Two Chinese Universities to Conduct Israel Studies Workshops
Unprecedented Exchange Seen as Key Step in Greater Understanding

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2009

Contact: Michael Colson

202.289.7000

WASHINGTON D.C. - The first major academic workshops in the field of Israel Studies will take place in July at two of the leading academic institutions in the People's Republic of China, Peking University and Shandong University. The workshops have been designed to promote greater interest and understanding among Chinese, Jewish, and Israeli academics, and are expected to play a key role in stimulating additional cultural exchanges between the communities in the future.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is supporting both programs, an unprecedented collaboration in the field of Israel Studies. The workshops draw on the paradigm of the Summer Institute for Israel Studies, a project of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University.

"We are very proud to help launch what I believe will be an invaluable step in educating top scholars and students in China about Israel and the Jewish community," said Lynn Schusterman, Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. "The academic workshops are only the first step in building a vital link in today's world."

The vision for future programming includes establishing a dedicated Israel Studies center at Peking University, new fellowships to bring Chinese scholars to do research in Israel and Israeli scholars to teach in China, ongoing efforts to provide quality translations of Jewish and Israeli classics, and academic delegations to tour Israel. The aim is to create a vital cultural and intellectual connection between Chinese and Jewish and Israeli communities.

Currently, opportunities to do research in Israel or visit American Jewish communities hardly match the level of interest among talented Chinese graduate students.  For example, while there is a Hebrew language program at Peking University, the premier university in China, there is not yet support for the faculty’s goal of establishing a permanent Israel Studies Center. Despite the concerted effort of a handful of dedicated Chinese scholars of Jewish subjects, misinformation about Jewish and Israeli history is common in popular Chinese publications.

The Peking University workshop, entitled “2009 Summer Workshop on Modern Israeli Society,” July 13-17, 2009, will be hosted by the Program of Hebrew Language and will include thirty to forty participants from academia, think-tanks, and journalists with a focus on modern Israeli society.  The Shandong University workshop, entitled “2009 Summer Workshop of Israeli Intellectual and Cultural Tradition,” July 19-31, will be hosted by the Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies, the leading department of its kind in China.

According to Professor Chen Yiyi, host of the Peking University workshop and leading biblical scholar in China, “We hope the success of this workshop will help attract more support from organizations like Schusterman to provide even more opportunities for Peking University’s scholars and students.”

The Shandong workshop will host seventy to eighty attendees from a wide range of backgrounds including professors, high school educators, graduate students, and undergraduate students. They will participate in two weeks of lectures and group discussions focusing on Israel’s intellectual and cultural traditions.  According to Prof. Fu Youde, host of the Shandong University workshop and a leading scholar of Jewish philosophy in China, “the workshop is very significant for Chinese students and scholars to know the reality of modern Israel and expand their knowledge of Jewish civilization.”

Both programs will include lectures by top Israeli professors. Those currently planning to attend include Sammy Smooha, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and professor of sociology at the University of Haifa and a specialist in comparative ethnic relations; Elie Rekhess, a Dayan Center Senior Fellow and director of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at Tel Aviv University;  Yitzhak Galnoor, professor of political science at Hebrew University; and Ilan Troen, the director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, who used his extensive experience teaching about modern Israel to work closely with the seminar organizers to help organize curriculum for the events and recruit foreign lecturers.

"As the cultural, economic, and political impact of China continues to grow, so does the importance of encouraging Chinese interest and research on Jewish tradition and modern Israeli society," said Seth Garz, project advisor. "It is crucial that we help foster understanding of the founding of the state of Israel and what Israeli society stands for today."

Garz, a former investment banker, cultivated his vision for the creation of a Sino-Jewish Foundation over the past few years. He has helped organize panel discussions on the Jewish-China relationship for events like the American Jewish Committee annual conference and a recent conference organized by Israel's President, Shimon Peres. He served as a Fulbright fellow in China, a Junior Fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and worked as a consultant at a leading Chinese investment bank. Garz currently acts as a consultant on China related cultural and business projects.

View a PDF version of the Press Release here.