These webinars and other videos drawn from in-person and online events run as little as 20 minutes and in some cases more than an hour to provide deep insights into modern Israel and its history, politics, culture, foreign relations and other important societal topics.

Zionist and Israeli Culture in Words, Art and Music (video, 45:00)

In this 45-minute video recorded Jan. 11, 2023, scholars of Jewish, Zionist and Israeli art, music and culture discuss how culture not only was a fundamental part of the effort to build a safe Jewish homeland, but was for many the reason behind the modern State of Israel. Featured are Dr. Arieh Saposnik, an associate professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Dr. Susan Nashman Fraiman, an instructor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Dr. Eli Sperling, an Israel Institute teaching fellow at the University of Georgia. Moderating the conversation is Center for Israel Education President Dr. Kenneth Stein, professor emeritus of Middle Eastern history and political science and Israel studies at Emory University. This webinar is part of CIE’s Israel@75: A Yearlong Exploration project.

Dr. Susan Nashman Fraiman: Against the Canon: Voices of Diversity in Israeli Art (44:21)

In less than 45 minutes, Israeli educator Susan Nachman Fraiman presents a taste of the variety of voices in Israeli art that have emerged in the past 20 years: female, religious, Mizrahi, Ethiopian and Israeli-Palestinian, all of which are rich subjects in themselves. We examine a few examples of works from each of these sectors and try to understand the rich background from which they come. This video is from a session July 25, 2022, at the 21st annual CIE/ISMI Enrichment Workshop on Modern Israel.

Israel and American Jews: Cultural Ties and Tensions, Part 2, Dr. Ken Stein, Jay Schaefer, Jackie Weiss, Dr. Steven Bayme, June 16, 2021, (39:45)

In the second half of a conversation recorded June 16, 2021, during the 20th annual Enrichment Workshop on Modern Israel held by CIE and the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, people involved in education at various levels respond to former American Jewish Committee official Steven Bayme’s thoughts about the differences between the world’s two largest Jewish populations.

Identity and Politics in Israel, Dr. Jonathan Rynhold (30:46)

Applying demographic statistics and polling data, Professor Jonathan Rynhold lucidly examines Israel’s politics through the lenses of ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. He concludes that Israeli society and its political priorities are ever changing, evidenced by the June 2021 formation of Israel’s most ethnically and politically diverse government coalition ever formed.

Israel at 70: Unfinished, Ken Stein (50:45)

Israel is only 70 years old. It is certainly more developed and different than the US was in 1846. What are the domestic and foreign policy issues that remain open-ended? Which issues have settled into consensus acceptance? CIE President and Founder Professor Ken Stein explores these questions and more in this webinar from May 2018.