Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has formally launched the first Israel Studies International Program (ISIP) in Israel. The program will be taught in English and offered to international students. Applications are being accepted for the first class, set to begin this fall.

Dr. Paula Kabalo, chair of ISIP said, “Israel attracts worldwide attention, but this interest remains at the headline level. We wish to train future experts on Israel and provide them with the necessary tools to grasp its history, culture, ideology, society and politics. We believe that the laboratory type setting of historical archives and a suitable library provide the optimal environment for a critical, independent, research-oriented graduate program.”

She explained that a degree in Israel studies is also of value for candidates seeking to enter administrative, diplomatic, civil society, or teaching positions related to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Covering over a century of Zionism, the program integrates historical and contemporary perspectives, and focuses on the emergence of Zionist ideology, the building of the yishuv (the pre-state Jewish community in Eretz Israel) and the State of Israel. The content of the program is based on the assumption that the field of Israel studies is inextricably related to the fields of modern Jewish history and Middle Eastern studies. Accordingly, the program offers introductory courses that examine the story of Israel as an integral part of the political, social and cultural history of contemporary Judaism and of the Middle East. ISIP’s approach is multi-disciplinary, with a historical emphasis.

“Israel is a democratic nation-state and its society is characterized by a wide range of cultures,” Kabalo added. “Ben-Gurion University represents and expresses this variety, which combines the history, culture, and traditions of different groups in Israeli society. The location of BGU in the Negev region makes it a perfect representative of Israeli pluralism and the ideal institution to establish this program.”

The new program will be taught at the Sede Boqer campus, and will include lecturers from the Ben-Gurion Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, which houses the Ben-Gurion archives and is located adjacent to the David and Paula Ben-Gurion gravesite.

The faculty of BGU includes  some of the foremost scholars on Israel.