Israel Dialogues Spring 2025
April 2, April 11, May 8, 12:00 pm (online only)
with thanks to our Israel Dialogues Organizing Committee and our expert panellists
Register here
Wednesday, April 2, 12:00 pm
Israel in Crisis: A Jewish Diaspora Response
with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Rabbi Hirsch is the former Executive Director of ARZA and last year was named one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post. Rabbi Hirsch is one of the foremost proponents of Jewish peoplehood and Zionism in the Reform Movement. You can read an excerpt from a recent interview with him here: Reform rabbi: ‘Hamas is the Palestinians,’ two-state solution a delusion – JNS.org or watch one of his sermons, where he discusses a trip to Israel that I was honoured to join him on in January, here. Rabbi Hirsch is joining us for the first time.
Friday, April 11, 12:00 pm
Trump, the Arabs and the New Middle Eastern Balance of Power
with Dr. Asher Susser
Friend of the program, Dr. Asher Susser, will return right before Pesach on April 11th. Dr. Susser is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University (TAU). He was the Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at TAU for twelve years and taught for over thirty-five years in TAU’s Department of Middle Eastern History. He will be discussing his most recent book, Jordan, Palestine, and the Politics of Collective Identity – A History (Boulder & London: Lynne Reiner, 2024).
Thursday, May 8, 12:00 pm
Beyond the Headlines: Understanding Israel’s Legitimacy Challenges on the Global Stage
with Michal Hatuel
The anti-Israel grassroots campaign is not a new phenomenon. Since October 7, 2023, however, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment appears to have intensified. While multiple polls attest to the latter, the former phenomenon in which Israel is delegitimized is difficult to quantify and assess. In this session, we will unpack grassroots efforts to dent Israel’s international positioning since October 7, along with pro-Israel pushback efforts, in six key arenas: academic, culture, digital, economy, legal and sports. The findings presented in this session are based on research conducted by the MIND Israel team, culminating in February 2025.
Prior to joining MIND, Michal held various managerial and research positions in the academic, philanthropic, and civil-society sectors, including at the Azrieli Foundation, the Institute for National Szecurity Studies (INSS), the Institute for Inclusive Security, and the Geneva Initiative (HL Education for Peace). She is a Founding Member of Forum Dvorah: Women in Foreign Policy and National Security and an adjunct lecturer at Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on soft challenges for Israel in the international arena, including legitimacy issues, relations with the Western world (Europe and the US), international organizations and Israel-Diaspora Jewry relations.
