Photos: Wolfgang Motzafi Haller
Five hundred scholars came to participate, network and catch up with their colleagues at dozens of panels and events. Dr. Paula Kabalo, director of the Institute, led a team of faculty and students who organized the landmark meeting.
Ranging from history to culture to current events, the scholars mused, discussed, theorized and demonstrated all of the various aspects that comprise Israel and leadership.
For Dr. Rusi Jaspal of De Montfort University in the UK, the conference was a chance to immerse himself in his research field, reconnect with old colleagues while making new ones. “I study Jews in Iran and no one is studying that, but I found someone else who does,” he enthused. Overall, he was very pleased with the conference. “It’s very enjoyable because of the diversity of disciplines, and it [Sede Boqer] is a beautiful location,” he added.
For Prof. Mihai Chioveanu of the University of Bucharest, the conference was a good opportunity to make contacts, network and drum up support for the new Israel Studies Center he and his colleague Prof. Felicia Waldman are creating with the support of Alex Goren, chairman of BGU’s Board of Governors. “We are here now and one of our colleagues will come in July,” he said. “It’s a way to taste Israel in a different dimension.”
The conference was very important for them since they aren’t technically Israel Studies scholars. Chioveanu is an expert on the Holocaust and genocide; Waldman is an expert on Jewish mysticism, so they are very interested in making connections with Israel Studies scholars abroad. “It’s not easy to build something from scratch,” he noted dryly.
Prof. Pingan Liang of Shanghai International Studies University was equally as enthusiastic, “This conference is really a very good stage to promote Israel Studies in the world. It’s a very rare chance to consolidate internal exchanges between scholars. Everything has been arranged so nicely and perfectly.” Liang said as the isolation between Israel and China has thawed over the last 30 years, people in China have become very interested in Israel and in Jewish culture.
“They’re very impressed by the wisdom of Jewish figures such as Karl Marx, Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. “They want to know more about this country including its social system, social values, its resources of energy and power. Many Chinese are getting to know that Israel is very advanced in the hi-tech field,” he explained.
During the conference, Prof. Guy Ben-Porat, head of BGU’s Department of Public Policy and Administration at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, was awarded the Yonathan Shapiro Award for Best Book in Israel Studies for Between State and Synagogue - The Secularization of Contemporary Israel.
“BGU’s Sede Boqer campus added additional dimensions to the AIS annual meeting. The unique blend of the Zin Cliff, the local academic community, the international graduate students, and above all – David Ben-Gurion's presence both in image and spirit, all led to what I was told repeatedly by the participants was an unforgettable gathering,” Kabalo said.
“The location provided a natural interaction with the Negev – through on-site sessions taking place in surrounding communities (Yeruham, Avdat, Ashalim and Revivim) and a live music performance in the open air venue of Khan Shayarot that fueled a spontaneous reaction among the participants. People played the drums and simply got up and danced to the old time Israeli songs, presented with updated world music covers – you had to see this international crowd singing traditional Jewish songs such as, “Od Yavo Shalom Aleynu” and “Shir LaMaalot.”
“I've never encountered such a positive and friendly ambience in an academic conference before. I think it was a result of the Negev air and the people who did such a wonderful job,” Kabalo reflected.
