The IDC

GLORIA CENTER INSTITUTE
The Center published its most recent issues of MERIA
Journal, Volume 13, No. 2 and 3. Joshua Teitelbaum
published “A Threat in Any Language,” Hoover Digest,
Winter, 2009. Dr. Teitelbaum also published the
edited book, “Political Liberalization in the Persian
Gulf,” Columbia University Press, 2009. Prof. Barry
Rubin published “Virtually Unnoticed, A Totally New
Middle East,” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 3,
No. 2 Summer 2009; “U.S. Middle East Policy: Too Many Challenges and
Yet a Single Theme,” MERIA Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 2009, pp. 28-
39. Spanish version: “La política de Estados Unidos en Medio Oriente:
demasiados desafíos y aún un único tema,” Oriente, N°2 (Buenos Aires,
2009) and “Israel: Themes in its History,” in Brigitte Bailer, Israel: History
and Present (Braumuller-Verlag, Vienna, Austria) 2009. Prof. Rubin
released the following edited books:
Global Survey of Islamism (Sharpe, 2009); Conflict and Insurgency in
the Contemporary Middle East (Taylor & Francis, 2009) and Lebanon:
Liberation, Independence, and Crisis (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009).
CENTER FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES
October 2009 has seen the launching of the second edition of the Certificate
Program in European Studies at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya. As
you might know, the Certificate Program is run in close cooperation with
the Al-Quds University in East-Jerusalem and the Royal Scientific Society
in Jordan. All three participating centers send students to the Heinrich
Heine University in Düsseldorf for an MA in European Studies, for which
the Certificate Program is both a stepping-stone and a prerequisite.
Last year’s first Certificate group arrived in Düsseldorf at the start of
October, where they were welcomed with an orientation week aimed at
familiarizing the students with their new environment, while introducing
the different Middle Eastern groups to each other and preparing them for
intense cooperation throughout the year. This group is made
up of 21 students - 12 Israelis and 9 Palestinians. After a
rather successful set of encounters, the academic year
started one week later.
Meanwhile, the second group has started
its Certificate program at the IDC, with
approximately 25 participants this year.
Their counterparts at Al-Quds and in
Jordan will similarly start in the new future,
with groups of approximately 20 students
each. We are looking forward to a year
of academic fulfillment and rewarding
cooperation.
hOt Off the Press AcADemic news
In October, Prof. Barry Rubin gave a lecture at the YIISA seminar series,
entitled “Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective.” The lecture took place
at Yale University, Boston, USA. In June, Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum gave a
lecture at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law,
Stanford University, on “The Obama Administration and the Middle East.”
In May he gave a lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, on “The Arab
Peace Initiative” and at AIPAC on “Saudi Arabia Today.” Dr. Jonathan Spyer
in June gave a lecture at a conference organized by Anglo Israel association
at the UK Foreign Office, on ‘Anglo-Israel relations’ and in November on
‘Iranian attempts to increase regional influence’, at a conference in Warsaw
organized by Polish institute for International Affairs.
The Center held the conference: BUILDING REGIONAL PEACE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE in conjunction with the Konrad
Adenauer Foundation, Jerusalem.
One new project of the Center is production of a textbook on Israel:
This is an introductory book on Israel for Yale University Press. This is a
comprehensive volume on all aspects of Israel including history, people,
politics, economics, culture, etc. Publication is due in 2010.
SAMMY OFER SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS
miLAB
Led by Dr. Oren Zuckerman, the Media Innovation
Lab at IDC Herzliya (miLAB) is a research and
prototyping lab that explores the future of media and
technology in a collaborative creative process that
transforms new concepts into working prototypes.
The lab was founded at the Sammy Ofer School of
Communications, in collaboration with the Efi Arazi
School of Computer Science. It works closely with
strategic industry sponsors and international research centers
in the Human Centered Computing and Media Technologies domains.
The miLAB first graduation event was held last June, with four groups
of students showcasing their working prototypes. Groups
were asked to create an urban user experience and use
rich media and advanced mobile technology to achieve
an engaging user experience. Prototypes included
a mobile “shopping helper” application, a mobile
application that allows users to be more aware of
spontaneous gatherings and social events in the
city, a mobile location based game combining
augmented reality and interactive storytelling,
and an awareness mobile system that provides
(automatically) instantaneous status, location &
emotions.
This year, miLAB faculty and students will focus
on the Human Centered Computing (HCC)
area where technology is used to address human
needs, to augment and enrich our lives.
IDC Winter 2010 > 39