The State of Israel - Institutions and Politics 3600-HE-PIIP1-OG

The class focuses on the analysis of political institutions, the evolution of the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and the socio-cultural phenomena shaping the character of the state of Israel over its first four decades.

Continuation of the course is “Social and Religious Conflicts in Israel” class taught in the summer semester, which focuses on the last four decades of Israeli and Palestinian history.

Detailed list of topics:

- The genesis of the state of Israel. The 1948 War and its consequences, the Naqba;
- The military-political system in the first years of independence, the status of the Arab population (nifkadim nochachim);
- Mamlakhtiut, medini'ut ha-kitzuw - period of state building, centralization and economic deprivation;
- Mass Jewish immigration in the first decade of the state and the Jewish interethnic relations;
- Israel's political system: basic laws, Knesset, president, government, judiciary, coalitionism;
- Security in the first decade of the state. The army as a state, social and cultural institution; Fedayeen actions and the Sinai campaign;
- Reception of the Holocaust - Kastner trial, German reparations, Eichmann trial;
- The 1967 war - euphoria and occupation;
- The 1973 war - mekhdal and trauma;
- Gush Emunim and the beginning of Jewish settlement in the occupied territories;
- The changes of the late 1970s and early 1980s (the waning ethos of socialist Zionism, the rule of the Right, the turn to capitalism);
- Operation Litani, the First Lebanon War and its consequences (ha-boc ha-lewanoni, protests and the beginnings of the peace movement);
- The emerging Palestinian national movement - Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia.

Didactic methods:

* Lecture with elements of multimedia presentation,
* Analysis of sources (excerpts from documents, cultural texts, audiovisual materials selected by the teacher),
* Moderated discussions using selected case studies (flipped classroom method),
* Work with academic texts,
* Student presentations.

Term 2025Z:

None

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Knowledge of English enabling reading of academic texts; Knowledge of the modern history of the Jewish people until the establishment of the State of Israel.

Course coordinators

Maria Piekarska-Baronet

Learning outcomes

The student, upon completion of the course provided in the program:

Knows and understands:
- Detailed socio-cultural issues of Israel in terms of environment, ethnic, demographic and political situation (K_W09),
- Basic cultural phenomena of Judaism and Israel (K_W10),
- Detailed issues of environmental, geopolitical and economic conditions and their relevance to Israel's historical and contemporary situation (K_W11).

Is able to:
- Apply knowledge of Israeli and Jewish history to analyze and interpret contemporary world events (K_U04),
- Correctly situate the states of Israel in the context of environmental, geopolitical and economic conditions (K_U05),
- Apply knowledge of socio-cultural issues of Israel in typical professional situations (K_U09),
- Correctly function in the linguistic and cultural environment of Israel (K_U17),
- Present detailed issues in the field of cultural problems of Judaism and Israel and in Polish and in Hebrew taking into account the intellectual tradition of Judaism and Israel (K_U21).

Is ready to:
- Lifelong learning (K_K01),
- Realize the importance of Israeli culture in world culture (K_K07).

Assessment criteria

Final grade on the basis of:

* attendance control,
* active participation in class,
* written final exam (test + 2 open questions).

Attendance:

In accordance with the order of KJD WO UW dated 31.07.2021, the allowable number of unexcused absences from classes is 15%, and the total number of excused and unexcused absences to allow approaches to the exam is 30%.

A student should excuse an absence from classes immediately and no later than within 7 days of the cessation of the reason for the absence. In particularly justified cases, the lecturer may excuse an absence after this deadline.

Bibliography

Detailed literature is provided at the first meeting. Materials not available in library resources will be provided by the instructor on Google Classroom.

Core literature:

- Anita Shapira, History Izraela, Dialog 2018.
- Howard M. Sachar, A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time, Knopf 2007.

- Abdel Monem Said Aly, Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki, Arabs and Israelis. Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East, Palgrave Macmillan 2013.
- Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World, W. W. Norton 2001.
- Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict 1881-2001, Vintage Books 2001.

- Anna Rataj, Sąd Najwyższy Izraela jako sąd konstytucyjny, Austeria 2016.
- Gregory Mahler, Politics and Government in Israel, Rowman and Littlefield 2016.

- Walter Laqueur, Dan Schueftan (eds.), The Israel-Arab Reader, Penguin Books 2016.

+ Cultural texts selected by the instructor

Term 2025Z:

None

Notes

Term 2025Z:

None

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3600-HE-PIIP1-OG in USOSweb