Association

Who We Are and What We Do

The European Association of Israel Studies (EAIS) is an independent, international, and scholarly association devoted to the academic study of Israel. We are a membership organization open to all individuals who are engaged in or share an interest in the scholarly study of Israeli society, politics, and culture, and the historical development of these aspects in historic Palestine and Israel.

We are committed to rigorous academic scholarship about Israel and high quality research and teaching in this area, as well as increasing the breadth of study of this important part of the Middle East. This commitment is reflected in our vision, mission, and values, and in the range of exciting Israel Studies events, resources, and opportunities we provide for our members:

Our vision is to become the leading non-partisan, academic, scholarly, and intellectual association for Israel Studies in Europe by 2020.

Our mission is to promote, encourage, and support the independent, academic study of Israel across Europe.

Our values are: Non-partisanship, Non-advocacy, Transparency, Openness to all, Academic excellence.

In ensuring these values, we embrace rigorous scholarship and informed debated.

Management Board

Prof. Joanna Dyduch Chair

Prof. Joanna Dyduch is lecturer at the Jagiellonian University in the Institute of the Middle and Far East. She completed her PhD in political science from Wrocław University. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Artur Skorek Executive Secretary

Assistant professor at the Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow (UJ), a political scientist specializing in Israel and international relations. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Joanna Guzik Treasure

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Middle and Far East Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Doctor in history also from Jagiellonian University for thesis “Japan’s policy towards Jewish issue 1932-1948”.

Academic Council

Prof. Colin Shindler Honorary President and Founding Chair

Colin Shindler is Honorary President and Founding Chair of the EAIS. He is an emeritus professor at SOAS University of London and the author of eight books about Israeli history and politics.

Dr. Marcela Zoufalá Academic Council

Marcela Zoufalá is a researcher and lecturer at Centre for the Study of the Holocaust and Jewish Literature, Faculty of Arts, Charles University. She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology and published the outcomes of her doctoral dissertation as a monograph entitled Judaism and Women in Israel (in Czech, Karolinum University Press, 2012).

Prof. Sharon Pardo Academic Council

Prof. Sharon Pardo (Ph.D., Ghent University, Faculty of Political and Social Studies) is a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam in European Studies in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Pardo is a Senior Researcher at The Simone Veil Research Centre for Contemporary European Studies.

Eve Benhamou Postgraduate students represenative

PhD candidate in contemporary history, my research deals with French foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict under Jacques Chirac’s second term and the Presidencies of Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande (2002-2017).

Dr. Olaf Glöckner Academic Council

Olaf Glöckner is a researcher at the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European-Jewish Studies in Potsdam (MMZ). He is also Lecturer at the Historical Institute and at the Department of Jewish Studies at Potsdam University.

Dr. Peter Bergamin Academic Council

Peter Bergamin is Lecturer in Oriental Studies at Mansfield College, Oxford. He completed his DPhil in Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford in 2016, under the supervision of Derek Penslar. University.

Prof. Przemyslaw Turek Academic Council

Przemyslaw Turek PhD, Associate Professor at the Institute of the Middle and Far East of the Jagiellonian University, head of the Department of Israel and Levant, a scholar of Oriental and Polish studies.

Prof. Joanna Dyduch Chair

Our Partners:

Pears Foundation has generously provided start up and ongoing core funding and support to establish the European Association of Israel Studies as part of their wider aim to build the capacity of Israel Studies as an academic discipline. The Foundation also supports higher education posts at several British universities.

The Israel Institute enhances knowledge about modern Israel through the expansion of accessible, innovative learning opportunities, on and beyond campus. The Institute’s many programmes and initiatives advance rigorous teaching, research, and discourse about modern Israel. The Israel Institute kindly provides essential financial support for our Annual Conference.

Capital Jagiellonian University in Krakow was founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, the Jagiellonian University is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe, and one of the oldest surviving universities in the world. Notable alumni include astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, poet Jan Kochanowski, Polish King John III Sobieski, constitutional reformer Hugo Kołłątaj.

For many years the EAIS was based at SOAS University of London and was supported by SOAS central services. SOAS also generously provides rent free office space for the Association along with rent free rooms for our events held there..

We have been privileged to be hosted in Europe by the following institutions:

University of Wrocław (6th Annual Conference, September 2017)

University of Cagliari (4th Annual Conference, September 2015)

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2nd Annual Lecture, March 2015)

Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) (1st Annual Lecture, March 2014)

University of Munich (2nd Annual Conference, September 2013)