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Teachers Get Schooled on Israel at Brandeis
by Shayndi Raice
 Judaic studies as an academic discipline is available on every college campus of note in the United States. However, while students can take classes on everything from medieval Jewish philosophy to the Holocaust, one of the most central developments in Jewish history and life today is missing from the college classroom: Israel. Due to this omission, Brandeis University created a Summer Institute for Israel Studies that invites professors from around the globe to learn about various aspects of Israeli culture and history. (Jewish Advocate)
UCLA: Top Scholar to Bolster Israel Studies, Contribute to Couple's Legacy
 Last month, after receiving approvals from the Academic Senate and the UC president's office, the UCLA International Institute formally opened its search for a leading scholar of contemporary Israel to fill The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies. (UCLA International Institute)
Farleigh Dickinson: Learn Your Israeli Law at FDU
by Joah Lipowsky
 Ever wonder how to write an Israeli legal contract or if Israel requires Miranda Rights to be read? Those who are fluent in Hebrew will soon get a chance to find out the ins and outs of Israeli law at Fairleigh Dickinson University. FDU will offer a new undergraduate specialization in Israeli law starting this fall. (New Jersey Jewish Standard)
Indianapolis: Christian, Muslim Israeli Students Visit JCC
 Forty-seven Christian and Muslim students from Israel who are studying at the University of Indianapolis for six weeks received a taste of Hoosier interfaith hospitality Jewish Community Center.The students are enrolled in University of Indianapolis degree programs offered at Mar Elias Campus in Ibillin, Israel. The Israeli campus was created to foster peace in the Middle East by bringing together students of diverse faiths, particularly Muslims, Christians, Jews and Druse, for study and dialogue. (Topics)
Penn State: Students Discuss Their Activism, and Their Future Plans
by Jared Shelly
 For some Jews, becoming an activist for the State of Israel can prove invigorating and promote better understanding of Zionism. Yet when the dust settles and the fight is over, can a Jew find normalcy after taking such a plunge, or will they find it difficult to deal with negative feedback? For Josh Stulman, stepping up for Zionism did not create the positive change in his school's administrative policy. At Penn State University in April, Stulman, a senior at the time, was set to show Portraits of Terror, a set of paintings depicting Palestinian hatred of Jews. His exhibit was suddenly canceled by the university at the last minute, with Penn State claiming that it did not coincide with their policy on discrimination and hate. (Jewish Exponent)
York: Refugee Conference Shines Positive Light on Israel
by Carolyn Blackman
 Leah Biteolin, an Israeli originally from Ethiopia, says that many people outside of Israel are surprised when they meet her. Biteolin, 24, who works with Ethiopian Jews for the Jewish Agency, was in Toronto recently to take part in the first-ever international refugee rights conference sponsored by the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) held at the Center for Refugee Studies at York. Mila Voihanski, director of immigrant services for Jewish Immigrant Aid Services, a founding CCR agency, said that she found that many stereotypes existed about Israel. "People do not know that Israel resettles more immigrants than any other country," Voihanski said. (Canadian Jewish News)
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Indiana: Professor Says Recent Israeli Escalation was Predictable
by Trevor Brown
 Continued Israeli advancement into the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip in response to the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit has one IU professor saying he isn't surprised. Fresh from a 10-day trip to Israel, Rafael Reuveny, an associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said conditions building between the two sides have made an escalation like this very predictable. (IDSNews)
University of Chicago in Iran Antiquities Battle
 The University of Chicago has come under fire from Iran over 2,500-year-old antiquities it wants to return, but can't under a U.S. judge's order. The university's Oriental Institute has hundreds of clay tablets dating from about 500 BC, retrieved in the 1930s by Chicago researchers in Persepolis. Several years ago, the university began returning them to Iran, but a U.S. lawsuit came up two years ago by victims of an Iranian terror attack in Israel. They were suing for possession of the tablets, with the aim of selling them to receive compensation for their injuries of family losses. (UPI/Middle East Times)
Haifa: American Student Caught In Middle East Violence
by Stephanie Lucero
 A Richardson, Texas, man studying at the University of Haifa in Israel had to take shelter Thursday. Twenty-year-old Aaron Friedman is there for only a month, but it's likely to be a month he'll never forget. Aaron's mother, Anita, says she is remaining calm as well. "I believe in Israel. They are very well informed and prepared and I trust that whatever instruction the university gives him and the other students that they're concerned about his safety and that he'll be okay." (cbs11tv)
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Minnesota: Student Group Pushes University for Official Study-Abroad Program to Israel
by Jamie Vangeest
  The University doesn't have an official study-abroad program to Israel, but a student group wants to change that. Gopher Israel Public Affairs Committee's main goal next year is to establish an offical Israel study-abroad program through the University, said the group's president, Julia Krieger, a journalism sophomore. Krieger said it's a civil rights issue and discriminatory that the University doesn't have a study-abroad program to Israel. "It's troubling to me that the University of Minnesota is one of the finest universities in the nation...it is slamming its door to legitimate opportunities to study in Israel," she said. (Minnesota Daily)
Toronto: Exchanging Knowledge
 The University of Toronto's faculty of social work is making a friend while taking a stand. It has just announced a formal link with the School of Social Work at Haifa University in Israel, meaning the two will participate in student exchanges, although students taking part from Toronto will be required to speak Hebrew, Arabic or Russian to do their practicum in Israel. Faculty exchanges and an academic conference are also planned. (Toronto Star)
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