Israel’s diversity is reflected in the range of responses to four months of war since Hamas and others killed 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages Oct. 7. Amid many examples: Areas in which some Israeli Arabs rioted during Israel-Hamas fighting in May 2021 have been quiet, and Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews have volunteered in higher-than-normal numbers for military service. CIE’s 19th weekly webinar on the current war focuses on four distinctive Israeli communities: the Druze; Arab Muslims; Aramean and Maronite Christians; and Haredi Jews. Addressing the war’s impact on these communities are Shadi Khalloul, the chairman of the Israeli Aramaic Christian Association; Tali Farkash, a Ynet journalist and Haredi social activist; Dr. Arik Rudnitzky, a researcher for the Israel Democracy Institute’s Arab Society in Israel Program; and Dr. Scott Abramson, the Center for Israel Education’s senior research officer. Moderating the webinar Feb. 21 is Dr. Ken Stein, CIE’s president and an Emory University emeritus professor of Middle East history, political science and Israel studies.
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