The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation recently announced the release of Searching for the Study of Israel: A Report on the Teaching of Israel on U.S. College Campuses 2008-09, prepared by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University.

An updated version of a 2006 report, Searching for the Study of Israel examines the scope of academic courses being taught about Israel on more than 300 leading American college and university campuses, and finds that the state of education about Israel has improved since the study’s first edition. A comparison of the institutions included in both studies shows a nearly 70 percent increase in courses that focus specifically on Israel over the three-year period.

“Our Foundation has been deeply invested in expanding opportunities to learn about Israel in academic environments that invite thoughtful discussion free from bias and intimidation,” said Lynn Schusterman, chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. “I am gratified to see a growing commitment to the study of Israel, in all its richness and complexity, taking root in classrooms across the U.S.”

The study also found that courses about Israel were offered by a variety of departments, with the majority coming from history and political science departments. Moreover, most courses went well beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict, suggesting a normalization of Israel as a subject within established disciplines.

What I personally find most exciting about the study is the dramatic growth in courses specifically focused on Israel and the broad scope of so many courses. Education is the core mission of the university, and in that arena, we have seen an impressive increase in the study of Israel – as a culture, as a society, as a government, as something more than a party to a conflict.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Israel