Schusterman Center
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Schusterman Center for Israel Studies > Summer Institute for Israel Studies

Select Faculty Presenters in Israel

Mustafa Abu Sway is Associate Professor and former Director of the Islamic Research Center at Al-Quds University.  Prof. Abu Sway also served at the University as the Coordinator of the MA Program in Contemporary Islamic Studies.  He was Associate Professor and head of the Department of Philosophy at the International Islamic University Malaysia and taught at Boston College and Bethlehem University.  Prof. Abu Sway was also a Visiting Fulbright Scholar-in –Residence at Florida Atlantic University.  His areas of expertise are Islamic philosophy and epistemology and studies on Al-Ghazzali and he is the author of many publications including Islamic Education Textbook for Seventh Grade, Islamic Education Textbook for Eleventh Grade, and Islamic Culture.  Prof. Abu Sway has a B.A. in English Literature from Bethlehem University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston College.

Shirley Avrami is the Director of the Research and Information Center at the Knesset.  She is also a lecturer on Social Work at Ben Gurion University and previously served as a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  At the Knesset, Dr. Avrami has served as Director of the Parliamentary Research Committee on the Implementation of the Health Insurance Act and Director of the Committee of Labor and Social Affairs and Health.  She was also an advisor to former Ministers of Labor and Welfare.  Dr. Avrami is the author of the book His Last Letter Remains (in Hebrew) and many articles.  She has a BOT from the School of Occupational Therapy and an MSW from the School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Haifa University.

Maoz Azaryahu is an Associate Professor of Cultural Geography at Haifa University.  His areas of expertise are memorials and museums in Israel, geography of popular culture in Israel, and history and geography of  Zionist mythology   Professor Azaryahu is the author of several books in Hebrew, including State Cults: Celebrating Independence, Commemorating the Fallen in Israel 1948-1956 and Tel Aviv: The Real City: A Historical Mythography.

Nimrod Barkan is the Head of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affair's Research Center and former Head of the World Jewish and Interreligious Affairs Bureau.  He previously held a variety of positions at the Foreign Ministry including Policy Advisor to the Director General of the Ministry, Director of the Bureau for Strategic and Economic Affairs at the Ministry's Policy and Research Center, Director of the Department of Arms Control and Regional Security and Director of the Egypt Division.  Mr. Barkan also served abroad as Israel Consul to the Mid-Atlantic Region of the U.S., Israel Consul-General to the Pacific North-West Region of the U.S., Minister for Public Affairs at the Israel Embassy in Washington, and Political Counsellor at the Israel Embassy in Cairo.  He has served as a Consultant to the Ministry of Defense and was a lecturer on International Relations at the National Defense College and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Dan Ben-David is a Professor in the Public Policy Department of Tel Aviv University.  He is also a Research Fellow at CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research) in London and previously was a Research Fellow at NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) in Cambridge.  Professor Ben-David specializes in macroeconomics, economic growth and international economics and has served as an advisor to the World Bank, World Trade Organization and Israeli government.  He is a recipient of the Tel Aviv University's "Best Teacher Award" and writes an op-ed column for Ha'Aretz Newspaper.  Professor Ben-David has a B.A. in Economics from Tel Aviv University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Shaul Goldstein is the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.  He is serving his second term as mayor and is a member of the central committee of the Likud Party.  Mayor Goldstein served as a Major in the Israel Air Force where he commanded an engineering unit.   He later founded and operated a construction company, employing 70 workers.  Mayor Goldstein lives in the Neve Daniel community in Gush Etzion.  He has a B.Sc. in Engineering from Ben Gurion University.

Eve Harow, a former member of  the Efrat City Council,  is a spokesperson on behalf of the Jews in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.  She recently served as Assistant Director of the Israel Office of One Israel Fund, which supports the Jews of Yesha through hasbara, fundraising and missions, and currently directs Am Hanetzach.  Ms. Harow was a member of an American Jewish Committee Jewish leadership program.  Born in the U.S. and now residing in Efrat, Ms. Harow has a B.A. in Psychology from Washington University and an M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University.

Youssef T. Jabareen is a legal advocate fighting for the rights of the Palestinian minority in Israel.  He was a staff attorney for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Director of the Equality for Arab Citizens of Israel project.  A resident of Umm al-Fahm, Dr. Jabareen has been involved in important judicial cases for Palestinians in Israel, including cases determining land rights, fair representation in governmental bodies and the use and legal status of the Arab language.  He has concentrated his work on fighting discrimination and inequality in the education system, the workplace and housing.  Dr. Jabareen has a LL.M. from WCL.

Vardi Kahana is a photographer whose exhibition One Family is currently on display at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.  Other solo exhibitions of hers include Israeli Portraits (Artist's House in Tel Aviv), Beauty Has Cut Itself Off (The Museum of Israeli Art in Ramat Gan) and Photo: Vardi Kahana (Camera Obscura Gallery in Tel Aviv). She also has had her photos displayed in the following group exhibitions: Disengagement (Tel Aviv Museum of Art), Art of Living (The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco), The Poor, The State, The Rich (Bat Yam Museum), The Absent Photograph, An Exhibition of Press Photographs Documenting the Life and Death of the Late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (The Museum of Israeli Art in Ramat Gan), etc.  Ms. Kahana studied at the Art Teacher Training College in Ramat Hasharon.  

Ephraim Kaye is the Director of International Seminars at The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem.  He also teaches courses on the Holocaust at three colleges in Jerusalem and in Israeli high schools. Mr. Kaye has coordinated over 150 international seminars on the Holocaust in over 25 countries and headed many education trips to Poland.  He has published several books and articles on the Holocaust including The Image of Polish Jewry in the Interwar Period and Desecrators of Memory: Combating Holocaust Denial.  Mr. Kaye has a B.A. and M.A. in Modern Jewish History and the History of the Holocaust from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Etgar Keret is a popular author of Israeli literature.  He has published four books of short stories and novellas, two comic books, two feature screenplays and numerous teleplays, including the novel The Nimrod's Flipout.  His books were all bestsellers in Israel, have been translated into many languages and are required as part of the literature curriculum for Israeli high schools.   Mr. Keret received a special award for his book Missing Kissinger.  His new film Medusot received the Golden Camera Award at the 2007 Cannes Festival.

Eran Lerman is Director of the American Jewish Committee Israel/Middle East Office. He previously served as the Assistant for Analyses to the Deputy Director for Intelligence Production at the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Directorate of Military Intelligence. Colonel (res.) Lerman was a member of Israel’s arms control delegation to the Arab-Israeli peace talks from 1992 until 1995 and frequently conducts public briefings on strategic issues.  A former lecturer at the Department of Political Science at Haifa University, he has a B.A. in History from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of London, as well as a M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Nimrod Luz is a faculty member at The Western Galilee College.  His areas of research include the relation between culture, politics and the urban environment in the Middle East and the Muslim world.  His latest project focuses on the politics of sacred places among Palestinian communities in Israel.  Dr. Luz previously served as a Kreitman Research Fellow at the Department of Geography and Environmental Development at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  He has also worked as a guide for numerous institutions in Israel and the Middle East.  Dr. Luz has a Ph.D. in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and Geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ehud Netzer is Professor (Emeritus) at the Institute of Archeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  He directed and participated in excavations at Herodium, Jericho,  Masada, Caesaria, Tsippori .  Prof. (Emeritus) Netzer is known as a world expert in the field of the architecture of Herod the Great.  He has located  the tomb of Herod at the Herodium site.  Prof. (Emeritus) Netzer has many articles and several books, the most recent being The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder.  He has a B.A. in Architecture from the Technion and a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  

Irit Numa is Cinema Workshops Coordinator at Beit Dani Community Center and Educational Coordinator at the Center for the Improvement of Learning Achievement.  Ms. Numa has produced various film documentaries, including a series on the people of HaTikva neighborhood.  She was Events Coordinator at the Jewish Eye Festival, an international film festival.  Ms. Numa has a B.A. in Behavioral Sciences from the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, an M.F.A. in Film and Theatre from Tel Aviv University and is currently studying towards a Ph.D. in Art at Tel Aviv University.

Mordechai Omer is Professor of Modern Art at the Tel Aviv University, Head of Museum Studies and Curator at the Tel Aviv University Gallery.  He is also Director and Chief Curator of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.  Professor Omer has served as guest curator for many exhibitions in museums in Israel and abroad, including McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College and Bruni Gallery at the University of London.  In addition, he was art historian in-residence at Boston University.  Prof. Omer has written many books about art, the latest being Contemporary Israeli Art: Three Generations.  He has a B.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an M.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from University of East Anglia.

Yitzhak Reiter is a lecturer on Islamic and Middle Eastern History at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzylia.  He previously taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  His fields of expertise are modern history of the Middle East with a special focus on Jordan and Palestine, the Arabs in Israel, Islamic institutions and politics of the holy places.  Dr. Reiter is a fellow of both the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.  He is the author of several books including Islamic Endowment in Jerusalem under British Mandate and Islamic Institutions in Jerusalem: Palestinian Muslim Administration under Jordanian and Israeli Rule.

Elie Rekhess is a Senior Research Fellow of the Moshe Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.  One of Israel's leading experts on the state's Arab minority, he is also the Director of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.  His recent publications include Arab Politics in Israel at a Crossroads, The Arabs in Israeli Politics – Dilemmas of Identity, The Arabs of Israel After Oslo: Localization of the National Struggle, and The Status of the Arab Minority in the Jewish Nation State.  Dr. Rekhess previously served in government on issues dealing with Israel's Arab sector, and is a consultant and commentator on Israel's minority population as well as the politics of the Middle East.  He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in the History of the Middle East from Tel Aviv University.

Michael Avera Samuel is the Director of Professional Training at Fidel – the Association for Ethiopian Jews in Israel.  She is also a volunteer at the Center for Abused Women, counseling Ethiopian immigrant women, and has worked in an immigrant absorption center helping newly-arrived Ethiopian Jews.  Born in a small village in Ethiopia, Ms. Avera Samuel immigrated with her family to Israel in 1984 during Operation Moses, after having spent a year in a Sudanese refugee camp.  She has an M.A. in Education and Educational Counseling from Haifa University. 

Israel Sela is the Founder and Director of Ha Lev- The Center for Graduates of Reform Schools and Director of the Drop-Out Prevention Center for Youth-Ar-Risk. He is also the founder and director of B.A. 2000, a program which helps youth from Southeast Tel Aviv earn their Bachelor's Degree,and runs a program to help improve the educational system in the blighted Tikvah neighborhood of Tel Aviv.  In 2005, Dr. Sela participated in the peace talks held in Jordan as a representative of the Rabin Center. He has been working with at-risk youth since 1986 and has published multiple works on the subjects of mixed marriages and self-reliance. The son of a Druze father and a Jewish mother, Dr. Sela received his M.A. in Education Management from Fordham University in New York, as well as a Ph.D. in Public Service.

Shahar Shilo is the Marketing Manager for Tourism to the Old City (including the City of David).  He also manages the national tour guides course at the Israel School of Tourism.  He lectures for the Ministry of Tourism abroad and his areas of specialization are History and Archeology of the Land of Israel, History and Biblical Studies, Zionism and Land of the Bible, Desert Tourism, Literature and Etymology, Flora and Fauna, Geography and Landscapes of Israel, and the Middle East.   He has led tours to Jordan, Turkey, Greece and Crete.  Mr. Shilo has a B.Ed. from Beit Berl College and an M.B.A. in Business Management from the American World University.

Daniel Taub is the Director of the General Law Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His areas of responsibility include counter-terrorism, international organizations and humanitarian law. He has been involved in many of Israel's peace negotiations, and was a member of the Israeli negotiating teams with both Syria and the Palestinians.

Gadi Taub is a member of the faculty of the Department of Communications at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  He is the author of a bestselling book in Hebrew A Dispirited Rebellion: Essays of Contemporary Israeli Culture.  Dr. Taub writes op-eds for Ma'ariv Newspaper as well as international newspapers such as New York Times, The Forward, etc. A former host of radio and TV programs, Dr. Taub is also a contributing commentator for Israel TV's Channel 1 late-night news. He has a Ph.D. in American History form Rutgers University.

Itzhak Zamir is a former Israel Supreme Court Justice.  He currently serves as Chairman of the Jerusalem Centre for Ethics.  Prof. Zamir served as Israel's Attorney General.  He was a professor and dean at the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University and founded the Faculty of Law at Haifa University.  Prof. Zamir also served as President of the Press Council and as Chair of many judicial committees.  He has been awarded many distinguished prizes, including the Israel Prize.  Prof. Zamir has a Law Degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in Law from the London University.