ISRAEL WEEK AT CHARLES UNIVERSITY
Prague Centre for Jewish Studies FA CU
cordially invites you to attend
“Third Israel Week at Charles University:
The Future of Israel Studies in the Czech Republic”
On 27 April - 3 May, the Prague Centre for Jewish Studies is organizing “Israel Week at Charles University: The Future of Israel Studies in the Czech Republic”. The project’s aim is to identify the main subjects of Israel studies covered by Czech and foreign scholars while also forging ties between the Czech academic world and Israeli and other international institutions. Israel studies involves the interdisciplinary study of modern Israeli history, politics, society, culture and art. It also focuses on the study of Jewish communities in the d...iaspora since creation of the State of Israel. This project should serve as a starting point for potential future research and teaching activities in the field of Israel studies at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts.
PROGRAM OF THE WEEK
MONDAY 27/4
16:30-17:40 Key note lecture “Is zionism colonialism?”: Yoav Gelber (professor emeritus of the University of Haifa and currently head of the Nevzlin program of Jewish Peoplehood at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya). IN ENGLISH
17:45-18:45 “From anti-Semitism to anti-Zionism: Czechoslovakia after 1948”: Lena Arava-Novotná
(Hussite Theological Faculty, Charles University)
18:45-20:00 Debate “Cultural Boycott of Israel: Cui bono?”: Guests: Tamara Moyzes (An Israeli-Slovak political artist, curator and documentary filmmaker living and working in Prague) and Jitka Pánek Jurková (Head of Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Israel in the Czech Republic). Moderated by: Marina Šternová (Director of the festival Days of Jerusalem and former Press and Cultural Attaché of the Czech Republic to Israel)
TUESDAY 28/4
10:30-11:30 “The Czech Lands and Palestine in the light of 13th-century coin finds”: Roman Zaoral (Faculty of Humanities, Charles University) IN ENGLISH
11:30-13:00 “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in architecture and design”: Daniel Ziss (Faculty of Arts, Charles University)
13:00-14:00 “The Munich Agreement and the Second Republic as seen by the Jewish press in Palestine”: Zbyněk Tarant (Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia)
As part of the 3rd Israel Week at Charles University, the Embassy of the State of Israel and the Václav Havel Library will host the event
“Journey to Israel”
Venue: Knihovna Václava Havla, Ostrovní 13, Praha 1
15.00–15.15 Opening: Marta Smolíková (Director of the VHL), H.E. Gary Koren (Ambassador of the State of Israel) a Jiří Dienstbier (Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation)
15.15–16.45 The 1990 Journey to Israel
Guests: Moše Arens, Milan Kňažko, Joel Šer, Alexandr Vondra
Moderated by: Michael Žantovský
17.00–18.30 Czech Republic and Israel Today, the Legacy of Václav Havel
Guests: Šlomo Avineri, Magdalena Křížová, Daniel Kumermann, Jiří Schneider
Moderated by: Tomáš Pojar
18.30 Closing Speech: Karel Schwarzenberg
Czech/English interpretation provided.
20.00 Glass of beer, concert featuring the Czech band Garage and the Israeli group Malox
Vinohradský pivovar, Korunní 106, Praha 10
WEDNESDAY 29/4
14:30-15:00 “Kindred by Choice: Czech relations with Israel yesterday and today”: Jan Fingerland (commentator for Czech Radio)
15:00-17:00 “What we think we know: Israel through the eyes of contemporary Czech society” – A presentation of the findings of a public survey and media analysis by 1st-year students of Hebrew Studies at Faculty of Arts, Charles University: Veronika Benešová, Sára Flemrová, Marie Getta, Alžběta Glancová, Kajetán Holeček, Kryštof Houdek, Karolina Kašeová, Daniel Koucký, Žaneta Lhotová, Lenka Pelíšková, Ráchel Slunečková, Tobiáš Smolík and Dominika Veselá
17:00-18:00 “Contemporary prospects for European Jews: Aliyah, assimilation, anti-Semitism?” Guests: H.E. Gary Koren (Ambassador of the State of Israel), Louise Hecht (Kurt and Ursula Schubert Centre for Jewish Studies, Palacký University in Olomouc) and Gabriel Noah Brahm (Northern Michigan University and Hebrew University). Moderated by Marcela Zoufalá (Prague Centre for Jewish Studies FA CU) IN ENGLISH
18:00 Exhibition inauguration “Gardener of the Desert” –photographs of legendary ethnographer and writer Alois Musil (partly the first public showing): Pavel Sládek (Head of the Institute of Near Eastern and African Studies; Prague Centre for Jewish Studies FA CU)
18:30 “The roots of Israeli popular music produced by the Israeli army” – samples with commentary: Daniel Kumermann (former Czech ambassador to Israel)
A goblet of wine and hospitality
THURSDAY 30/4
14:00-15:30 “Ally or pariah? The Israeli elections as seen by the international community”: Irena Kalhousová (Middle East analyst and doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics)
15:30-16:00 “The freedom to limit freedom: Academic boycotts vs. academic ethics”: Zbyněk Tarant (Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia)
16:00-17:00 “The Thought of Anti-Israel Boycotts: BDS in Theory”: Gabriel Noah Brahm (Northern Michigan University; Hebrew University in Jerusalem). G. N. Brahm is a co-editor of the recently published The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel. IN ENGLISH
SUNDAY 3/5
14:00 A guided tour of the exhibition “Gardener of the Desert” – photographs of legendary ethnographer and writer Alois Musil (partly the first public showing): Jakub Rumpl (Faculty of Arts, Charles University) a Daniel Ziss (Faculty of Arts, Charles University)
UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE, ALL EVENTS ARE HELD AT CHARLES UNIVERSITY’S SUBTERRANEAN CEREMONIAL HALL
Entry: Celetná 20, Prague 1
ALL EVENTS ARE IN CZECH UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!
For further information: marcela.zoufala@gmail or marcela.zoufala@ff.cuni.cz
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The event is supported by the Embassy of Israel in the Czech Republic.
