ISRAEL INNOVATION PROJECT

Northwestern’s Israel Innovation Project (IIP) and the Office of International Relations in partnership with Tel Aviv University’s Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences hosted the third, and last, session of the series on Thursday, October 28, 2021. The session focused on New Regional Configurations—Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and the Palestinians.

On Thursday, October 28, 2021, the Northwestern Israel Innovation Project (IIP) and the Office of International Relations in partnership with Tel Aviv University’s Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences hosted the second session of a series of three panel discussions featuring global expert scholars. Session II focused on "The Impact on the Regional and International Powers in the Middle East—Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the U.S." Click on the title above to learn more.

On Thursday, October 14, 2021, the Northwestern Israel Innovation Project (IIP) and the Office of International Relations in partnership with Tel Aviv University’s Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences hosted the first session of a series of three panel discussions featuring global expert scholars. Session I focused on "The 'Emirate of Afghanistan' and the Surge of Fundamentalist Islam." Click on the title above to learn more.

The Israel Innovation Project (IIP) and Northwestern's Office for International Relations in partnership with Tel Aviv University’s Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences invite you to a series of three panel discussions featuring global expert scholars talking about the aftermath of the Afghanistan crisis and its effects on the region and the world. This event is also supported by the Center for Israel Education and the Boris Mints Institute. 

Click here to register!

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is currently accepting applications for their "Sandwich" doctoral scholarship, a program that invites PhD students to spend 4-12 months conducting research in any field at BGU. The grant is valued at 80K NIS for a full year of research and is open to non-resident and non-citizen PhD students that have completed their first year of studies at an institution outside of Israel. Applications close July 15, 2021. Click the button below for more information.

This virtual conference featured global experts discussing the impactful innovations in water technologies found in Israel and the Middle East, as well as the water issues, partnerships and resources in the region. Northwestern Center for Water Research, Northwestern Israel Innovation Project (IIP), Ben Gurion University, and the US-Israel Cooperative Water-Energy Research Center (CoWERC) came together to create a one-day virtual symposium to inform the public on the most recent developments in these areas and connect researchers, community leaders, and innovators.

On April 12, IIP alongside the Israel Democracy Institute, co-hosted a panel discussion titled “Divided We Stand”, which explored the results of the 2021 Knesset elections and the meaning of the outcome for the future of Israeli politics. Panelists included Prof. Tamar Hermann, Israel Democracy Institute and Prof. Gideon Rahat, Senior Fellow, Israel Democracy Institute. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Elie Rekhess, Northwestern University. Topics in the discussion ranged from party politics and the belief composition of the new Knesset, to present tensions in Israeli society and its impact on the election results, to coalition negotiations and the fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Elie Rekhess, Director of the Israel Innovation Project and Crown Visiting Professor in Israel Studies, has been named the official Israel Liaison for Northwestern University in the Office of the Vice President for International Relations. In this new role, Rekhess will assist with the expansion and development of institutional relationships and Northwestern programs and support the coordination and communication with university partners and visitors from Israel.

The Israel Innovation Project at Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University jointly hosted the webinar, “Gene Therapy - A New Pathway to Deafness Treatment?” on March 3. Professor Karen B. Avraham of the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University and Dr. Akihiro J. Matsuoka of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University spoke on what we now know about synthetic AAV gene therapy in regard to hearing loss in mice, the ramifications of such knowledge, and what future treatment for humans with genetic hearing loss may look like. The discussion was moderated by Professor Abigail Foerstner of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.

On January 27, Professor Elie Rekhess, director of Northwestern’s Israel Innovation Project (IIP), interviewed Anshel Pfeffer, senior correspondent and columnist for Haaretz and Israel correspondent for The Economist, on the state of Israel’s 2021 legislative election, its fourth election is two years. The webinar touched on several topics regarding Israel’s governmental structure, including whether Israel’s parliamentary system is broken altogether, as well as the political chaos of divided parties and how that affects the outcome of the election. The members of the 24th Knesset will be elected on March 23, 2021.