Israel at 60: Aspects from History

And the Present*)

SPME Austria has organized a lecture series at the University of Vienna next fall and winter to mark the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. The series, under the leadership of University Docent Dr. Brigitte Bailer of the University’s History Dept., will offer academic credit to students and will also be open to the public and interested academics from all disciplines. It is for the first time that a lectures series on Israel Studies is offered at the University of Vienna.

The lectures will be held at the Auditorium D at the University Campus, University of Vienna, 4 PM

The following lectures will be offered:

Thursday, October 16^th 2008
Univ. Doc. Dr. Brigitte Bailer (Institute for Contemporary History, University of Vienna, Center for the Documentation of Resistance in Austria): Introduction

Thursday, October 23^rd 2008
Dr. Elenore Lappin (Institute for Jewish History in Austria): The Roots of Zionism: From Moses Hess to Theodore Herzl

Thursday, October 30^th 2008
Prof. Dr. Barry Rubin (Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center): The History of Israel from 1948 to the Present; The Arab-Israeli Wars: Causes and Consequences; Consequences for Changes in International Opinion of Israel

Thursday, November 6^th 2008
Mag. Raimund Fastenbauer, Vienna: The Intellectual Crisis in Zionism

Thursday, November 13^th 2008
Dr. Doron Rabinovici, Vienna: Debating the Shoah in Israel

Thursday, November 20^th 2008
Univ. Doc. Dr. Brigitte Bailer: Austria-Israel after 1945, with Special Focus on the Question of Restitution

Thursday, November 27^th 2008
Dr. Ralf Balke, Dusseldorf: Flight and Displacement: The Arab States and Palestinian Refugees, Jewish Refugees from Arab States, and the Absorption of Jewish Migrants in Israel

Thursday, December 4^th 2008
Dr. Wolfgang Benz (Center for Research on Anti-Semitism, Technical University, Berlin): Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism and the “New” Anti-Semitism

Thursday, Thursday December 11^th 2008
Prof. DDDr. Peter Landesmann (Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Vienna): The History of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

Thursday, December 18^th 2008
Prof. Gerald Steinberg (Bar-Ilan University): Postcolonial Theories and the Middle East Conflict

Thursday January 8t^h 2009
Susanne Shaked (Hadassah Austria): Hadassah, a Center of Peace, Living Together in Peace: the Organization of the Hadassah Hospital

Thursday January 15^th 2009
Dr. Rudolf Orthofer (Austrian Research Centers, Systems Research Divison): Water Management in the Jordan Valley

Thursday, January 22t^h 2009
Prof. Dr. Avraham Faust (Bar-Ilan University, Dept. of Archaeology): Archaeology and Politics in Israel

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*) This lecture series is sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture and the Department for Cultural Affairs of Vienna