Scholars Seminars
Invited lecturers enrich academic coursework with bi-monthly seminars.
Fall 2012
- Shay Rabineau: Israeli Hiking Trails as Articulations of National Identity
- Emily McKee: Water Governance and the Politics of Scale - Middle-Eastern Cross-Border Conservation
- Charles Asher Small: Is it Possible to Study Contemporary Antisemitism in the Academy Today?
- Dor Guez: On the Rose Art Museum Exhibition "100 Steps to the Mediterranean"
- Uri Zaki: The Mammoth in the Room - The Israeli Occupation; Facts, Myths, Politics and Narratives
- Asaf Romirowsky: Refugee Relief - The Quakers and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- Ute Deichmann: The Difficult Beginning of Israeli-German Scientific Cooperation
- Pnina Lahav: The American Identity of Golda Meir
Doctoral Students
Although the Schusterman Center is not a degree-granting institution, it supports GSAS doctoral students whose dissertation research focuses on Israel. These Schusterman Scholars are part of the intellectual hub of students, faculty and visiting scholars that make up the Center.
Click here for information on how to apply.
Scroll below for profiles of our current Schusterman Scholars.
- Find out what makes this program special to them.
- Find out where they go when they complete their fellowships.
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Ofir Abu, Politics
Aviv Ben-Or, NEJS Aviv is interested in Hebrew literature and the Jewish literary tradition in a broad sense, ranging from the medieval period to modern times, with a focus on Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East. Proficient in Hebrew and entering his third year of Arabic, he is particularly interested in examining the works of contemporary Israeli authors of Sephardi and Mizrahi background.
Zeynep Civcik, NEJS
Rachel Fish, NEJS
Eric Fleisch, NEJS
Mostafa Hussein, NEJS
Having received an MA degree from Al Azhar University in Cairo, in Islamic Studies in Israel, Mostafa intends to broaden the outlook on Islamic Scholarly works conducted by Israeli scholars and on their connection to the Western oriental studies carried out by Jewish researchers. Aside from his native Arabic language - colloquial Egyptian and Classical Arabic - he speaks Hebrew and German.
Matthew Iannucci, Politics
Susanna Klosko, NEJS Laura Ligouri, Anthropology
A student of Israeli and Middle Eastern history and politics, Ari's research interests focus on the roles of security, religion and nationalism in Arab-Israeli relations. He holds a BA (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and an MA from Queens College, CUNY. Ari co-founded the Queens College Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding, funded by a US Department of Education grant. Jason Olson, NEJS ![]() Jason completed his undergraduate degree (cum laude) in Hebrew Bible, and is planning to build on that knowledge by studying how religious Zionism affects politics in Israel and the greater Middle East. He is particularly interested in the development of the US-Israel military alliance.
Shay Rabineau, NEJS Shay's doctoral studies are on the modern Middle East with a focus on Israel. He is a National Merit Scholar and award-winning writer, proficient in both Hebrew and Arabic. He is spending the 2011-12 academic year in Israel researching the Israel trail network.
Gangzheng She, NEJS
Karen will examine the reconstruction of Jewish family life in Israel among young Holocaust survivors, focusing on a group of child survivors from Slovakia and surrounding areas. She is particularly interested in strategies for effective Holocaust education. Karen’s languages include Hebrew, German and Spanish; she plans to pursue Yiddish and Czech/Slovak, to facilitate her research in Israel and Europe.
Amber Taylor, NEJS Amber graduated Cum Laude from Brigham Young University in Spanish Translation, and completed her MA at Brandeis in 2012, with her thesis, “Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel: A Mormon American Leader's Support for the Jewish State.” Her doctoral studies will continue to examine the history of American Christian relations with Israel. In addition to Spanish, Amber knows modern Hebrew, and plans to master Biblical Hebrew for her research. |
Click here for updates on Schusterman Scholars that have completed their doctoral degrees.






Mostafa Hussein, NEJS



Ari Moshkovski, NEJS



