2022–2023 Events
Public Events
Film Screening and Panel Discussion of 9th Circuit Cowboy: The Long, Good Fight of Judge Harry Pregerson
Monday, September 12, 5:45pm, Room 170, Berkeley Law
9th Circuit Cowboy is the story of Judge Harry Pregerson, who served on California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for almost 50 years and was known for placing his personal scruples over what he discounted as abstract legalities. The film screening will be followed by a discussion with Honorable Dean D. Pregerson and Filmmaker Terry Sanders, moderated by Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.
Honorable Dean D. Pregerson: Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Terry Sanders: Academy Award-winning Filmmaker; Co-Head of the American Film Foundation
Erwin Chemerinsky: Dean, Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, Berkeley Law
The Israeli Century: How the Zionist Revolution Changed History and Reinvented Judaism,Wednesday, September 21, 5:45pm, Zoom Webinar
Drawing on his new book The Israeli Century, Prof. Yossi Shain examines the opportunities and challenges of Israeli sovereignty. He explores the new roles afforded to Israelis in the world but also the burdens of carrying the responsibility for the Jewish future. Yossi Shain will be joined in conversation by Prof. Ron Hassner following his presentation.Yossi Shain, Chair of the School of Political Science, Government, and International Relations, Tel Aviv University
Ron Hassner, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies
Year-Long Series: The Future of Shared Society in Israel: Shifting Lenses
Please join us for a series of conversations with scholars immersed in the project of coexistence and shared society in Israel — as examined from different conceptual lenses, including law, gender, civics, education, religion, and the arts. The scholars will explore issues of social trust, public policy, and current events shaping the prospects for coexistence, and examine both opportunities for and barriers to building shared society in Israel.
The Future of Shared Society through the Lens of Law and Gender
Session 1, Thursday, November 10, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT
Masua Sagiv, 2022–2023 Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies; Shalom Hartman Institute Scholar-in-Residence
Manal Totry-Jubran, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University
Hadar Aviram, Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of Law
The Future of Shared Society through the Lens of Civil Society and Education
Session 2, Thursday, November 15, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 PM PT
Sarab Aburabia Queder, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion; Associate Professor, Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ayman Agbaria, Sen, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Haifa; Faculty Member, Mandel School for Educational Leadership, Jerusalem
Hanan Alexander, 2022–2023 Koret Visiting Professor in Israel Studies; Former Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa
The Future of Shared Society through the Lens of Dance and Choreography
Session Three, Thursday, February 23, 2023, Light Reception: 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM PT, Lecture: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM PT, Goldberg Room (297), Berkeley Law Building
Please join Yali Nativ and Netta Yerushalmy in a conversation about diversity in Israeli society through dance and choreography. Moderated by Sariel Golomb, they will explore the dancing body as an imprinted cultural living archive through examples from Yarushalmy’s works and those of other choreographers based in Israel.
Yael (Yali) Nativ: Senior Lecturer, Academic College for Society and Arts, Levinsky College of Education; Former Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor
Netta Yerushalmy: NYC-based Israeli/American Dancer & Choreographer; Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (among other awards and accolades); Guest Faculty at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts
Sariel Golomb (Moderator): PhD Candidate in the Department of Theater & Performance Studies, Stanford University
The Future of Shared Society through the Lens of Religion
Session Four, Monday, March 13, 2023, 12 PM – 1:30 PM PT, Zoom
What is the role of religion in furthering a shared society in Israel? In this session, Tirza Kelman, Tomer Persico, and Muhammad Al-Atawneh will explore the two-sided sword of religion in relation to shared society. Moderated by Masua Sagiv, they will discuss when religion fosters shared society and when it becomes a barrier and an obstacle to that very idea.
Tirza Kelman: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Tomer Persico: Research Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute; Former Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, UC Berkeley
Muhammad Al-Atawneh: 2022–2023 Israel Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley; Associate Professor, Department of Middle East Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Masua Sagiv (Moderator): 2022–2023 Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, UC Berkeley; Shalom Hartman Institute Scholar-in-Residence; Researcher, Menomadin Center for Jewish and Democratic Law, Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty
Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America
Wed, January 25, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM, Room 105, Berkeley Law
Dahlia Lithwick, one of the nation’s foremost legal commentators and a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Kogod Research Center, tells the gripping and heroic story of the women lawyers who fought the racism, sexism, and xenophobia of Donald Trump’s presidency—and won. Masua Sagiv, Hartman Scholar-in-Residence, Koret Assistant Visiting Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies at UC Berkeley, and a scholar of the intersection of law, religion and gender will talk with Lithwick about her new book, Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America and what these significant political changes mean for America and for the Jewish community.
Dahlia Lithwick: Senior Editor, Slate; Host of Slate’s Amicus Podcast; Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute’s Kogod Research Center
Masua Sagiv: 2022–2023 Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, UC Berkeley; Shalom Hartman Institute Scholar-in- Residence; Researcher, Menomadin Center for Jewish and Democratic Law, Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty
This program is in partnership with the Shalom Hartman Institute. It is part of the Helen Diller Institute’s Program on Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity.
Watch the recording here.
The Libitzky Lecture on Israel and the Great Powers: The Case of Israel and Turkey
Thurs, Feb 16, 2023, 6:00PM–7:30PM, Great Room, Bancroft Hotel
After a turbulent decade, Turkish-Israeli ties are now undergoing a revival. What are the implications of this reconciliation for stability in the region and what are the effects of global developments on the ties between these two regional powers? Please join Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Ron Hassner, the Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies UC Berkeley, for a conversation about Israel’s relationship with Turkey. This is the third in a series of talks examining Israel’s relationships with global powers.
Soner Cagaptay: Beyer Family Fellow; Director, Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Ron Hassner: Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science; Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies; Co-Faculty Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies
This program is made possible with a gift from the Libitzky Family Foundation.
Israel at 75: Reflections of a US Ambassador
Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 6–7:15 p.m. PT, Bancroft Hotel
Daniel Shapiro, Former US Ambassador to Israel (2011– 2017) under the Obama Administration; Former Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council at the White House; Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council
A Conversation with Ambassador Daniel Shapiro hosted by Ron Hassner, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies, UC Berkeley.
Little Kids, Big Ideas: What We Learn from Taking Children’s Thoughts About Israel Seriously
Monday, April 17, 2023, Light Reception: 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM PT, Steinhart Courtyard, Lecture: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM PT, 297 Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law Building
In contrast to popular views of America’s youth as naive or apathetic, this talk will illuminate how young children spend considerable time and effort thinking about big questions that matter in their communities. Even in elementary school, young children think about—and care about—the very issues that adults often assume are beyond children’s reach: the intricacies of identity and belonging, and the demands of civic responsibility. Based on a nine year longitudinal study of Jewish children, this talk will illuminate how children develop big ideas about the world, and why children’s ideas ought to matter for schools, communities, and society.
Sivan Zakai: Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles; Senior Editor, Journal of Jewish Education
Ronit Stahl: Professor of History, UC Berkeley
The Robbins Lecture in Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity
The Executioner’s Prayer: What Evolutionary Neuroscience and Talmudic Tradition Teach Us About the Roles of Punishment in Society
Thurs, April 20, 2023, Light Reception: 5:00 – 5:30 PM PT, Bancroft Hotel, Lecture: 5:30 – 7:00 PM PT, Bancroft Hotel
It’s hard to imagine a system of justice without punishments. We might think that judicial sanctions deter potential criminals, or keep offenders off the streets, or provide the “just deserts” of illegal antisocial behavior. But perhaps there’s another reason why every legal system makes use of punishment — one deeply seated in the evolution of humankind and its institutions. Considering how judicial punishment is portrayed in Biblical and Talmudic literature, and understood by evolutionary psychology, we’ll consider new directions in finding forms of punishment that might be most effective in strengthening social cohesion today.
Daniel Levy: 2022-2023 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor Associate Professor, Former Dean, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University
Academic Events
Guiding Christian Pilgrims as Jewish-Israeli Identity Praxis
Mon. Oct. 24, 12:30 – 2pm, Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law
Jackie Feldman: Professor, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Fall 2022 Israel Institute Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley
Christian pilgrimage has been a mainstay of Israel's tourist industry and a major force reflecting historical and contemporary views of Israel. Drawing on three decades of experience as a pilgrim guide and interviews with tour agents, guides and tourists, I show how guide‐group interactions not only confirm the existing faith of pilgrims, but provide a conducive environment for challenging religious preconceptions. Moreover, by mediating Israel, Judaism and Christian sacra, Jewish guides come to reaffirm as well as reevaluate their own religious and political commitments.
Intersectional & Ecological Barriers for Arabs with Disabilities in Israel
Mon. Oct. 31, 12:30 – 2pm, Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law
In this talk, Dr. Badran sets forth an intersectional-ecological model to Arab people with disabilities living in Israel as a means of analyzing the impacts of belonging to two vulnerable categories: the identity of an ethnic and political minority, and the identity of having a disability.
Leena Badran: PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Social Welfare
Stephen Rosenbaum: MPP, JD, Lecturer, Visiting Researcher and Scholar, Othering & Belonging Institute and Berkeley Law
UC Berkeley Co-sponsors include: The School of Social Welfare, the Othering and Belonging Institute, the Department of Anthropology, the Center for Middle East Studies, and the Disability Studies Minor.
From Siso to Salah: The Mizrahi Critique of Law & Society
Mon. Nov. 28, 12:30 – 2pm, Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law
Yifat Bitton: President of Achva Academic College of Education and Science; Fall 2022 Visiting Professor at University of Chicago
Mizrahi legal studies, a new and distinct critical approach to Israeli law, speaks to the nature of the Mizrahi minority in Israel. It is a story that spans “old school” discrimination patterns during a time of lawnessness and “new school” discrimination patterns during a stage of docio-legal denial. Current efforts to abolish this discrimination using legal tools are shaped by the uniqueness of this minority and its legalistic performances. Yifat Bitton will introduce the formation of the Mizrahi critique of law in theory and practice and provide a glimpse of one of the most significant rifts dividing Israeli society and fueling its socio-political crisis.
Research Workshop: Exploring Legal Remedies to Gender-Based Harm in Israel & the U.S.
Tuesday, November 29th, 3 – 5 PM, Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law
In this workshop, four legal scholars, with expertise in different fields of law — including criminal law, constitutional law, tort law, religion and law, and gender and law — explore the intersections of their work around the formation of and advocacy for legal remedies to gender-based harm in Israel and the U.S. The scholars will engage with one another through their presentations and discussions on this theme and provide a comparative look at the Israeli and U.S. contexts.
Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg: 2022–2023 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley; Former Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law, Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law
Yiffat Bitton: Fall 2022 Visiting Professor, University of Chicago; President of Achva Academic College of Education and Science, Israel
Michal Tamir: 2022–2023 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley; Associate Professor, The Academic Center of Law and Science, Israel; Former President of Israel Law and Society Association (ILSA)
Masua Sagiv: 2022–2023 Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies, UC Berkeley; Shalom Hartman Institute Scholar-in-Residence; Researcher, Menomadin Center for Jewish and Democratic Law, Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty
Watch the recording here.
The Role of Social Context in Criminal Justice: A Comparative Perspective
March 1, 2023, 2 PM – 5 PM, Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law Building
Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg, Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor, Host and Coordinator
What is, and what should be, the role of social context in criminal justice processes? How is social context being considered or ignored in criminal legal proceedings? What are the pros and cons of widening the scope of the criminal legal discourse to include social factors as relevant considerations in criminal justice decision-making? In what ways can/should these factors be considered? Who can/should raise them?
This workshop will examine the role of various social considerations in criminal justice processes. Through the discussion of five works-in-progress, criminal justice scholars from four different countries and perspectives will address the various ways that considering social context can shape traditional and specialized courts’ processes and decisions. Such considerations include individual accountability, the various interests involved (offenders’, victims’, community, public interests), social reintegration, structural factors, state accountability, and socio-political goals.
Presentation Schedule and Speakers:
Belongingness Matters: Avenues for Addressing Social Exclusion in Adjudication and Sentencing
Federica Coppola, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Germany
The Role of Victims in Bringing Forward Social Context and State Accountability
Marie Manikis, Associate Professor and William Dawson Chair, Faculty of Law, McGill University
How Does the Israeli Community Courts Program Affect the Well-Being of Participants' Female Spouses?
Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg, Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley Law; Professor of Law, Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law
Specialized Courts for Marginalized People: Accommodation or Social Control?
Véronique Fortin, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sherbrooke
Plan B for Animal Activist Defense: Hurdles and Opportunities in Introducing Social Context into Trials of Open Rescue Activists
Hadar Aviram, Thomas Miller '73 Professor of Law, UC Law San Francisco
Israel-Latin American Relations: What Has Changed in the Past Decade and Why?
Monday, April 24th, 2023, 12:30–2 p.m., Goldberg Room, Berkeley Law Building
Arie M. Kacowicz, Chaim Weizmann Chair in International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Aaron and Cecile Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor, Georgetown University
The past decade has witnessed the adoption of both very antagonistic and very empathetic positions towards Israel by several important Latin American countries. This talk by Professor Arie Kacowicz examines the historical evolution of the relationship between Israel and Latin America in general and with specific countries in the region in particular. Professor Kacowicz will examine the causes of the changing dynamics in Israeli–Latin American relations, including a mutual quest for legitimation and recognition, economic cooperation and development, and the search for power and influence.
Student Events
Student Lunch with Yossi Shain
Thursday, September 22, 12:30-2pm
Yossi Shain: Romulo Betancourt Professor of Political Science at Tel Aviv University
Religious Pluralism and Practice in Israel
Monday, November 7, 5 – 7pm
Muhammad Mudi al-Atawneh: Fall 2022 Israel Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley; Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Jackie Feldman: 2022–2023 Israel Institute Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley; Department of Middle East Studies, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Join us for a conversation with Prof. Muhammad Al- Atawneh and Prof. Jackie Feldman on religious pluralism and practice in Israel. They will discuss their own experiences teaching and representing religion in the classroom, and will also reflect more broadly on religious pluralism and inter-religious encounters in Israeli society and on the role of religion in politics and in the Israeli- Palestinian context.
Social Change Opportunities in Israel: Panel with Alumni of the Berkeley Global Internship Program in Haifa
Wednesday, November 16, 4:30–5:30pm
Myron Benn, Edwin Orosco, and Shor Masori, ‘23 Student Alumni of the Berkeley Global Internship Program in Haifa
Modeling Dialogue and Disagreement on Israel
Wednesday, November 30, 7:00–8:30 pm
Please join us after Hillel BBQ for a panel discussion modeling civic dialogue and disagreement on Israel, featuring seven Helen Diller Institute visiting faculty from Israel (Hanan Alexander, Muhammad Mudi al-Atawneh, Masua Sagiv, Michal Tamir, Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg, Jackie Feldman, and Daniel Levy). The discussion will cover a wide range of issues, including the recent Israeli election, religion and state, social rights, minority issues, women and gender, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moderated by Rebecca Golbert.
Cosponsored with Berkeley Hillel
Jewish Law Student Association Dinner with Dahlia Lithwick
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 7–9 PM, The Faculty Club
Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate; Host of Slate’s Amicus Podcast; Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute’s Kogod Research Center
Student Conversation with Soner Cagaptay
February 16, 2023, 7:30 PM, Bancroft Hotel
Soner Cagaptay, Director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Beyer Family Fellow
Directly following his Libitzky Lecture, Soner Cagaptay will meet with students to expand on his earlier lecture while fielding their questions on Turkish policy, Israeli-Turkish relations, current events, and more.
Undergraduate to Ambassador: Daniel Shapiro's Journey
Student Lunch Conversation with Ambassador Daniel Shapiro
Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 12:30–2 p.m., Women’s Faculty Club
Daniel Shapiro, Former US Ambassador to Israel (2011– 2017) under the Obama Administration; Former Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council at the White House; Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council
Student Lunch Conversation with Sivan Zakai
Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 12:30–2 p.m., Berkeley Hillel
Sivan Zakai, Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles; Senior Editor, Journal of Jewish Education
Co-Sponsored with Berkeley Hillel
Climate Change and Innovation in Israel
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 5:15–7 PM, B100, Blum Hall
Alon Tal, Visiting Professor of Business and Sustainability, Stanford University; Professor, Tel Aviv University, Department of Public Policy
Organized in collaboration with Daniel Conway, Undergraduate Fellow
Co-sponsored by Berkeley Development Engineering
Co-Sponsored Events
Dismantling White Nationalism: An Intersectional Approach
Lunch for Berkeley Law students
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 12:45–2 pm PDT, Berkeley Law School Room 170
Eric K. Ward
Eric K. Ward, a nationally-recognized expert on the relation- ship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy, is the recipient of the 2021 Civil Courage Prize—the first American in the award’s 21-year history. In his 30+ year civil rights career, Eric has worked with community groups, government and business leaders, human rights advocates, and philanthropy as an organizer, director, program officer, consultant, and board member. Eric’s widely quoted writings and speeches are credited with key narrative shifts. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Race Forward, a member of the President’s Leadership Council for the Search for Common Good, Chair of The Proteus Fund, and Advisor to the Bridge Entertainment Labs.
How Antisemitism Shapes White Nationalism
Wednesday, April 19th, 3–4:30 pm PDT, 370 Dwinelle Hall, UC Berkeley campus
Eric K. Ward
Eric K. Ward, a nationally-recognized expert on the relation- ship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy, is the recipient of the 2021 Civil Courage Prize—the first American in the award’s 21-year history. In his 30+ year civil rights career, Eric has worked with community groups, government and business leaders, human rights advocates, and philanthropy as an organizer, director, program officer, consultant, and board member. Eric’s widely quoted writings and speeches are credited with key narrative shifts. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Race Forward, a member of the President’s Leadership Council for the Search for Common Good, Chair of The Proteus Fund, and Advisor to the Bridge Entertainment Labs.
Symposium | Jews and Other Groups Who Resisted the Nazis: Means, Motivations, and Limitations
April 28, 2023 / 9:30–4:30 pm, Social Science Matrix, 820 Social Sciences Building
This day-long symposium will probe what remains an under-examined topic in the history of World War II and the Holocaust: the multivarious paths through which ordinary men and women resisted the Nazis. While scholarship on the choices, backgrounds, and motivations of perpetrators and collaborators has become quite robust, it is only in recent years that resistance has received growing scholarly scrutiny.
At this interdisciplinary, comparative symposium, historians and sociologists focusing on a variety of locales from Eastern Europe, to France to North Africa to the Netherlands, will explore a range of subjects that illuminate distinctive paths of resistance, among both Jews and non-Jews. Through their case studies, they will illuminate how factors that include religious community and theology, proximate danger, pre-war political engagement, and social geography could become decisive in the choice and circumstances of resistance.
The 3rd Annual Conference on Environmental Conflict and Cooperation (CECC)
June 1–2 ,2023, UC Berkeley School of Law
Day 1 (Thursday, June 1st, 9 am-5 pm PT) will be an online international symposium and will include a keynote lecture by renowned environmental management expert Prof. Mark Lubell, UC Davis, followed by six one-hour themed lecture sessions, including environmental cooperation initiatives, Human-Nature connections, marine planning and governance, land-based planning and governance, private sector initiatives, and collaborative initiatives.
Day 2 (Friday, June 2nd) will be an in-person conference and workshop day that will take place at the University of California, Berkeley Law School, between 9 am and 4:30 pm PT (Goldberg Room), with keynote speaker Dr. Michal ("Moose") O'Donnell, Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute (CMSI) and sessions on knowledge, methods, marine initiatives, and water management. See below for additional conference details, the preliminary schedule, and the schedule, lectures, and pictures of last year's (wonderful) conference.
The in-person day, including the venue, coffee breaks and lunch, will be sponsored by the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies (HDI), at the UC Berkeley School of Law.
Organizers: Yael Teff-Seker (UC Davis), Jennifer Holzer (Brock University), Naama Sadan (Hebrew University)
Co-Sponsors: Helen Diller Institute (HDI) UC Berkeley, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES), Brock University, The Hebrew University Center for Sustainability, Coastal and Marine Institute (CMSI), Sea-Unicorn EU COST Action (COST Action CA19107).