student Association and Muslim Student Association.

¡ “Sacrifice, Surrender and Symbolism: Three Faiths Interpret Abraham’s Binding of His Son,” panel discussion with Department of Philosophy and Religion faculty Rabbi Leila Berner, Dr. Martyn Oliver, and Reverend Mark Schaefer.

¡ “Sharett versus Ben-Gurion: A Reconsideration of Israel’s Policy of Massive Retaliation in the 1950s,” Michael Doran, The Brookings Institution.

¡ Srugim screening and post-show discussion with actor Amos Tamam, translated by AU student, Einar Barr, cosponsored by Washington Jewish Film Festival and CIS.

¡ “Strengthening Israel’s Democracy: Arab Citizens of Israel,” conference cosponsored by Greater Washington Forum on Israeli Arab Issues and CIS.

¡ “The Arab Spring–Causes and Consequences in the Middle East, Focusing on Egypt, Syria and Libya,” Dr. Josef Olmert, SIS.

¡ “The Case of the Missing Kiddush Cup?” Jenna Weissman Joselit,

George Washington University. ¡ The Crisis of Zionism, by author

Peter Beinart with response by Aaron David Miller, Woodrow Wilson Center, moderated by Joshua Kaller WCL/SIS 2011, cosponsored by CIS, School of Public Affairs and JSP.

¡ “The Jerusalem Syndrome: How a Tiny Political Network Shapes Israel’s Policies on a Volatile City,” Ami Pedahzur, University of Texas, Austin.

¡ “Twenty Years Together: The Place of Russian Israelis in Israel’s Social and Cultural Mosaic,” Larissa Remennick, Bar-Ilan University.

¡ Washington Jewish Film Festival screenings hosted by CIS with discussions: My Australia and Mabul, with Mabul director, Guy Nattiv, and screenwriter, Noa Berman-Herzberg and LIA with documentary film-maker Aviva Kempner.

¡ “Women Who Make Things Happen – Cultivating Women Entrepreneurs Around the World,” panel discussion with Shelly Porges, U.S. Department of State and Dr. Liora Katzenstein, Institute for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Management of Innovation (ISEMI), Tel Aviv, moderated by KSB Executive-in-Residence Jill Klein; cosponsored by CIS, KSB, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Kogod Entrepreneurship Club.

ADDITIONAL LECTURES & PROGRAMS Sponsored by the Center for Israel Studies and the Jewish Studies Program

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BOAZ ATZILI, School of International Service (SIS), published a new book, Good Fences, Bad Neighbors: Border Fixity and International Conflict. He also published, with Wendy Pearlman, “Triadic Deterrence: Coercing Strength, Beaten by Weakness,” in Security Studies. His op-ed, “Attack Iran or More Sanctions? A Third Option: Israel and Iran Forsake Nukes,” appeared in the Christian Science Monitor.

RICHARD BREITMAN, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), completed work on FDR and the Jews, co-authored with Allan J. Lichtman. Harvard University Press will publish it in the spring of 2013. He also published “The United States and the Holocaust in Hungary,” in the collection, The Auschwitz Reports and the Holocaust in Hungary. He continues as editor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, published by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

ERRAN CARMEL, Department of Information Technology, Kogod School of Business (KSB), organized and co-chaired the “Greener, Cleaner, Better: Israeli Innovation in Greentech” conference at American University.

CALVIN GOLDSCHEIDER, scholar in residence for CIS and the Jewish Studies Program, presented two papers at conferences, “Ethnicity and Religion in Israeli Society: Why it matters to America” and “Immigration and Population Changes in Israel: Ethnicity, Religion and Family Values.” He also continues his research project with two colleagues at Hebrew University, Dov Friedlander and Barbara Okun, on educational change.

GERSHON GREENBERG, Department of Philosophy and Religion (CAS), has served as visiting professor in the departments of Jewish thought and philosophy at Hebrew, Bar Ilan, Haifa and Tel Aviv Universities and is a consultant to the International Archives Division of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

ALAN KRAUT, Department of History (CAS), is now President-elect of the Organization of American Historians. He continues to chair the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation's History Advisory Committee. His co-edited volume, Ethnic Historians and the Mainstream: Shaping America's Immigration Story is forthcoming.

LISA LEFF, Department of History and Jewish Studies Program (CAS), is publishing an article, “Rescue or Theft? Zosa Szajkowski and the Salvaging of French Jewish History” which will appear

in Jewish Social Studies. She is working on a book about the same subject, how a noted historian moved documents from French archives to American Jewish research libraries in the wake of World War II.

ALAN LEVINE, Department of Government, School of Public Affairs (SPA), founded and is Director of the Political Theory Institute, whose mission is to bring the ideas and insights of political theorists to bear on contemporary issues and events. He published a book chapter on “The Idea of Commerce in Enlightenment Political Thought.”

RICHARD LINOWES, Department of Management (KSB), continues to teach Global Entrepreneurship. He supervised a student research team which created displays on the most innovative Israeli green technology companies for the “Israeli Innovation in Greentech” symposium.

ERIC LOHR, Department of History (CAS), has a new book, Russian Citizenship: From Empire to Soviet Union (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012) which includes chapters about policies toward Jewish emigration and denaturalization.

GAIL HUMPHRIES MARDIROSIAN, Department of Performing Arts (CAS), continues to teach about the Holocaust through performing arts. She published a book chapter entitled “Giving Voice to the Silenced through Theatre” in The Power of Witnessing: Reflections, Reverberations and Traces of the Holocaust.

PAMELA NADELL, Department of History (CAS), continues as Chair of the Department of History. This year she published “A Tale of Two Stories: The Hadassah Century,” in Hadassah Magazine’s centennial issue; was named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Association for Jewish Studies, lectured in both Austria and Germany, and moderated the panel of the first woman rabbis at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

SAUL NEWMAN, Department of Government (SPA), will have an article, “Between Optimism and Pessimism: Israeli Attitudes Toward Conflict Resolution in the Post-Oslo Era,” published in the journal Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. He was recently elected to his second term as President of the Board of Directors of AU Hillel.

HERMAN SCHWARTZ, Washington College of Law (WCL), continues to oversee the Israel-U.S. Civil Liberties Law program, jointly sponsored by the New Israel Fund, at the Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law.

MYRA SKLAREW, professor emerita, Department of Literature (CAS), published “Leiser's Song,” a chapter in The Power of Witnessing and co-taught “Poetry as Midrash,” at the Jewish Folk Arts Festival workshop with Merrill Leffler.

MAINA SINGH, SIS, published “Indians and Israelis: A Strategic Perspective” in the Israel Studies Journal.

HOWARD M. WACHTEL, professor emeritus, Department of Economics (CAS), chairs the Association for Israel Studies Task Force on Israel Studies Centers & Professors. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise’s Israel Scholar Development Fund.

GUY ZIV, SIS, director of the SIS Summer Abroad in Israel program, published “Simple vs Complex Learning Revisted: Israeli Prime Ministers and the Question of a Palestinian State” in Foreign Policy Analsyis. He continues to write a blog for the Huffington Post about Arab-Israeli peacemaking.

NOTES FROM THE FACULTY

CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIESAmerican University’s Center for Israel Studies is one of the nation’s premier centers for educating about today’s Israel—its achievements and its chal-lenges. Our approach is multidisci-plinary, 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 uni-versity and the wider community about a multifaceted Israel. Using AU’s exper-tise 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 nurtur-ing and catalyzing Israel studies.

JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAMAmerican 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.

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Donors to CIS and JSP Lillian Klein

Abensohn*Gary M. Abramson

’68, P’97 and Pennie M. Abramson P’97*

Nancy L. Alper, JD’79Susan ArbuckMarilyn Armel ‘63*Susan H. BarocasRuth D. Bartfeld

MEd’82 and Charles I. Bartfeld

Gabriela Bebchick and Leonard Bebchick

Susan J. Becker MA‘82

Syma Benheim and Shlomo Benheim

Lee F. Berger ‘99Jason Benkendorf ‘04Dava Berkman Bryna Berman P’12

and Fred Berman P’12

Susan Bikoff and Russell Bikoff

Stuart L. Bindeman* ’70 and Martha K. Bindeman

Herbert I. BloomDavid Blumenthal

MBA’69 and Barbara Blumenthal*

Alex BoyarRebecca Brudnick

‘96 and Robert Sherman «

Henia Carmel and Yuval Carmel

Amara Chadwick and Richard Chadwick

Gerald Chasen*Alan CohenArthur Cohen ’71 and

Lynn F. Cohen ‘71Dorothy Z. Cohen and

Morris CohenJacqueline Cohen and

Edward S. CohenHerbert Cohen JD’68,

P’89 and Brenda Cohen P’89

Robert N. Cohen*Janis ColtonLaura Katz Cutler «Belle Davis and Martin

A. DavisMark N. Dorf ‘79Edward EitchesShulamth Elster and

Sheldon E. ElsterLois H. England

P’76 and Richard England Sr. P’76*

Jack Exelbert ’57 and Trudy Exelbert

Sharon Doner-Feldman and Israel Feldman*

Elayne B. FlaxJune Freeman and

Ernest FreemanJudith H. Friedman,

MS’72, JD‘77Craig Gardy ‘91Nancy H. Gewirz ’75

and Carl S. Gewirz MBA’91*

Sharri B. Ginsburg JD’93 and Jeffrey A. Freedman JD’93

Jonah Gitlitz ’55 and Sallie Gitlitz

Barbara J. Goldberg MFA‘85 «

Stanley Goldberg‘63Paula Seigle GoldmanHelen Goren and

Isidore GorenAda Green ‘74Bonnie Green JD’93

and Robert M. Green

Lynn C. Greenfi eld ’79, P’05, P’07 and Stephen E. Greenfi eld P’05, P’07*

Martha Gross and Robert L. Tracy

Herbert GrossmanBrenda Gruss and

Daniel HirschShelly GuggenheimHabonim Investment

Club AlephAlan B. HausmanMargot Heckman*Andrea Herman ‘92Linda Herman and

Jerry HermanArlene HewittKenneth R. Heyman

‘72 and Mimi Heyman*

Louise Klein Hodin PhD ‘99

Joel D. Hoppenstein ‘81*

Judy Ramoy Johnstone ‘68 and William Johnstone ‘69

Max M. KampelmanMitchell J. Kaplan*Ron Kaplan P’15*Lauren Kart ’98, MAT

‘00Karen Keats ’62 and

Robert M. Keats ‘62*

Aviva KempnerRobert A. Killip ’07Kay Klass and Mark

LevittSandra Kloner and

J.R. Franzen Julia L. Kogut ’93 and

Boris KogutLori Lyons Kramer ‘00Amy Krupsky and

Kenneth KrupskyAmy M Lampert ‘94

Luis LandauAdele LeffJacqueline Grapin

Le Goc P’00, P’04, P’06 and Michel Le Goc « P’00, P’04, P’06

Robert I. Lerman «Matthew Leshner ’97Stuart LessansCheri G. Levy P’11

and Michael Levy P’11

Herman Liebling, MA’45, PhD‘61+

Dorothy Linowes Richard G. Linowes «

and Elisa G. Linowes

Marvin R. Loewy ’58, JD ‘60 and Toby G. Loewy

David J. Manchester ‘06

Marcia Mankoff ‘91 and Doug Mankoff*

Elaine Mann and Daniel Mann

Renee Marlin-Bennett P’15

Naomi McNallyJeffrey Mendelson*Irene Mendelson and

Sander MendelsonAnnette G. Moshman

and Jack MoshmanJack J. Moskowitz,

MA’69Andrew Neft ‘86Albert NekimkenAndrea NordellMelanie F. Nussdorf

and Lawrence C. Nussdorf*

Avner ParnesBruce PascalToni H. Paul ’71 and

Ronald A. Paul*David PaulsonKaren Pierce P’08 and

Carey Weiss P’08 Sandra Pollen and

Richard PollenMindy PortnoyHila Reichman ‘97Anita O. Reiner ’69,

MA’76 and Burton J. Reiner

Harriet Reiter and Leon Reiter

Sharon RennertSandra Robin and

Gerald RobinMarian Rocker and

David Rocker* Susan L. Rosenblum

JD’85Irving Rosenthal

PhD’65 « and Suzanne Rosenthal

Judith RoweWendy S. RudolphJeffrey S. Rum ‘01Nicole M. Samuel ’00 «

Loretta SchaefferDiane Schilit and

Howard M. Schilit*Roberta SchneidmanHerman Schwartz «

and Mary SchwartzMyrna SeidmanStephen Shapiro ‘69Myra Silberstein

JD’86Sidney J. SilverBruce SklarewMyra W. Sklarew «Stuart SloameMargaret K. Shaw

Smith ’85 and Stanley F. Smith*

Joan Smutko ‘82Richard P. SollowayIlene S. Solomon

MA‘75Jean P. Soman*Carol StarleyPeter T. Starr « and

Alice C. HillRhoda Steiner and

Charles Steiner*Gil SteinlaufJudith Sugarman ’73,

MEd‘78Sheila TaylorCary S. Tepper JD’85Norma S. Tucker ‘84Rashel B. Turk ’79 and

Sherwin TurkNorman TurkishCarl R. TuvinEllen VillaHoward M. Wachtel «Diane A. WattenbergGerald E. WedrenRobin Weinberg and

Matthew WeinbergStanley J. Weiss « and

Joan WeissEsther Wilner ‘98Ina W. Young MEd’75

and Joe YoungOlga Zabludoff and

Sidney ZabludoffAdam S. Zucker

MA’09, JD’09

American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise

Baxt Family Foundation, Inc.*

Berliner Specialty Foods

Berman Family Foundation

Gary and Carol Berman Family Foundation*

Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation*

Embassy of IsraelSamuel & Grace

Gorlitz FoundationBernard and Carol

Kossar Foundation*McGraw-Hill

CompaniesNixon Peabody LLP*PNC FoundationHoward and Geraldine

Polinger Family Foundation*

The Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Foundation Inc.*

Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation*

Schwartz-Wolff Foundation

Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation*

Spiegler Endowment Fund

United Jewish Endowment Fund

Abensohn Fund Donations Lillian Klein

Abensohn*Gary M. Abramson

’68 P’97 and and Pennie M. Abramson P’97*

Marc N. Duber ’81 and Nancy E. Duber ’82*

Ruby J. Halperin and Herbert Halperin*

Robert P. Kogod ’62, H’00 and Arlene R. Kogod*

David M. Osnos

IN APPRECIATIONMay 1, 2011–April 30, 2012

American University is grateful to Lillian and Seymour Abensohn for their vision to create the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Endowed Chair in Israel Studies. We would like to thank the following individuals whose major contributions help make the endowment possible.

Lillian K. Abensohn and Seymour S. Abensohn+

Gary M. Abramson ’68 and Pennie M. Abramson

Dottie BennettJeffrey Berman ‘83 and Elizabeth BermanMarc N. Duber ’81 and Nancy E. Duber

‘83Lois H. England and Richard England Sr.Susie Gelman and Michael Gelman Ruby J. Halperin and Herbert HalperinLois Hollander and Steven SchlosserBarbara Kay and Jack KayRobert P. Kogod ’62, H ’00 and Arlene R.

KogodAlan Meltzer ’73 and Amy MeltzerIrene S. Pollin ’71 and Abe Pollin*Brian J. RatnerDebra Ratner Salzberg and Michael

SalzbergSelma Sitrick and Joseph SitrickGerald Stempler MBA’67 and Deana

StemplerThe Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family

FoundationHoward and Geraldine Polinger Family

Foundation

For a complete listing of supporters of the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Endowed Chair in Israel Studies, please visit www.american.edu/cas/abensohnendowment

* President's Circle Donor ($1,000+) P AU Parent H Honorary Degree Recipient

« Current or former faculty or staff + Deceased

American University4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20016-8012

Stephen and Lynn Greenfield Family Scholarship

¡ Zach Belinsky ¡ Rebecca Levy

Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship

¡ Arielle Feingold ¡ Joshua Guzman ¡ Lindsay Malin ¡ Sandra McKernan ¡ Schuyler Polin ¡ Matthew Zonis

Jerrold and Jane Goodman Scholarship

¡ Arielle Finegold ¡ Matthew Zonis

Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship

¡ Linda Benesch ¡ Scott Berman ¡ Hayley Miller ¡ Cornelia Poku ¡ Rachel Rabinowitz ¡ Rachel Ripps ¡ Mary R. Rothemich ¡ Alahna Sergi

Israeli student EINAR BARR (BSBA/KSB ’12, summa cum laude) received the Ben and Esther Rosen-bloom Scholarship for an Israeli stu-dent studying at AU. A member of Beta Gamma Sigma and the top accounting student at Kogod, she was chosen to give the commence-ment address at graduation. She is continuing as a M.S. in accounting student at KSB.

We count on donor support to ensure the vibrancy of our programs.

To contribute to our programs please contact:

CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIES202-885-3780; cutler@american.eduwww.american.edu/cas/israelstudies

JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM202-885-6740; copulsky@american.eduwww.american.edu/cas/js/

THANKS to our generous donors, these Jewish Studies majors and minors received scholarships this year.

Jewish Studies Trip to National Museum of American Jewish History

In March, thanks to the generous sup-port of the Jewish Studies Program, AU students, including those enrolled in the Jewish Studies class American Jewish History, accompanied by AU Hillel direc-tor Jason Benkendorf, visited the National Museum of American Jewish History. Dr. Pamela Nadell, chair of AU’s Department of History, welcomed the students to the museum. Nadell, a member of the museum’s founding his-torians’ team and its consulting histori-an for media, gave an insider’s glimpse into the making of a new museum. She discussed how its location on Philadel-phia’s Independence Mall, where the Declaration of Independence was writ-ten, influenced how the historians decided to narrate the story of the American Jewish experience. “The trip was extremely fun and interesting. It was nice to learn about my American Jewish heritage with other Jews from American,” said Jewish Student Asso-cation President Scott Lorsch, KSB ’14, pictured fourth from left. ■