Last week, the AIANI Welcome and Orientation Days for the Winter Semester 2021/22 took place. AIANI is happy to welcome a record number of incoming students from our partner institutions in Israel to the University of Innsbruck!

AIANI invited the students to a Welcome Dinner for a first personal meeting. On Thursday and Friday, the Orientation Days took place where the students got all their paper work done and afterwards, met for an information session to prepare for their semester abroad in Innsbruck.
AIANI is cheerful to finally have exchange students back in Innsbruck and hopes that they experience a great semester!

AIANI was very pleased to welcome Dr. Romain Jammal-Abboud to the University of Innsbruck!
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Dr. Jammal-Abboud was invited by Prof. Alfred Berger, head of the Department of Educational Science at the University of Innsbruck. Together they are working on a research project investigating the short- and long-term effects of different parenting practices in late childhood on adolescents’ and young adults’ psychosocial development.

Dr. Jammal-Abboud's research and practice are devoted to culture-sensitive social work education and the welfare and health of children and families at risk in Israel. In her research, she specifically focuses on the development of professional identity of social workers coming from different cultures and working in multicultural contexts. Currently, she is working as a lecturer and the head of the Field Studies Unit at the School of Social Work at Zefat Academic College as well as a lecturer and the coordinator in the Field of Child and Youth Studies at the School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

The visit of Dr. Jammal-Abboud provided the opportunity to exchange on culture-sensitive social work. She presented her work to the members of the Department of Educational Science at the University of Innsbruck and moreover, she was invited to discuss her research with the head of the Department of Social Work at the Management Center Innsbruck. In addition, her visit gave the opportunity to progress on two joint research and publication projects. 

Read the full report about Dr. Jammal-Abboud's stay here:
Research Fellowship for Dr. Romain Jammal-Abboud at the University of Innsbruck

Dr. Jammal-Abboud's stay was supported by the City of Innsbruck.

Yesterday, on June 24th, 2021, Noam Zadoff held a virtual lecture “On Guilt, Shame and Continuity of Generations: Joseph Weiss, Amos Weiss and Gershom Shalom” at the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem.
Dr. Zadoff talked about the relationship between the Jewish German-Israeli Kabbalah researcher Gershom Scholem and his beloved student Joseph Weiss, a prominent researcher of the Hassidic Movement, as a father-son relationship. In his lecture, Zadoff focused on feelings of shame and guilt as bonding and separating elements in the way fathers and sons perceive each other’s roles. Through this understanding a continuity of generations can be created, which is not necessarily biological, but relies on needs and feeling of responsibility from both sides.
 
You can find the full virtual lecture, which was held in Hebrew, on the Youtube channel of the National Library Israel:
Virtual Lecture "On Guilt, Shame and Continuity of Generations: Joseph Weiss, Amos Weiss and Gershom Shalom"

It was our great pleasure to welcome H.E. Ambassador Mordechai Denis Rodgold to the University of Innsbruck!
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was his first time visiting the University of Innsbruck.
H.E. Ambassador Rodgold met with Rector Tilmann Märk, Prof. Hajnal, Prof. Rupnow and Prof. Zadoff for a productive discussion about future projects. Moreover, students from the University of Innsbruck and a visiting excursion group from our partner university the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as our colleagues from the European Forum at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem had the pleasure to meet Ambassador Rodgold.
The collaboration with the Embassy of the State of Israel in Austria has been very good in the past and we are looking forward to continuing this great cooperation.

A very unique course option is currently being offered to a group of law students from the University of Innsbruck. Assaf Ben-David, LL.M, a commercial lawyer, specializing in Startups and a lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Law & International business negotiations at our partner institution the IDC Herzliya College in Israel, is teaching the online course “International Business Negotiations” at the University of Innsbruck
As a prime example of a “virtual exchange” format, the course is taught from Israel and the US, while  the students in Innsbruck are negotiating with fellow students in China. A truly International experience, without the need to travel!
Thank you to Assaf Ben-David for teaching this marvelous course this semester! We are looking forward to hearing more from the students about this unique opportunity.

Due to the current precarious situation in Israel, AIANI organized an online talk for students to talk about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, a very sensitive topic that sparked controversy worldwide.
Students had the chance to ask questions and discuss recent developments of the dispute with Dr. Noam Zadoff, Assistant Professor at the Department of Contemporary History and Professor of Israel Studies at the University of Innsbruck.
​Prof. Zadoff started off by talking about the history and giving information on the background of the conflict. He said “the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has its deep roots in their shared history. Moreover, the scope of the discord between those two nations is not just limited to the Middle East; it also affects societies in Europe and evokes thoughts on justice and responsibility, especially with regard to our own tragic Jewish-Austrian history.”
The attendance rate was very impressive, which illustrates the strong interest in this topic. The students asked many questions and a lively interaction took place.
AIANI wants to thank all attendees and especially Prof. Noam Zadoff for taking the time to participate at this online event. 

The recently published book "Israel und der Nahostkonflikt 1981-1990 Berichte des österreichischen Botschafters Dr. Otto Pleinert" by Prof. Rolf Steininger, contains 157 reports by the former Austrian Ambassador to Israel (from 1981 to 1990), Dr. Otto Pleinert. In this book, published in German, these once confidential documents provide a fascinating insight into his perspective of the history of Israel and the Middle East conflict. 
The author :
Prof. Rolf Steininger studied English language, Literature and History at the universities of Marburg, Göttingen, Munich, Lancaster and Cardiff. He received his doctor's degree in 1971 and habilitated at Leibniz University Hannover in 1976. From 1984 until 2010 he was the head of the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck.

Visit the website of the innsbruck university press (iup) to find more information about the book:
https://www.uibk.ac.at/iup/buecher/9783991060314.html

Thank you for participating at our online information event "Studying in Israel"!
If you missed the event, but you are interested in spending an exchange semester at one of our partner institutions in Israel, feel free to get in touch with us: aiani@uibk.ac.at
We are looking forward to hearing form you!

In collaboration with the Department of Contemporary History and the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck, AIANI was pleased to host the online guest lecture by Prof. Csaba Nikolenyi from the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies at Concordia University in Montreal (Canada).
The lecture “Israeli Party System at Crossroads? Electoral Politics and Coalition Government, 2019-2021” took place on April 21, 2021 and focused on past and current elections in Israel and the fragmented party system.
​Prof. Martin Senn, Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck, welcomed the participants. Afterwards, the lecturer Prof. Nikolenyi pointed out various reasons why the past Israeli elections have all become inconclusive. He suggested that the answers lie in the convergence of the fundamental tensions in the right-religious coalition, the Covid-19 pandemic, the institutional changes and finally, political personalization. Prof. Nikolenyi claimed that the main source of Israel’s current crisis of governability may be the decay and de-institutionalization of the party system. Possible solutions could come from a leadership change in the political party Likud or a direct election of the prime minister in the future.
Following Prof. Nikolenyi’s talk, Dr. Noam Zadoff, Assistant Professor at the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck, opened the Q&A session.
The approximately 50 participants included attendees from various cities in Canada, Israel and Austria.
AIANI and the co-organizers want to thank Prof. Csaba Nikolenyi for taking the time and giving an insightful talk on current Israeli politics.