In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” the Middle East has been rocked by national conflicts, sectarian civil wars and economic challenges. Iran’s nuclear program has increased political tensions and threatens to further destabilize the region. As Shiite Iran and its proxies battle for regional hegemony against their Sunni Arab neighbors, ISIS fighters continue to spread their influence and ideology, destroying the old Arab state order in the process.
A two-day conference, “Israel in the Changing Middle East,” Dec. 6 and 7 at the University of Arizona, sponsored by the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, will bring together Israeli scholars and international experts to address the political, economic and military challenges Israel faces in the region, even as it deals with internal social, political and economic problems.
Speakers will include Itamar Rabinovich, president of the Israel Institute and former Israeli ambassador to the United States; Asher Susser, Judaic studies professor at the University of Arizona; Ami Pedahzur, Israel studies professor at the University of Texas at Austin; Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research; Shai Feldman, director of Middle East Studies at Brandeis University; Simon Henderson, Baker fellow at the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy; David Menashri, senior research fellow at the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies; and Yael Aronoff, chair of Israel Studies at James Madison College at Michigan State University.
The symposium will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union at the University of Arizona on Sunday, Dec. 6 and Monday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The cost is $100 per person (students, $30) or $150 per couple. A dinner on Monday, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. is $50 per person (students, $25). Online registration is required at judaic.arizona.edu/IsraelSymposium. For more information, contact John Winchester at 626-5759.
