Limmud Michigan 2020

Why have Israelis struggled to elect and form a new government after multiple attempts?  In this session, we explore the constellation of Israeli political parties (right, left, religious, Arab), the strengths and weaknesses of Israel’s parliamentary system, and how the specific problems in forming a government reflect the state’s larger problems, foreign and domestic.

At Israel 360 we will explore different angels of Israel - we will deep dive into Israeli society, politics, religion and state relations, culture and much more. If you are interested in different and new perspectives about Israel, if you care about what others think and want to challenge yourself, if you are curious and love to study together - this is the session for you.

The kibbutz is an idiosyncratic phenomenon, existing only in Israel. It has undergone a vast transformation in recent years. Hanan, born and raised in Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim, will discuss in detail, in HEBREW, a variety of aspects of the kibbutz: the founding of the Kibbutz Movement, the why and the how, the history of the founders of Kiryat Anavim, and the big, complex changes in Kibbutz life. The presentation will focus on privatization (Harata), its motivation, process, and influence on life in the Kibbutz.

Research on and portrayals of the language and linguistic practices of Jewish Americans tend to focus on large coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles. But what about our own backyard? For instance: Do local Jews have an accent? How does local language compare to that of New Yorkers? Is there any influence of Yiddish?
In this interactive session, we’ll share interview excerpts and research findings addressing these very questions from EMU’s ongoing Jewish Life and Language in Southeast Michigan project—including new evidence that local ways of speaking are changing among younger generations. We also want to hear from you about your own observations about language use in the community. Please join us!

Israel today is facing much the same threat from Iran that it did in the period prior to the Nuclear Agreement of 2015.  Before that deal was signed, there was much speculation that Israel was considering attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.  The deal largely ended such speculation, but with the US withdrawing from the agreement last year, and with Iran likely to follow suit shortly, Israel will find itself in a familiar situation.  Iran poses an existential threat to the state, and yet neither the US or the larger international community can be expected to take action against it.  So that will leave Israel, alone, to face Iran.  This presentation will review its options, and make some predictions on its likeliest course of action.  But the reality is that Israel has no good options in this scenario, only varying degrees of bad ones.