Seven weeks after Hamas brutally killed more than 1,200 Israelis and others and kidnapped 239, hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. Joy, anguish and uncertainty hovered in Israel as some hostages were released and others retained. Joining us for CIE’s eighth weekly webinar to provide insightful analyses on the war and its implications are Tel Aviv University Professor Meir Litvak, delving into the origins of Islamic antisemitism and Iran’s role as ideological choreographer seeking Israel’s destruction; Dr. Mark Heller, a Principal Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, a veteran specialist on intraregional politics; and Dr. Steven Bayme, an astute analyst of Israel-Diaspora relations and antisemitism in America. Dr. Ken Stein, CIE President and Emory University Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern history and political science, is the moderator Nov. 29, 2023.
Latest articles from CIE
#149 Contemporary Readings July 2025
Maya Rezak and Ken Stein, July 31, 2025 Videos Ron Dermer, Minister of Diaspora Affairs, “Review of the Hamas-Israel War: Part 1” Ron Dermer, Minister of Diaspora Affairs, “Review of the Hamas-Israel War: Part 2”…
British Report Reveals “Separatist” Jewish Education System in Palestine, 1946
With the British spending local revenue on strategic needs — ports, roads and communication systems — scant funds were devoted to education in the Mandate. Already baked into diasporic habits, the Jewish community raced forward in educating its own in Palestine to inculcate penetrating attachments to Palestine as the Jewish national home. Arab youth literacy ran in place, with separatist education contributing mightily to communal divisions, as occurred simultaneously in the economic and geospatial spheres.
Moshe Shertok, “Palestine — A Jewish Commonwealth”
A key figure in the Jewish Agency’s Political Department, Shertok, later Moshe Sharett argues for a Jewish commonwealth/state in Palestine. Pragmatically he realizes Arabs in Palestine oppose Jewish presence, yet he fully rejects a potential binational Arab-Jewish state, suggesting that the end of WWII will be a turning point in favor of a Jewish state.
Explainer: Zionist/Israeli Music
April 15, 2025 Dr. Eli Sperling © Center for Israel Education, 2025 Israeli music offers a powerful lens through which we can understand the country’s cultural and political evolution, serving as both a unifying force…
August 2025 — Being Safe, Smart and Jewish on Campus: Resilience Prep for College Students
August 10, 2025 College can be a challenging experience for anyone at any time. But for Jewish students, whether entering their first year or returning to campus, rising antisemitism and anti-Israel protests can threaten their…
Trump, Netanyahu Share Vision for Iran and Gaza, July 2025
Before a White House dinner, President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk about Gaza, Iran, Syria and Middle East peace.
June 2025 Pew Research Center Surveys on Israel
Divided at home and condemned abroad, public opinion of Israel sinks in response to war and domestic politics.
Explainer: Land in Palestine and Land in Israel
When the British and the French decided on the borders of some modern Middle Eastern states in the Levant in the 1915-1922 period, no Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi, Jewish, Lebanese or Jordanian state existed. Before the…
Asher Susser, Jordan and the Islamic State Challenge
December 27, 2015 Asher Susser, “Jordan and the Islamic State Challenge,” Institute for National Security Studies, December 2015. Jordan faces internal challenges and economic hardships that are feeding off each other. Many young people are…
