The conflicts between Israel its Palestinian and its other Arab neighbors are only one of the challenges that the new state of Israel faced in the wake of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Undoubtedly, those conflicts and the role of the military were major forces that structured Israeli society. In addition, this course considers: the post-1949 mass immigration; relations between Ashkenazi veterans of the pre-state era and newcomers (mostly Holocaust survivors, Mizrahim, and later Ethiopians); the Palestinian Arabs who became citizens of Israel; relations between the Jewish religious establishment, the state, and the Jewish people; the status of women and the feminist movement; the employment of large numbers of eastern European and Asian migrant workers since the 1990s; and how Tel-Aviv became a haven for the LGBTQI+ community. We will also examine the popular culture scene.

Led by Joel Beinin.

We will begin this class on Zoom and consider moving to an in-person format if/when it becomes prudent. Meet in Zoom Room Bet. For login info, contact info@havurahshalom.org or see Hineinu.

Joel Beinin retired from his position as a professor of Middle East history at Stanford University. He has lived, studied, and taught in Israel and Egypt. As a youth he was active in the Zionist movement; then, after studying Arabic and meeting Palestinian students, he began to think differently about Israel and Palestine. Working on the assembly line at an automotive factory also led him to become politically active in, and to write about, the Arab workers movement.