For more information, a complete list of programs or to register, please visit
erjcchouston.org/horvitz
or contact Rabbi Samantha Safran at ssafran@erjcchouston.org.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 6217 Houston, Texas
Paul Horvitz Julia Mazow Ron Moses Nancy Pryzant Picus Shirley Warshaw
EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER 5601 S. Braeswood | Houston, Texas 77096
or contact Rabbi Samantha Safran at ssafran@erjcchouston.org.
FREE for full time students with valid ID and full time Jewish professionals *
erjcchouston.org/horvitz
$10 Member | $15 Public (per event) $36 Member | $54 Public (series pass) *
Bobbi and Vic Samuels Center for Jewish Living & Learning
For more information, a complete list of programs or to register, please visit
Dr. Hazan is known throughout the world as one of the foremost experts on Israeli democracy and politics. He is a professor and past Chair of the Political Science Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Educated at the Hebrew University (B.A.) and Columbia University (M.A., Ph.D.), he has held academic appointments at the Hebrew University since 1995. He was Visiting Professor in the Government Department of Harvard University (2009-2010) and Visiting Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory University (2003-2004). He has been advisor to the Speaker of the Israeli parliament and for several Israeli political parties and thinktanks, a member of the Presidential Commission on the Structure of Government, and leader of the Israeli parliament’s Committees Reform Project. Dr. Hazan was the recipient of the 2009-2010 Rector’s Prize for Research and Teaching, the highest honor bestowed upon academics at the Hebrew University. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Political Science Review, the Journal of Legislative Studies, and Party Politics. He is also known as a commentator for CNN, FOX, BBC, and NPR, in addition to being quoted frequently in Time, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among others.
This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The only democracy in the Middle East, Israel is looked upon with admiration and at the same time scrutinized relentlessly for the intricacies of its political system. As Israel approaches its 70th anniversary of modern statehood, with it comes an opportunity to reflect on its accomplishments and its challenges, as well as to raise some important questions about its future. How well does Israeli democracy function? What are the dominant issues that drive its electoral campaigns? And are its democratic institutions in need of reform? These questions resonate across religious and political lines, and this series will help our Houston community engage in valuable discourse around the meaning of democracy in Israel.
Joe Pryzant, Chair Devora Borik Marcia Citron Rhoda Goldberg Bernice Heilbrunn Potvin
Dr. Reuven Y. Hazan, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Committee
Sunday, February 11‒Sunday, February 25
About the Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Program
Israel at 70: Democracy, Politics and Society
Dr. Leo Horvitz’s commitment to the Jewish community is legendary. The Scholar-in-Residence Program was originally established in 1989 by his wife, Bunny, to honor the memory of Dr. Horvitz who served the Jewish community of Houston in many capacities. In 1995, to honor the blessed memory of Bunny Horvitz, the program was renamed the Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Program. The series continues to reflect their dedication to excellence in Jewish education for the entire community. The Evelyn Rubenstein JCC thanks the Horvitz family for its continued support of this program.
The 27th Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Program
EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JCC HOUSTON
ISRAEL AT 70
Democracy, Politics and Society FEBRUARY 11‒25
erjcchouston.org/horvitz
Scholar-in-Residence Program DATE
TIME
AT A GLANCE
PROGRAM
Sunday, February 11
4:00 PM
Opening Lecture: Israeli Politics and Foreign Policy
Monday, February 12
5:00 PM
Teen Program: The Politics of National Security
Monday, February 12
7:30 PM
Mini Course 1A: Democracy and Politics in Israel
Tuesday, February 13
7:30 PM
Get Cultured (20’s and 30’s): Security and Democracy in Israel Alt. Location: TBA
12:00 PM
Rice University Lunch and Learn: A Tale of Two Democracies, the United States and Israel Alt. Location: Rice University
Wednesday, February 14
Wednesday, February 14
7:30 PM
Mini Course 1B: Democracy and Politics in Israel
Thursday, February 15
12:15 PM
Melton & More Lunch and Learn: A Tale of Two Democracies, the United States and Israel
Thursday, February 15
7:30 PM
Film and Learn: Footnote
Sunday, February 18
10:00 AM
Yom Limmud: What’s Wrong with Israeli Politics and How to Fix It* Alt. Location: Congregation Emanu El
Sunday, February 18
4:00 PM
Monday, February 19
7:30 PM
Mid-Residency Lecture: Political Representation in Israel
Tuesday, February 20
7:30 PM
Mini Course 2A: Religion and Politics in Israel
Thursday, February 22
7:30 PM
Mini Course 2B: Religion and Politics in Israel
Sunday, February 25
10:00 AM
Closing Reception & Lecture: Israeli Politics and Society at the Crossroads
HSPO: Assessing Israeli Democracy and Society at 70: Lessons for the Next Generation IN HEBREW
*Please note that Series Passes do not cover the Yom Limmud Learning Session. A separate charge will apply. All programs take place at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC unless otherwise indicated.
OPENING LECTURE: Israeli Politics and Foreign Policy Sunday, February 11 | 4:00 PM
GET CULTURED (20’s and 30’s): Security and Democracy in Israel Tuesday, February 13 | 7:30 PM
Israel’s political focus on foreign and security issues is deeper than in any democracy. Where do Israel’s citizens stand today on this existential issue? How does public opinion in Israel influence its foreign policy? Can Israel still be described, as Kissinger once said, as a country with only a defense policy?
Security has been the dominant issue in Israeli politics for most of its 70-year history. What are the security positions of the opposing political parties in Israel? What solution do they propose? How does a democracy, in a prolonged state of war and focused on security, manage to survive?
Alt. Location: TBA
RICE UNIVERSITY LUNCH & LEARN: A Tale of Two Democracies, the United States and Israel Wednesday, February 14 | 12:00 PM Alt. Location: Rice University
TEEN PROGRAM: The Politics of National Security Monday, February 12 | 5:00 PM How can peaceful elections take place when the top concern is survival? Does this polarize society? Does it threaten democracy? How can Israeli democracy continue to function when its national security is at stake?
MINI COURSE 1A & 1B: Democracy and Politics in Israel February 12 & 14 | 7:30 PM We often hear that Israeli politics are chaotic and unstable, that Israeli democracy is unruly and on the verge of crisis. How true are these descriptions of Israel at 70? How does an extremely divided multi-party system function? How does Israel’s democracy work?
Israeli society today? Can Israeli politics and Israeli society conform better? Which element of modern Israel, society or politics, is more stable, and which is less stable?
Israel and the United States are the strongest of allies, based mainly on their joint values and democratic systems. But Israeli democracy and US democracy are two of the most different democracies in the world today. How can we understand what democracy means in the other country, and how it works, when we are so different?
MELTON & MORE LUNCH & LEARN: A Tale of Two Democracies, the United States and Israel Thursday, February 15 | 12:15 PM Melton & More Students, Learning ONLY | $5 Lunch & Learn | $15 See above description.
MID-RESIDENCY LECTURE: Political Representation in Israel Monday, February 19 | 7:30 PM
FILM AND LEARN: Footnote Thursday, February 15 | 7:30 PM An Academy Award finalist for Best Foreign Film, this movie is about life as a professor in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Hear about this from a real professor at the Hebrew University.
YOM LIMMUD: What’s Wrong with Israeli Politics and How to Fix It Sunday, February 18 | 10:00 AM Alt. Location: Congregation Emanu El
Which of the basic criteria that define the Israeli political system are responsible for the problems of Israeli politics? As Israel approaches 70, what has been done to address these problems? What has worked, and what has backfired? Which reforms are now being debated?
HEBREW SPEAKING PROFESSIONALS ORGANIZATION (HSPO) LECTURE: Assessing Israeli Democracy and Society at 70: Lessons for the Next Generation This lecture will be given IN HEBREW.
Sunday, February 18 | 4:00 PM Israeli society has multiplied more than ten-fold over the last 70 years, but the method by which Israelis elect their politicians has hardly changed. Is Israel’s democratic system, designed during the pre-state yishuv period, appropriate for
Israel is often described as a microcosm of the main social tensions found in democracies across the globe. Among Israel’s parties we find representatives of both traditional and modern, religious and secular, socialist and capitalist, hawkish and dovish, and more. How do Israeli politicians manage these conflicts and maintain the democratic rules of the game?
MINI COURSE 2A & 2B: Religion and Politics in Israel February 20 & 22 | 7:30 PM Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. The order of these two basic elements point to the importance of religion in Israeli politics. Does the political system facilitate how Israel copes with religious issues, or has it exacerbated them? How have the ultra-religious worked within the political system, and have they become committed to Israeli democracy?
CLOSING RECEPTION & LECTURE: Israeli Politics and Society at the Crossroads
Hosted by Marilyn Hassid and Marc A. Gessner
Sunday, February 25 | 10:00 AM Israel’s core values include a volatile mix of both yearning for peace but also wanting to maintain as much of the land of Israel as possible. In recent years, as this stalemate continues, Israeli society has shifted, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to protest socio-economic issues. Are Israeli politics and its vibrant civil society at odds?