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‘The Existence of a Malady is Not in Question’: Scholars Spar Over Fate of Israel Studies in America
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside the main campus of Columbia University during the commencement ceremony in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2025. Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect.
An academic group of Israeli and international scholars is claiming that the field of Israel Studies is faring far better than depicted in a recent report which argued that the field is under sustained ideological attack by the pro-Palestinian movement and lacks a clear vision for the future.
The Association of Israel Studies (AIS)—founded in 1985 to promote the growth of the field—claimed Tuesday that the conclusions of a report published by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) in June—titled “Israel Studies at American Universities: Is There a Path Forward?“—were “anecdotal” and warped by a “profound lack of appreciation” for the subject’s success in higher education.
The report, written by University of Haifa professor Sara Yael Hirschhorn, claimed that Israel studies is working through a crisis of identity caused by competing visions of its scope and mission. As an interdisciplinary field serving as a “big tent” for other disciplines relevant to the study of Israel, the report said it winds up being open to “almost everyone who wants to affiliate” even as they undertake courses of study that are “haphazardly cobbled together into what has been called a discipline, with its attendant academic conferences, publications, employment, grants, and community that often lack coherence.”
Hirschhorn called on the leaders of Israel Studies to take steps to ensure its survival, recommending uniform standards of what constitutes “an original contribution to the field,” a shared consensus of what constitutes mastery of the subject, and new, bold fundraising strategies which stress the enormity of the changes underway in higher education, America, and the world.
But such claims are speculative and lacking the explanatory power of “critical metrics,” the AIS said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner on Tuesday.
“Anecdotes are not research. Strong statements are not a substitute for rigorous analysis,” said the statement, signed by AIS president and Fellow at the Israeli Institute for Advanced Studies in Jerusalem, Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Smith College professor of Jewish Studies Donna Divine, former AIS president S. Ilan Troen, among others. “There are now four [Israel studies] journals publishing significant scholarship. Each has published many hundreds of scholarly articles about Israel. Many universities, including Yale, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge and Indiana continue to produce and welcome solid scholarship. The Association for Israel Studies attracts more scholars than ever. Its annual conferences are attended by hundreds of people from all over the world.”
Israel Studies needs more “support,” AIS’s statement added, taking most exception to Hirschhorn’s suggesting that Israel Studies should find homes outside of culturally progressive institutions of higher education and plant new departments in places that “might prove more hospitable” — denominational Christian colleges, for example, or policy institutes.
“The existence of a malady is not in question,” AIS continued. “Aspects of it are uniquely characteristic of the field of Israel Studies, and others are part of a broader context of ailments afflicting the academy. Based on flawed research, however, the diagnosis proposed in this report compounds the flaws, and the prescription it proposes could well cause irreparable injury to a field of great importance. More support rather than radical surgery is indicated.”
Hirschhorn acknowledged that the report contains some difficult conclusions for the field, but implored practitioners to engage rather than criticize.
“This report is an urgent intervention in the crisis at American universities today and not an obituary,” she said in an interview with The Algemeiner. “The methodology employed in researching and writing this report, which drew upon historical studies (and documents), media coverage, interviewing, data, and trend analysis, was intended to provide a full picture of the complex environment in which Israel Studies is currently situated and to balance the voices of a multiplicity of invested stakeholders, which would assure the project’s independence and integrity.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘The Existence of a Malady is Not in Question’: Scholars Spar Over Fate of Israel Studies in America first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hezbollah Marks Year Since Israel Killed Veteran Leader Nasrallah
People gather at a site damaged by Israeli airstrike that killed Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a commemoration ceremony in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah on Saturday commemorated one year since leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israel, the opening salvo of a war that ultimately battered his once-powerful group and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
A string of Israeli bunker-busting bombs on a Hezbollah complex in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Nasrallah, who had led the powerful Shi’ite religious, political and military group for more than 30 years.
His heir apparent Hashem Safieddine was killed weeks later. Now pressure is swelling on the group to disarm – a demand Hezbollah has rejected.
Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, who assumed the post a month after Nasrallah’s killing, delivered a speech to mark the anniversary.
He reaffirmed that Hezbollah would not allow disarmament and warned of a fierce confrontation, describing the fight as an existential battle that the group was capable of facing.
Crowds, including Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, gathered in Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s south and east, to mark the day.
Tensions over the commemoration have been mounting this week, particularly after Hezbollah projected the portraits of Nasrallah and Safieddine on the towering rocks off the coast of Beirut.
The display went ahead, despite orders by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Beirut governor not to do so, angering Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah who said the cliffs should not be used for political displays.
Nasrallah became secretary general of Hezbollah in 1992 aged just 35 after his predecessor, Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi, was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack.
With his fiery speeches, he swiftly became the public face of a once-shadowy group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli occupation forces.
The day after Hamas’ cross-border attack into Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah entered the fray in solidarity with its Palestinian ally by firing on Israel from southern Lebanon.
That prompted exchanges of fire for nearly a year before Israel sharply escalated by detonating explosives-rigged communication devices used by Hezbollah, pummeling the country with air strikes and sending troops into Lebanon’s south.
Israel’s air and ground campaign prevented a formal burial for Nasrallah for months. Followers have since flocked to his grave to pray.
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New Zealand Says Not Joining Push for Palestinian Statehood
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York, Aug. 15, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
i24 News – New Zealand will not join the push to recognize Palestinian statehood, though it remains committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Minister Winston Peters said at the United Nations Headquarters on Friday.
“With a war raging, Hamas still in place, and no clarity on next steps, we do not think that the time is now,” Peters said in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.
New Zealand’s position represents a departure from the line adopted by Australia, Britain and Canada, who joined in a recognition of Palestinian statehood on Sunday.
Israel and the US administration of President Donald Trump have said such unilateral moves will only serve to undermine the prospects of a peaceful end to the conflict and achieve nothing for the Palestinians. Both boycotted the New York event.
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Trump: Intense ‘Regional’ Talks on Ending Gaza War Ongoing, Israel and Hamas Briefed
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 31, 2025. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump stated on Friday in a message posted to his Truth Social network that talks, ongoing for four days, concerning ending the Gaza war were productive.
“I am pleased to report that we are having very inspired and productive discussions with the Middle Eastern Community concerning Gaza. Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a Successfully Completed Agreement,” the post read.
“All of the Countries within the Region are involved, Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. There is more Goodwill and Enthusiasm for getting a Deal done, after so many decades, than I have ever seen before. Everyone is excited to put this period of Death and Darkness behind them. It is an Honor to be a part of this Negotiation. We must get the Hostages back, and get a PERMANENT AND LONGLASTING PEACE!”