Schusterman Center for Israel Studies

Rigorous Academic Study

The Schusterman Center is dedicated to supporting and growing the academic field of Israel studies.

Panoramic view of Bahai Gardens in Haifa, a hillside gardens overlooking the city and, beyond it, the sea

Research Guide to Israel Studies

We created a guide for scholars, educators, students, and anyone wanting to learn more about Israel. With expert-recommended resources and tips for effective research, this is a one-stop shop for Israel Studies queries, needs, and information.

Explore the Research Guide

Publications

We sponsor publications that seek to enlighten both a scholarly and non-scholarly audience with the latest research on the modern State of Israel.

All of our publications

Professor Gannit Ankori speaking to Summer Institute fellows about an art exhibit

The Summer Institute for Israel Studies

Our Summer Institute for Israel Studies equips higher-education faculty with the resources they need in order to take a rigorously academic approach to teaching about modern Israel on college campuses.

Full Summer Institute Information

Promoting exemplary teaching and scholarship on the modern state of Israel

The Schusterman Center is unparalleled in the depth and breadth of its ambition and in the intellectual resources available to realize its goals.

Like the best Israel studies centers, the Schusterman Center is dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of Israeli history, politics, culture and society. But its mission goes far beyond scholarship itself. The center is committed to creating and disseminating knowledge about the modern state of Israel, not just at Brandeis, but to a global audience.

The center is shaping and safeguarding the future of Israel studies by training the next generation of scholars in the field. Through innovative research and teaching programs, lectures, conferences, grants, publications, films and art exhibitions, complemented by a unique online resource site, the center is nurturing a worldwide community of people who are knowledgeable about Israel.

Apply for the Summer Institute for Israel Studies

Summer Institute 2022 cohort group photo

Now accepting applications for the 2023 Summer Institute for Israel Studies (SIIS). Open to faculty in all disciplines with an interest in Israel Studies. The fellowship provides travel, accommodations and meals as well as a stipend of up to $2,500. The 2023 program will take place June 28 - July 9 at Brandeis University and July 10 - 19 in Israel. Apply by January 17, 2023. At Brandeis, participants study with world-class faculty from a broad range of Israel Studies disciplines, and develop a syllabus for a course, or course segment, on Israel studies that they will teach at their home institutions. In Israel, they engage with cultural informants, as well as Israeli academicians, Jewish and Arab policy makers, political figures, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and social advocates.

Your Research Guide to Israel Studies

Panoramic view of hillside garden opening to views of a city and, below it, the sea

Looking to learn, research, or teach about Israel? Explore our Research Guide to Israel Studies, a one-stop shop for Israel Studies queries, needs, and information. This free guide contains resources for researchers of every kind. From the high schooler writing a class report, to a journalist looking for reliable information, to a senior academic with thirty years' experience, everyone - especially those now working from home - will find it invaluable. Produced with the Israel Studies faculty at Brandeis University, in conjunction with other leading scholars, and edited by our associate director, Dr. Shayna Weiss, this is the most comprehensive guide of its kind available. Explore the Research Guide to Israel Studies .

Read the Fall Issue: "Israel Studies"

Cover of the fall issue, with red background and a cartoon or line drawing

Read the Fall 2022 issue of "Israel Studies." Articles include "Mamlakhtiyut (Statism) and the Establishment of a National Archive in Israel: A Study in Theory, History, and Practice, from the Late 1940s to the Early 1950s" by Kobi Cohen-Hattab and Oded Heilbronner; "The Place of Israel’s Palestinian Citizens in Mamlakhti Culture: The First Independence Days and the Notion of Accommodation" by Adi Sherzer; and "Between the Universal and the Local: Representations of Current Events in Lea Goldberg’s Writings for Children During the British Mandate" by Ayelet Gil-Ronen. "Israel Studies" is cosponsored by the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in affiliation with the Association for Israel Studies.

View Our Online Video Installation

A collage of still images from the four videos in the exhibition

Experience "The Orientalist," a multichannel video art installation by Israeli artist Eitan Buganim, curated by Dr. Rotem Rozental. "The Orientalist" conflates desires, miracles, magic and impending catastrophes. Watch the videos, read the curator's essay, and if you want more, watch the recording of our conversation with the artist, which marked the exhibition's opening. In addition to our own exhibition, we are also excited to cosponsor the Rose Art Museum's "Displaced: Raida Adon's Strangeness," and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute's "Tamar Nissim: Contagious Truths."