Visiting Faculty
Shimshon Zelnicker
The June and Harold Patikin Visiting Professorship in Modern Israeli Studies
Professor Zelnicker is a political scientist and a former Israeli diplomat. In his scholarly capacity, he has in his career held teaching appointments at Tel Aviv University as well as at U.C.L.A. As a diplomat, he served for many years as the personal advisor of Shimon Peres and as Israel's liaison with the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela. He is the author of several books and a number of articles which reflect his expertise in the history of the State of Israel and its politics.
Course Offerings
The Arab Israeli Conflict and Regional Realities
The course will offer a critical survey of the Arab- Israeli conflict, religious-cultural, historical as well geo-political dimensions. The course will focus on the Israeli and Palestinian national structures, their internal dynamics and political realities (such as, the tension between competing secular and religious ideological visions) and will examine the impact of the changing international order on the evolution of the conflict.
Israeli Politics and Society
The course is an introduction to Israeli politics and civil society since the formation of the State to date. The course will focus on the cultural background and history of the founding of the State of Israel and its political culture. It will pay special attention to the structure of Israeli civil society as a complex dialectical configuration of secular and religious communities; attention will also be paid to the challenge of integrating the Muslim and Christian minorities into Israeli civil society. The course will also examine the political institutions ranging from political parties, elections, and the structure of government. It will also explore the changes in the political culture of the country and the rise of post -Zionism as a potent force in recent years.