The Zionist Idea 
This course utilizes Arthur Hertzberg’s classic work, The Zionist Idea, which introduces Zionist thought and its history, with selections from the writings of leading Zionist figures from the 19th century until the establishment of the State of Israel such as Moses Hess, Eliezer Ben Yehudah, Leo Pinsker, Theodor Herzl, and Ahad Ha-am. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
 
The Zionist Idea Part 2  
We continue to read from Arthur Hertzberg’s classic work, The Zionist Idea, which introduces Zionist thought and its history, with selections from some of the writings of leading Zionist figures from the 20th century up until the establishment of the State of Israel. We will explore thinkers such as Theodor Herzl, Ahad Ha-am, Martin Buber, Louis Brandeis, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Judah Magnes, Max Nordau, Solomon Schechter, Mordecai Kaplan, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Chaim Weitzmann, and David ben Gurion, as well as some of the political documents of the time. This course also includes some American and pre-state Palestinian Zionist women’s voices of the time. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
 
The Birth of the Jewish State and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Balfour to the State of Israel
Drawing on the comprehensive collection of primary documents found in The Israeli-Arab Reader by Walter Laquer, this course focuses on political events, contemporary documents and literature following the end of WWI, from the Balfour Declaration, to the UN Partition Plan, through the British White Papers, up until the Declaration of Independence in 1948. The voices of men and women of the time will also be heard. No prior knowledge needed. 
Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180
 
The Jewish State and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: 1948 - 1967
Continuing to draw on the comprehensive collection of primary documents found in The Israeli-Arab Reader by Walter Laquer, this course focuses on political events, and contemporary documents and literature following Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948, until the Six-Day War. The voices of men and women of the time will be heard, with supplemental materials provided by the instructor. No prior knowledge needed. Recordings of 10 2-hour class sessions with instruction and discussion: $180

Issues in Contemporary Israel 
Today's State of Israel is a wonderful and challenging place. While Israelis have freedoms that are unheard of in the rest of the Middle East, there are many issues that arise out of the social and religious diversity of the modern state, the pluralism of World Jewry, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This course will explore issues such as religious freedom and pluralism for Jews in Israel, conversion to Judaism and the Law of Return, the rights and challenges of the Israeli LGBTQ community, the Rabbinate and the State, the challenges of the Israeli system of electing its government, Women of the Wall, and more. Recordings of 10 2-hour sessions with instruction and discussion: $180

Israeli Judaism
Judaism in Israel is undergoing one of the greatest transformations since biblical times. Israelis have forged a new way of being Jewish, confronting and overcoming the great challenges of modernity, secularism, assimilation, and apathy. The book “#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution” by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs” makes the first serious attempt to explain how Israeliness and Jewishness are becoming one and the same. This course consists of 10 2-hour sessions.  Cost: $180
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Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law
This book, by Simon Rabinovitch, is the first book in any language devoted to the controversial efforts in Israel's parliament to pass a "nation-state law." Israel has no constitution, and although it calls itself the Jewish state there is no agreement among Israelis on how that fact should be reflected in the government's laws or by its courts. Since the 1990s, civil society groups and legislators have drafted constitutions and proposed Basic Laws with constitutional standing that would clarify what it means for Israel to be a "Jewish and democratic state." This course consists of 10 2-hour sessions.  
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