Course description
This course earns .5 credits towards smicha
The course will survey the relations between Islam and the Jews from the moment that Prophet Muhammad established that great religion.
We will then learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict’s evolution from the establishment of Zionism at the twilight of the Ottoman Empire and the turbulent times of the British Mandate.
Israel’s establishment in 1948 brought the conflict to the battlefields between Israel and its Arab neighboring countries until the Yom Kippur War in 1973, one of the world’s last great “inter-state” wars.
The unsolved Palestinian situation returned again and again to the headlines with terror incidents and usually unfruitful rounds of peace negotiation.
The course will also examine how Arab cinema presented the Jews and the Israelis.
We recommend taking this course in conjunction with the “Navigating Israel Issues in the Diaspora” elective course. We also offer a 1:1 havrutah with Dan Aviv, “The Conflict in 4 Acts.”
Course units
Unit 1: Emergence of Islam, Islam, and the Jews
Unit 2: Emergence of Zionism and the British Mandate of Palestine
Unit 3: Establishment of Israel, War of Independence, and Arab States Involvement
Unit 4: The History and Charters of the PLO and Hamas
Unit 5: Images of Jews and Israelis in Arab Cinema
Unit 6: Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and Future Prospects
Course materials
The following PowerPoint is used throughout the course’s lectures. It’s available here for download, but downloading it is not required.
Course Instructor
Dr. Sariel Birnbaum received his PhD. in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies from Hebrew University. He has written and published a book, "Back to the Past - Filmed history in Arab Cinema," through Magnes Press, Hebrew University, and published additional academic articles.
Dr. Birnbaum teaches at UCLA, and previously taught at Binghamton SUNY and San-Diego State University.
In addition to Hebrew, his mother language, Dr. Birnbaum worked as a translator from Arabic, and he reads and speaks French and German.
Students Also Enjoyed
Ratings and Reviews
Paula BaruchThe instructor was so knowledgeable and I picked up so many details about the Arab Israeli conflict that filled in gaps for me. Much appreciated.
Brian KresgeAll of this was a great course, but I enjoyed learning about Arab cinema the most. It's content not often covered in this material.
100% recommend this fantastic course. One of my favorite electives!