Time flies and Christmas is coming soon! We invited our Israeli and local students to our office to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day. Together we drank punch, ate gingerbread and St. Nicholays brought gifts for everyone. It was a great opportunity for everyone to spend time together and share experiences together.
Last week we met again for a Get-Together at the Christmas market in Innsbruck. New acquaintances were made over a cup of mulled wine.

In October 2022, Prof. Irad Malkin from the Tel Aviv University visited his colleagues at the Department of Ancient History and Ancient Oriental Studies at the University of Innsbruck.
Prof. Malkin was hosted by Prof. Robert Rollinger, who has published on Homer and the Near East and thus, connects and overlaps with Prof. Malkin's research area.
Prof. Malkin held a public guest lecture on "Networks and the Emergence of Hellas" on October 19, 2022. In his talk, he explained how "Hellas", which is a term for Greek civilization, emerged when Greeks distanced themselves from each other as far as possible. "That was when commonalities, some self-aware, some observed by modern historians, crystallized" said Prof. Malkin. "It was a process of convergence through divergence and modern historians admire ancient Greeks because they managed to retain their civilization despite those distances" he continued. 

AIANI and the Department for Ancient History and Ancient Oriental Studies at the University of Innsbruck want to thank Prof. Malkin for his interesting talk and visit!

The new exchange students from Israel have arrived and AIANI is thrilled to have them here in Innsbruck! 

This winter semester 2022-2023 we are able to welcome students from our partner institutions Beit Berl College, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University and Reichman University.
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We are looking forward to an exciting semester and wish our students a successful first week of classes!

This past summer semester, AIANI was happy to finally welcome the first Guest Professor again, after the pandemic interfered with all previous plans.
Prof. Shmuel Marco from the Department of Geophysics at the Tel Aviv University came to Innsbruck to teach and work together with colleagues at the Department of Geology.
His research areas include Earthquakes, Palaeoseismology, Archaeoseismology, Soft-sediment-deformation, Palaeomagnetism, Archaeomagnetism and Palaeomagnetic-secular-variation.
Prof. Shmuel Marco said that he was visiting the University of Innsbruck because the best and most advanced group of geologists that specializes in sedimentary geology, particularly in using lake sediments as paleo-earthquake recorders, is found here. "The geology department is vibrant, very active, well-equipped, and the research that is carried out here is at the world cutting edge. The University of Innsbruck offers the best combination of marvelous location and outstanding research opportunities", said Prof. Marco.
He was hosted by Prof. Michael Strasser and his team.

AIANI was pleased to have Prof. Marco here in Innsbruck and is looking foward to hear about future projects!

Read the interview here:
#international Our Guest: Shmuel Marco

In July 2022, Prof. Zekirija Sejdini, Dipl.-Pol. Dr. Jonas Kolb and Mehmet Tuna, Ph.D., from the Department of Islamic Theology and Religious Education at the University of Innsbruck traveled to Israel to meet colleagues at the University of Haifa and the Al-Qasemi Academic College in Baqa-El-Gharbia.
"The aim of the research stay is to initiate a research cooperation with the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa and the Department of Learning and Instructional Sciences at the Al-Qasemi Academic College in Baqa-El-Gharbia." says Dr. Kolb about the visit. The research stay included a joint workshop, guest lectures at the University of Haifa and the Al-Qasemi Academic College as well as networking and deepening collaboration in the field of religious education and interfaith relations between the three institutions.

For future cooperations joint lectures in the field of teacher education are planned. Students from all three institutions should be able to participate and hence, foster the education and collaboration in this field of research.

A next meeting is planned for the first half of the year 2023.

AIANI was pleased to support this research visit to Israel with a travel grant. We are looking forward to hear about the future projects!

Read the report about the research visit from Dr. Jonas Kolb here:
Forschungsaufenthalt in Israel vom 03.07. - 10.07.2022

We are delighted, proud, humbled and honored to receive the 1st Israel Friendship Award from the Embassy of the State of Israel in Austria for our work! To accept this wonderful prize, Rector Tilmann Märk, the head of the International Services, Dr. Barbara Tasser, head of the Academic Network AIANI, Prof. Ivo Hajnal, as well as the coordinators of AIANI, Dr. Marion Wieser and Mag. Verena Mungenast, traveled to Vienna to meet H.E. Ambassador Rodgold. The honorary president of the Jewish Community for Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Dr. Esther Fritsch, was present too.
"This award was established to honor individuals and organizations and their outstanding achievements that strengthen Israeli-Austrian relations." said Ambassador Rodgold at the ceremony, which took place in the "Wiener Börsensäle". Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler and Federal Minister Martin Polaschek were present, as well as numerous other guests of honor. 
The jury consisted of Ambassador Mordechai Rodgold, Deputy Chief of Mission Maya Karmely Sommer, Dr. Danielle Spera and Mr. Daniel Kapp.

We want to take this opportunity and thank the jury for selecting us and our work for this award. A big thank you also to the staff at the embassy for this wonderful celebration!

Of course, we also want to give our thanks to all our partners and friends, especially in Israel, who help us everyday to foster and grow friendships by supporting researchers, students and staff from both countries and by showing that science and research really connect people. We could not do our work without you! 
Last but not least, we thank our students, lecturers and guests, who fill AIANI with life. We dedicate this award to you!

On June 7, 2022, Dr. Noam Zadoff, Assistant Professor at the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck, gave a lecture in Jerusalem on "The 'Semitic Action' and the Borders of Zionist Consensus After the Establishment of the State of Israel". The session took place at the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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​The lecture was chaired by Prof. Assaf Shelleg, director of the Cherrick Center, and the respondents were Prof. Dmitry Shumsky and Maya Kreiner. At the center of the lecture stood a small group of intellectuals that pleaded for establishing a confederation between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The "Semitic Action" was motivated by strong anti-imperialist sentiments and criticized the tendency of Israeli governments to search for partners among the great western powers, instead of collaborating with the other inhabitants of the land. The lecture was followed by a vivid discussion about the borders of Zionist ideology after the establishment of Israel.
AIANI supported Dr. Zadoff's visit with a travel grant.

“It has been an educational, informative, and joyful experience for me.” said Oryan Levy from the Tel Aviv University about his stay at the University of Innsbruck. Oryan Levy visited colleagues at the University of Innsbruck through an Erasmus+ Training Mobility in May 2022. He met with several colleagues from the Energy Efficient Buildings Section at the University of Innsbruck to discuss recent projects. Moreover, we met with Prof. Wolfgang Streicher, the Vice Rector for Infrastructure.

“Our institutions are similar yet located in much different regions and have different orientation and challenges. For me, that was the X-factor. It gave me the opportunity to find the similarities and the differences, and it opened my mind to new ideas and methods I want to explore and implement.” Oryan Levy explained.

AIANI was happy to host Mr. Levy in Innsbruck and is looking forward to hear about future projects!

In April 2022, Oren Tal from the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University visited his colleagues at the University of Innsbruck. His host, Prof. Harald Stadler, introduced him to colleagues, gave him an overview about recent research projects and also showed him around Innsbruck.
During his stay, Oren Tal was teaching eight hours as part of his Erasmus+ Teaching Mobility. His lectures included the following contents:
- The Transition between metal to Coin Economy in the levant for Bachelor, Master and PhD students.
- Medieval Archeology in Israel: Apollonia/Arsuf/Arsur as a Case Study for Bachelor, Master and PhD students.
- "Hellenistic Foundations in the Southern Levant: A View from tell Iztabba" also for Bachelor, Master and PhD students.

AIANI was happy that this research visit took place and is looking forward to hear about future projects between Mr. Tal and Prof. Stadler!

Photo Credit: Prof. Harald Stadler