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Association for Israel Studies'' (AIS) is an international, interdisciplinary scholarly society devoted to the academic and professional study of modern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
History
Formed and charted in the US in 1985, the Association is open to all individuals who are engaged in, or share an interest in, the scholarly inquiry about Israel's history and society, as well as the
Zionist movement
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...
and the pre-state Jewish community of Palestine. Until 2000, all annual conferences were held in the US, and since that year, the association holds its conferences in the US and in Israel. The meeting is spread across three days.
Membership and Affiliates
The Association's membership is composed of individual scholars from multiple fields of study. The association also offers institutional membership to college and university programs, departments, research institutions, and cultural organizations that focus on Israel Studie
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Officials
AIS President for the 2021-2023 period is Professor Arieh Saposn
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, mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status
, type = Public
, endowment = £18.8 million (2016)
, budget = £190 million ...
). The organization's Executive Director is Dr. Asaf Shami
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[6
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Hanna Herzog ( he, חנה הרצוג) is a professor of sociology at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University and a senior research fellow and the academic director of the Civil Society forums at Van Leer Jerusalem In ...
, Prof. Alan Dowty, Prof. Joel Migdal, Pro. Rachel Brenner, Prof. Ilan Troen, Prof. Aviva Halamish, Prof. Gad Barzilai
Gad Barzilai ( he, גד ברזילי; born 1958) is a full professor of law, political science and international studies, famous for his work on the politics of law, comparative law and politics, human rights and communities. Barzilai published ...
, Prof. Menachem Hofnung, Prof. Donna Robinson Divine, and Prof. Yael Aronoff.
Awards
To recognize excellence in the field of Israel Studies, the Association offers the following awards:
AIS Lifetime Achievement Award
honors a lifetime of exceptional scholarship and academic achievement in the field of Israel Studies. The award recognizes a senior scholar whose lasting and path-breaking contributions have significantly shaped the field.
AIS Early Career Award
recognizes an exceptional scholar who has made significant contributions to the field of Israel Studies.
Yonathan Shapiro Award for Best Book
in Israel Studies is given for the best book in Israel Studies published during the last calendar year. The award honors the memory of Yonathan Shapiro (1929-1997), one of Israel’s most distinguished and influential sociologists.
Ben Halpern Award for Best Dissertation in Israel Studies
is given for the best doctoral dissertation in the various fields of Israel Studies approved during the last calendar year. The award honors the memory of Ben Halpern (1912-1990), a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Association.
Baruch Kimmerling Prize for Best Graduate Paper
is given for the best paper presented by a graduate student at the last AIS annual meeting. This award honors the memory of Baruch Kimmerling
Baruch Kimmerling (Hebrew: ברוך קימרלינג; 16 October 1939 – 20 May 2007) was an Israeli scholar and professor of sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Upon his death in 2007, ''The Times'' described him as "the first academ ...
(1939-2007), a leading public intellectual and sociologist in Israel.
Journal
In 1986, the AIS began to publish a scholarly journal, Israel Studies Review
The ''Israel Studies Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published on behalf of the Association for Israel Studies by Berghahn Books and covering the study of all aspects of society, history, politics, and culture of Israel
Isra ...
(ISR), published a few times a year by Berghahn Books
Berghahn Books is a New York and Oxford-based publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creat ...
. ISR explores modern and contemporary Israel from the perspective of the social sciences, history, the humanities, and cultural studies and welcomes submissions on these subjects. The journal also pays close attention to the relationships of Israel to the Middle East and to the wider world; it encourages scholarly articles with this broader theoretical or comparative approach provided the focus remains on modern Israel.
One of the main tasks of the ISR is to review in a timely manner recent books on Israel-related themes, published in English and Hebrew. Authors and publishers are invited to send their books for review consideration.
''The Israel Studies Review'' editors fully recognize the passions and controversies present in this field. They are dedicated to the mission of the ISR as a non-partisan journal publishing scholarship of the highest quality, and are proud to contribute to the growth and development of the field of Israel Studies.
References
External links
* http://www.aisisraelstudies.org/
* Mitchell Bard
Israel Studies in the United States: A Growth Industry
''Israelis'' 8 (2017), pp. 215–236.
The Woodman Scheller Israel Studies International Program (WSISIP)
of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev,
The Ben-Gurion Research Institute
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Middle East
Learned societies of the United States
Middle Eastern studies in the United States
Israel studies