Volume 67, Issue 4

Primer in Israeli Politics
by Gavri Butler, for the YU Israel Club

Recently, the Labor Party pulled out of Ariel Sharon’s national unity government, a move that threatens to force new elections.
The average Yeshiva student’s response to this bit of news is, “Huh? National what? New elections? Don’t they do that every four years like in America?”

Renowned Israeli Political Scientist Enhances Yeshiva’s Faculty  
by Jeremy Mazurek and Jonathan Bodner

Within the past week, we have witnessed the complexities and the intricacies of the Israeli parliamentary system.  The resignation of the Labor Party ministers spelled the end of Prime Minister Sharon’s national unity government, throwing the political establishment in Israel into chaos.  To many Americans, and even some Israelis, the democratic system in Israel remains largely unfamiliar and confusing.  Fortunately, though, some Yeshiva College students will be able to decipher the baffling political jousting expected in the next few weeks, utilizing the knowledge they are obtaining from a new course offered, aptly titled Israeli Politics.

Professors Exposed: A Review of Campus Watch
by Avi Narrow-Tilonsky

The pro-Israel Middle East Forum has recently launched www.campus-watch.org, a controversial new website that monitors campus debate on the Arab-Israeli conflict.  Specifically, the website cites professors’ writings and speeches concerning Israel, be it positive or negative, details activities on college campuses that relate to the Middle East conflict, lists anti-Israel professors, and encourages students to report occurrences of anti-Israel bias to the website.  Through these avenues the website’s creators hope to restore equity to academic debate on the issues of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Transcript: Keynote Address by Dr. Gideon Doron

Gideon Doron is a professor of political science at the University of Tel Aviv and the president of the Israeli Political Science Association.  “September 11 -- One Year Later: Responding to Global Challenges” took place from Thursday, September 12, to Saturday, September 14.

Gideon Doron: …Every young generation has the responsibility to make this world a better place to be in. This is what I teach my children and my students, which are, I guess, the same thing for me. And I'm sure that Dr. Ashrawi does the same with her students. So wholeheartedly I support and I accept what she is saying. So to try to understand why I was not convinced by Dr. Ashrawi -- and perhaps to offer some alternative explanation...

Transcript: Keynote Address by Dr. Hanan Ashrawi

Hanan Ashrawi is the founder and secretary general of the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy.  “September 11 -- One Year Later: Responding to Global Challenges” took place from Thursday, September 12, to Saturday, September 14.

Hanan Ashrawi: There is a certain tenacity involved of course in one's refusal to be silenced or intimidated or to succumb to censorship or to accept myths. One is always called upon to debunk myths, to challenge them, to challenge facile generalizations, pre-conceptions, distortions, stereotypes, and because of this sort of orchestrated effort attempting to distort my, not just presentation, but my person, allow me to do something I've never done before, to begin with a personal statement.

Birthright Israel Invites Yeshiva Students
by Zev Nagel

It’s free, and it’s not even Dougie’s.  Birthright Israel, the famed program bringing thousands of college-aged students to Israel each year, has brought its campaign to Yeshiva.

Address by Lawrence Summers, President, Harvard University, September 17th, 2002 

I speak with you today not as President of the University but as a concerned member of our community about something that I never thought I would become seriously worried about -- the issue of anti-Semitism.

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