Israel was founded as a Jewish and a democratic state. Today it is caught in an internal struggle over how to balance these two characteristics.
This struggle will increasingly define not only Israel’s domestic politics, but also its international relations. Israel is not alone in this. Across the world, states are pulled between universal values of liberal democracy, and demands to preserve local, regional and even civilizational values and identities. This lecture will explore the relationship between Israel’s internal identity struggle, the intensifying global struggle over values and identities, and Israel’s international relations – including with Arab neighbours, Western states (including Britain), and the Jewish Diaspora.
Dr. Toby Greene is an academic with a background in policy research and political communications. His research and teaching focus on foreign policy decision making, European foreign policy, the international politics of the Middle East, and civilizational identity politics. He publishes and lectures widely for academic, professional and general audiences and is the author of Blair, Labour & Palestine: Conflicting Views on Middle East Peace After 9/11 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2013). Before entering academia, Toby was the Director of Research for BICOM, and the founding Deputy Editor of its journal Fathom.
In partnership with Bar Ilan University.
