40th Annual Conference of the AIS | 12th Annual Conference of the EAIS

Considering the gravity of the recent events and their ongoing or imminent repercussions, we have expanded this Call for Papers to reflect the present situation. Therefore, apart from the given topic, we appreciate all proposals focused on any aspect and perspective of current affairs triggered on October 7. The conference’s conveners will work tirelessly to create a safe space where diverse scholarships will be included and respected. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and may adapt the conference format and final dates in light of future developments.

By this CfP we announce the first joint AIS-EAIS conference, marking the 12th Annual
Conference of the European Association of Israel Studies and 40th Annual Meeting of the
Association for Israel Studies. This event will bring together distinguished scholars,
researchers, and experts from around the world to explore the rich and diverse landscape of Israel Studies.

The late Czech-French writer Milan Kundera famously expressed his perception of the complex European-Israeli attachment in 1985 while accepting the Jerusalem Prize: “Even after Europe so tragically failed them, the Jews nonetheless kept faith with that European cosmopolitanism; and Israel, their little homeland finally regained, seems to me the true heart of Europe – a heart strangely located outside the body.”

How have European and international discourses and understanding of Israel developed over the last decades? Is the European perspective on Israel considered unique, loaded by often unprocessed events of the 20th century, or can we no longer distinguish relevant geographical patterns in today’s globalized world? How do Israel and its society differ or mirror Kundera’s nostalgic optics, and what are the current principal challenges? In the contemporary landscape, where does Israel stand in relation to both Europe and the Middle East?

The conference aims to bring together international scholars, post-docs, and Ph.D. students from any discipline relevant to Israel Studies – including, but not limited to, Anthropology, Arts (music, visual, performance, film, etc.), Culture Studies, Conflict ResoluBon, Disability Studies, Economics and Business, Education, Gender Studies, Geography and Environment, History, International RelaBons, Jewish Studies, Language and Literature, Law, Media and CommunicaBon, Middle East Studies, Migration Studies, Minority Studies, Palestine Studies, Philosophy and Thought, Politics, Religious Studies, Security Studies, and Sociology.
The conference will be held in person and according to any restrictions or regulations in effect at that time.

Submission Guidelines:

• Individual, Roundtable, and full Panel sessions are submitted online: Individual submission link. Roundtable submission link. Panel Session submission link.

• Proposals are submitted online using the links above.

• Individual abstracts may include co-authors, and should not exceed 250 words.

• Roundtable proposals should include a chair and 3-5 experts, plus an abstract of up to 750 words.

• Panel session proposals should include a chair and 3-5 presenters of original research, plus an abstract of up to 750 words.

• In constructing roundtables and panels, keep in mind the importance of diversity.

• All presenters will be required to register for the conference and be current members of either the AIS or the EAIS in order to present and be listed in the conference program.

• Registration takes place in March on the EAIS website. (Details will be sent to all accepted presenters).

• Note that this year’s registration price will be different due to the requirements of a joint conference.

• Graduate students who have completed their coursework are encouraged to submit their proposal and should provide the email of their advisor for approval.

Questions? Write to conf@aisisraelstudies.org

Travel grants – Requests due by January 164 2024.

The AIS and the EAIS provide a limited number of grants to support conference participation for those without institutional travel support.

• AIS members should send their applications to the AIS Executive Director, at: ais@aisisraelstudies.org

• EAIS members should send their applications to the EAIS Treasurer at: info@israelstudies.eu

• PhD holders without institutional support must include their abstract proposal and a current CV.

• Graduate students who wish to apply for travel grants should send a request along with their abstract proposal and a letter from their advisor.

Program Committee Chair: Marcela Menachem Zoufalá4 Charles University

Anthropology and Sociology

Dani Kranz, El Colegio de México Nissim Leon, Bar-Ilan University

Arab and Palestinian Society in Israel
Mustafa Abbasi, Tel Hai College
Elie Rekhess, Northwestern University Sammy Smooha, University of Haifa (emeritus)
Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas

Disability Studies
Michal Soffer, University of Haifa

History of the State of Israel
Johannes Becke, Heidelberg University Orit Rozin, Tel Aviv University
Łukasz Tomasz Sroka, Pedagogical University of Krakow

History of the Yishuv
Aviva Halamish, The Open University of Israel
Nimrod Lin, Heidelberg University

History of Zionism
Yitzhak Conforti, Bar-Ilan University
Ilan Troen, Brandeis University/Ben Gurion University of the Negev (emeritus)

International Relations and Conflict Resolution
Amnon Aran, University of London
Yael S. Aronoff, Michigan State University Joanna Dyduch, Jagiellonian University in Krakow
David Tal, University of Sussex

Israel and Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Diaspora
Yulia Egorova, Durham University
Ben Gidley, Birkbeck, University of London Dekel Peretz, Heidelberg University

Israel in/and Europe
Olaf Glöckner, Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European-Jewish Studies
Sharon Pardo, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Zbyněk Tarant, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen

Israel in/and the Arab World
Menna Abukhadra, Cairo University in Egypt Przemyslaw Turek, Jagiellonian University Eyal Zisser, Tel Aviv University

Language and Literature
Rachel Harris, Florida Atlantic University
Ilana Szobel, Brandeis University

Law
Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, Brandeis University

Media and Communication
Nissim Katz, Kinneret College
Karolina Zielińska, Vistula University in Warsaw

Music, Visual, and Performing Arts

Olga Gershenson, University of Massachussets, Amherst
Colin Shindler, SOAS University of London (emeritus)

Philosophy and Religious Thought
Peter Lintl, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Yaacov Yadgar, University of Oxford

Politics
PR Kumaraswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Avi Shilon, New York University / Tel Hai College
Alla Zakharchenko, Odessa Mechnikov National University

Women, Gender, and Sexualities

Matan Boord, Bar-Ilan University Lilach Rosenberg-Friedman, Bar-Ilan University
Ghilad H. Shenhav, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich