Israel’s Global Journey: History, Politics, and Identity
An Adult Education Experience
January-June 2026
Class Schedule
January - June, 2026
All dates on Tuesday except where noted
Session 1
January 6
Title: Diplomacy
After being introduced to the classical balance of powers in the Age of Empires, we'll examine how events of 1831 set the ball rolling in a way that affects us today.
Session 2
January 13
Title: Awakenings
From the mid- to the late 19th century, Ottoman reforms and European wars began to change the landscape, setting the stage for new nation-states and intractable conflict.
Session 3
January 20
Title: Reshuffling
As World War I changed the global order from empire to nation-state, the British engaged in triple dealing, which left the world with more questions than answers.
Session 4
January 27
Title: Backlash
The often violent Arab response to Jewish nationalism caused the British to reverse course and lock Jews out of their historic homeland just as the Nazis launched
World War II.
Session 5
February 3
Title: Inferno
As the Holocaust decimated European Jewry, the Mufti of Jerusalem had his own designs on the Jews, while the Jews of the Mandate period were forced to develop their own response.
Thursday, February 5
Optional Review & Discussion Session 1
Session 6
February 10
Title: Resilience
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Jews of the Mandate intensified their wrath at the British who ultimately turned over the future of the Levant to the newly created United Nations.
Session 7
February 17
Title: Emergence
Following rejection of the recommended United Nations partition plan, the nascent state of Israel confronted both a civil war and war of extermination from its Arab neighbors. As Jews were forced to abandon areas conquered by the Arab states, an Arab exodus ensued from what is now the State of Israel.
Session 8
February 24
Title: Balagan
Hopes for a lasting peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors dissipated as the Cold War replaced the optimism of the period immediately following World War II. Arab states forcibly emptied their lands of their historic Jewish communities and developed new ways of combating Israel's existence.
Session 9
March 3
Title: Neighbors
In the aftermath of the 1956 Suez Campaign—Israel's only decade without war—the confluence of Nasserism and the Cold War impacted the landscape. We'll survey the surrounding states from Algeria to Yemen as there's a lot that happened in this period.
Mid Semester Break
Session 10
March 17
Title: Miracle
In just six days, Israel went from being threatened with destruction on all sides to defeating the coalition armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel's victory on the battlefield did not translate into a lasting peace as the Arab League issued its famous Three Nos.
Session 11
March 17
Title: Overconfidence
As the Cold War continued to dominate international affairs, Egypt attempted to bleed Israel through the War of Attrition. More telling, the Munich Massacre and other terrorist activity highlighted the rise of asymmetrical warfare.
Thursday, March 19
Optional Review & Discussion Session 2
Session 12
March 24
Title: Humility
While the Yom Kippur War cemented new ties between Israel and the United States, the trauma of that conflict carried forward as the world developed a new recognition of the Palestinian cause.
Session 13
March 31
Title: Backward and Forward
As the Arab-Israeli conflict translated into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Camp David signaled new hope for peace with other ominous signs lurking behind the corner.
Passover Break
Session 14
April 21
Title: Hubris
Israel determined that the constant attacks from Lebanon were no longer tolerable and successfully dislodged the PLO from there. That decision unwittingly unleashed a new enemy to the north.
Session 15
April 28
Title: Division and Unity
The First Intifada changed the thinking in numerous ways while the Gulf War left Israel feeling more vulnerable and optimistic.
Session 16
May 5
Title: Unthinkable
Following the pomp and circumstance of an elaborate White House ceremony, the Israeli, American, and European desire for peace overtook the reality on the ground that peace may be more illusory than real.
Thursday, May 7
Optional Review & Discussion Session 3
Session 17
May 12
Title: Unbreakable
After three failed attempts to make peace with the Palestinians, a new four and one-half year war of terror—the Second Intifada—was launched, which once again changed the direction for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Session 18
May 19
Title: Rebound
As the Intifada was quelled, Hezbollah and Hamas launch new campaigns, and Iran became the chief destabilizer of the region.
Session 19
May 26
Title: Respected
Despite multiple conflicts with Hamas and a significant uptick in the cognitive/economic war on Israel, including the rise of the BDS movement, Israel succeeded politically, economically, and even diplomatically in unimaginable ways.
Session 20
Wednesday, June 3
Title: Assumptions
Following the optimism of the Abraham Accords, the Hamas invasion and slaughter of October 7, 2023 upended Israel's assumptions. As Israel stood up to world opinion and confronted an unbelievable spike in Antisemitism, its determination and spirit remained unbreakable.
Session 21
June 9
Title: Certain and Uncertain
What the future portends requires a long view of history and deep understanding of how the world works. While Americans look for solutions, Israelis are left finding meaning amidst instability.
Thursday, June 11
Optional Review & Discussion Session 4