Lecture Series In the Memory of Prof. Lee Ross. Co-sponsored by the Stanford Center for International Conflict and Negotiation, Stanford University 

With his students and colleagues, Prof. Ross identified concepts and phenomena that are central to research and practice focused on the social psychology of disputes and their resolution.  His contributions to the field of conflict and negotiation include documenting the effects of the following concepts: Naive realism (also known as the objectivity illusion), reactive devaluation of settlement offers, biased assimilation of mixed evidence, and the hostile media effect.  

Attendance is mandatory for students of the program. 

First Semester Seminars: In the Memory of Prof. Lee Ross. Co-sponsored by the Stanford Center for International Conflict and Negotiation, Stanford University 

Lecture title: Honoring the Legacy of Lee Ross: Understanding Factors that Promote Conflict and Hinder its Resolution 

Lecturer: Prof. Andrew Ward, Department of Psychology, Swarthmore College 

Date: October 18, 2021 | 13:30

We will open with brief presentations of Professors and courses in the program and with brief remarks by the Head of the Program, Prof. Ifat Maoz 

Via Zoom teleconference

*********************************

Lecture title: Private Peace Entrepreneurs in Conflict Resolution Processes

Lecturer:  Dr. Lior Lehrs, Hebrew University 

Date: November 22, 2021 | 13:00

Via Zoom teleconference

*********************************

Lecture title: Contact at work: Intra-organizational dynamics, workers' experiences and political consciousness in a Jewish-Palestinian organization

Lecturer: Dr. Linda Jakob Sadeh - Postdoctoral scholar at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace. 

Date: December 20, 2021 | 13:00

Via Zoom teleconference

*********************************

Lecture title: Lee Ross between the promised land and the punished land 

Lecturer: Prof. Emeritus Avishai Margalit, Hebrew University and Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Date: January 3, 2022 | 13:00

Via Zoom teleconference 

**********************************

Second Semester Seminars: In the Memory of Lee Ross and his Contributions.  Co-sponsored by the Stanford Center for International Conflict and Negotiation, Stanford University 

Lecture title: Is it all about feelings? Emotional barriers to peace and their interaction with other (less powerful) barriers

Lecturer: Prof. Eran Halperin, Hebrew University 

Date: March 21st, 2022 13:00 

Via Zoom teleconference 

**********************************

Lecture title: TBD

Lecturer: Prof. Allen Weiner, Stanford University 

Date: April 25, 2022 | 13:00

Via Zoom teleconference 

**********************************

Lecture title: Bias Blindness and its Social Consequences

Lecturer: Prof. Emily Pronin, Princeton University 

Date: May 23, 2022 | 13:00

Via Zoom teleconference 

**********************************

Lecture title: TBD 

Lecturer:  TBD

Date: June 13, 2022 | 13:00

 Via Zoom teleconference 

The Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution

List of departmental seminars for the first semester 2020-2021

Seminars will be held from 13:00 to 14:30 via ZOOM unless stated otherwise

26.10. 20:  Opening of the year seminar

Prof. Ifat Maoz, Director, The Program for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution: Greetings opening remarks 

Advocate Netta Loevy, Itavh Maaki- Women Lawyers for Social Justice

20 Years for UN Security Council Resolution- Women Peace and Security: Achievements and Barriers

Conducted jointly with the program for Gender and Diversity Studies

16.11.20: Prof. Tsfira Grebelsky Lichtman, The Hebrew University and Ono Academic Center

Mic, Pandemic and Epic: Male versus Female Political Leaders’ Nonverbal Communication during the COVID-19 Crisis

14.12. 20: Prof. Nik John, Department of Communication, The Hebrew University                   

The role of unfriending in conflict and conflict resolution.

04.01.21: Dr. Boaz Hameiri, The Evens Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, School of Social and Policy Studies, Tel Aviv University

Interventions for changing well-anchored attitudes in the context of intergroup conflicts

15.3. 21:  Dr. Shoham Choshen-Hillel, School of Business Administration and the Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

To be honest, I lie

19.4.21:  Dr. Nechumi Yaffe, Tel Aviv University

Social norms and conflicting norms in the Haredi society

3.5.21: Dr. Ibrahim Hazboun, The Hebrew University                    

Dynamics and experiences of living in marginalized communities: The case of Palestinians in Jerusalem

7.6.21: Dr. Reut Barak Weekes, Glocal International Development Program, The Hebrew University

Links between conflicts and economic development in the African continent

Attendance in all seminars is mandatory for students in our program  

The Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution

List of departmental seminars for the first semester 2019-20

Seminars will be held from 13:00 to 14:30 in room XXX unless stated otherwise

28.10. 19:  Opening of the year seminar.

Prof. Ifat Maoz, Director, The Program for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution: Greetings opening remarks 

Prof. Nir Halevy, Stanford University:

in-group love and out-group hate in intergroup conflict

18.11.19: Rabbi Dr. Daniel Rot, Director of Mosaica – the religious initiative for peace, Director of the Pardes Centre for Judaism and Conflict Resolution, and a lecturer on religion and Peace building in Bar-Ilan and Tel-Aviv University: Can religion really serve as a positive force for peacebuilding in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

16.12. 19: Prof. Camelia Suleiman, Michigan State University                 

Palestinian women and literary nation building in the context of protracted, asymmetrical conflict 

Conducted in Cooperation with the Sophie Davis Forum on Gender, Conflict Resolution, and Peace

06.01.19: Dr. Yehudit Auerbach, The Hebrew University

Reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Unrealizable dream or achievable vision? Attitudes of Jewish-Israelis elite members toward reconciliation with Palestinians

Attendance in all seminars is mandatory for students in our program  

Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, a series of lectures and seminars were held as part of the Swiss Center colloquium. These lectures covered a variety of topics relevant to conflict, such as conflict resolution and intergroup relations from psychological, historical, linguistic, cultural, organizational and sociological perspectives.

First Semester Seminars

Lecture title: Framing the Field of Peace and Conflict Studies: in Theory and Practice

Lecturer: Prof. Jay Rothman

                President, the ARIA Group

                Research Associate, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, Hebrew       University

Date: October 15, 2018 | 12:15

Room 2415, Faculty of Social Sciences

**********************************

Lecture title: Talking politics on WhatsApp Groups: The potential for cross-cutting talk and the role of sociability

Lecturer: Dr. Neta Kliger-Vilenchik

                 Department of Communication and Journalism, Hebrew University

Date: November 5, 2018 | 12:30

Room 2415, Faculty of Social Sciences

**********************************

Lecture title: Can revenge also contribute to the process of reconciliation between enemies in a violent identity-based conflict?

Lecturer: Dr. Yehudith Auerbach

    The Swiss Center for Conflict Research , The Hebrew University

Date: December 24, 2018 | 12:15

Room 2415, Faculty of Social Sciences

**********************************

Second Semester Seminars

Lecture title: The Israeli Cinema in times of Confict: Changes and Directions

Lecturer: Prof. Raya Morag

    Department of Communication and Journalism, The Hebrew University

Date: March 18, 2019 | 12:30

Room 32, Media Library

**********************************

Lecture title: Public Opinion and Decisions about Military Force in Democracies

Lecturer: Prof. Michael Tomz

    Stanford University

Date: April 29, 2019 | 12:30

Room 32, Media Library

**********************************

Lecture title: Working together in the context of protracted asymmetric conflict: Experiences, perceptions and attitudes of Israeli Jews and Arabs in joint medical work teams

Lecturer: Michal Raz Rotem

                 The Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Hebrew University

Date: May 13, 2019 | 12:30

Media Library

**********************************

Lecture title: Developing the LEARN Model for Constructing a Collaborative Conflict Climate

Lecturer: Prof. Jessica Jameson

    North Carolina State University

    Senior Lady David Fellow, The Swiss Center for Conflict Research

Date: June 10, 2019 | 12:30

Media Library

**********************************

13.11.17

Lecture title: From Left to Rights: Guatemalan Womens Struggles for Justice
Lecturer: Dr. Tal Nitsan, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations- Hebrew University
Date: Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

18.12.17

Lecture title: Political Considerations in the Work of Intenrational Tribunals
Lecturer: Prof. Yuval Shany, The Faculty of Law - Hebrew University
Date: Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

8.1.18

Lecture title: The EU and its Approach to the Two State Solution: A Critique
Lecturer: Prof. Guy Harpaz, The Faculty of Law, Department of International Relations - Hebrew University
Date: Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

19.3.18

Lecture title: Culture and conflict resolution styles
Lecturer: Prof. Deborah Cai, Professor & Senior Associate Dean, Klein College of Media and Communication Temple University
Date: Monday, March 19,  2018 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

23.4.18

Lecture title: Settling Accounts?  History, Memory, and Reconciliation in Divided Societies
Lecturer: Prof. James Campbell, Stanford University
Date: Monday, April 23, 2018 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

7.5.18

Lecture title:  Impunity or the price for peace? Amnesty, dilemmas and options in peace processes
Lecturer: Dr Laura Davis, Visiting Scholar, Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University and senior consultant. 
Date: Monday,  May 7, 2018 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

6.7.18

Lecture title:  Conflict, Identity and Language: Arabic in the Jewish and Palestinian Landscape in Israel
Lecturer: Professor Camelia Sulieman, MSU
Date: Monday,  June 5, 2018 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

7.11.16

Lecture title: Identity, Nationalism and Representation in Conflict
Abstract: The presentation focuses on journalism during violent conflicts when the journalists are members of one of the conflicting parties. This type of coverage invokes a professional dilemma "between the nation and the profession":  The journalists’ professional paradigm and values are challenged and confronted by their ethnic-cultural identity. On the one hand, the professional community calls upon the journalist to tell a story that will be, or will appear to be, factual, objective and balanced. On the other hand, the national-cultural community calls upon the journalist to take part in the conflict, to be its representative and its weapon, in the battle of images and soundbites – to tell an unbalanced, unobjective story. I present three mechanism to leverage between journalists’ dual allegiance:

1. Shifting the framing over time: the outbreak of violent events is accompanied with manifestations of nationalism; and when the conflict is calming-down the frame shifts towards a more balanced coverage. This type of coverage is also evident in the leisure supplements (sports, lifestyle, arts and entertainment) the construct ‘in-group nationalism’ and ‘out-group nationalism’.
2. Reaffirming Criticism: Critical rhetoric during conflicts that do not undermine the establishment’s fundamental assumptions and decisions (e.g., the journalists may ask in a fierce manner why the army is not prepared for war). This kind of rhetoric, unlike Challenging Criticism, is packaged as criticism, although it is not striving under the assumption that the war is necessary, and the nation should rally behind the government.
3. Speculations regarding the future:  The journalists tend to offer speculation regarding conflicts and by doing so they demonstrate their expertise in understanding the political arena. In most cases these speculations refer to a violent and frightening future and even to worst case scenarios. This function as “media oracles” is providing dramatic headlines and serves the hegemonic frame

These three mechanisms also demonstrate the double role of journalism both as a political actor and as a stage for other political players.  
Lecturer: Prof. Motti Neiger, Dean, The School of Communication, Netanya Academic College
Date: Monday, Nov. 7, 2016 | 12:15-14:00
Location: Media room no. 31

5.12.16

Lecture title: Mediating among Mediators: Building a Consensus in a Multilateral Intervention
Abstract: The condition of an effective multilateral intervention is a critical question for scholars and practitioners. Scholarly studies have demonstrated the importance of a united intervention but have been in disagreement over the effectiveness of neutral versus partisan intervention. Examining consensus building of mediators within two divergent case studies: Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), this article examines the conditions under which mediators construct a consensus on a type of intervention process. 
Lecturer: Dr. Timea Spitka, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations- Hebrew University
Date: Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 31

9.1.17

Lecture title: From tactical skills to a way of thinking: advanced negotiation workshop
Abstract: We encounter the art of negotiation on a daily basis - we negotiate all the time: with family members, with acquaintances, customers or suppliers. However, what is the best way to conduct a negotiation process? Is there a right way to negotiate? Will this way succeed each time? Can we fulfill all of our interests during a negotiation process? And most important – how should we behave in a negotiation when we wish to maintain long term relationships? This lecture will focus on practical tools to assist negotiators in reaching better outcome along with a healthy business relations.
Lecturer: Adv. Vanessa Seyman, PNP Planning negotiation processes
Date: Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 31

20.3.17

Lecture title: "The National Cyberspace: The Process of Legitimization of Cybersecurity Policy in the USA and Israel 
Abstract: The last decade, and especially the last year and the last US presidential election, marked a shift in the public perception of Cyber-security related issues – from a technical and covert issue to a main national security concern, this public focus on cyber-conflicts was not ignored by social scientists and by students of law, yet until now this current issue failed to receive a wide-ranging scholarly attention.
In the field of conflict and conflict resolution research, one can point to a particular lack in the study of the normative dimensions of current cyber conflicts, and specifically the study of the nationalization and the securitization processes of the cyber domain. States are evidently striving to form the suitable normative and ethical public atmosphere, needed for a legitimate state–based action towards cyber-conflicts and cyber-conflicts resolutions.  
In my presentation I will focus on the latter, by presenting an analysis of formal statements made by US and Israeli officials, I will attempt to describe the main narratives and socio-technical imaginaries (Jasanoff & and Kim, 2015) that are being propagated by states in regards to cyber-conflict, and to extract the main ethical and normative motivations that stimulate current-day state involvement in the cyber domain. Such motivations will include issues such as: trust in information and data assurance, national security concerns, cross-domain actions, global destabilization and more.
Lecturer: Dr. Amit Sheniak, post-doctoral fellow at the Swiss Center for Conflict Research and a research fellow at the STS center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.  
Date: Monday, March 20, 2017 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

8.5.17

In collaboration with Prof. Danny Miodownik – Head, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations

Lecture title: On Conflict, Justice,  Empathy,  and Reconciliation:  "What Can You Do When You Can't Do Anything?: Justice and Reconciliation in Intractable, Protracted Conflicts"  
Lecturer: Prof. Byron Bland, Stanford University
Date: Monday, May 5, 2017 | 12:30-14:00
Location: Media room no. 32

Prof. Bland will give another lecture on this day at 18:30-20:00

Lecture title: On Conflict, Justice,  Empathy,  and Reconciliation:  Marking 50 Years to the Israeli-Arab 1967 War: Perceptual and relational barriers to conflict resolution 
Location: Room 5402 Social Sciences 

6.5.17

Lecture Title: Sex and Money: An Integrated Sociocultural and Evolutionary Perspective.
Chair: Dr. Yiftach Ron
Lecturer: Nechumi Yaffe, Ph.D. Candidate, The Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution

Abstract: The origin of the tendency for men to value wealth more than women can be explained by both social role theory and evolutionary theory. In this presentation, I  integrate these two perspectives to provide insight into a unique cultural context, the Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, where social roles are reversed, such that women are the primary breadwinners in the family. Studies 1 and 2 provide support for social role theory’s claim that gender stereotypes arise from consistent observations of men and women in specific social roles, and that such stereotypes can be internalized as attitudes. Although men show more positive attitudes toward wealth than women in secular Jewish communities (study 1) women show more positive attitudes toward wealth than men in the Ultra-Orthodox community (study 2). These findings are integrated with an evolutionary perspective suggesting that men strive to elevate their personal status as a means of attracting mates. In most modern societies this equates to the accumulation of wealth, but in the Ultra-Orthodox community, it is religious devotion and piety that determine the status of men. Accordingly, women in the Ultra-Orthodox community display a mating preference, not for wealth, but for personal status and religious devotion (study 3). These findings are consistent with the idea that men may have evolved preferences for achieving status given the mating advantages it confers with women, but how status is achieved may be culturally specific

Date: Monday, June 5, 2017
Location: Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

During the academic year 2015-16 a series of lectures and seminars was held in the framework of the Swiss Center colloquium. These lectures cover a variety of topics, relevant to conflict, peace and inter-group relations from psychological, political, media related and sociological perspectives.

In cooperation with the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, we hosted two lectures related to international relations and conflict resolution during the first semester. Two scholars presented their work on Autonomy, Secession and Conflict: A Strategic Model and The Occupier's Dilemma: Foreign-Imposed Nation-Building after Ethnic War.  These lectures attracted both current and former students and teachers in the conflict research program, as well as research students from other programs at the Hebrew University.

All seminars are organized and coordinated by Dr. Yiftach Ron.

19.10.15

Meeting Title: Opening of the year meeting - acquaintance with the program and the program's lecturers

Date: Monday, October 19, 2015
Aba Even Hall, Truman Institute.

16.11.15

Lecture Title: Autonomy, Secession and Conflict: A Strategic Model

In collaboration with Prof. Danny Miodownik - Head, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations

Chair: Prof. Danny Miodownik

Lecturer: Prof. Simon Hug
                 The Department of Political Science and International Relations
                 Universite De Geneve

Opening Comments: Dr. Yiftach Ron

Date: Monday, November 16, 2015
Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

21.12.15

Lecture Title: The Geopolitics of Power Grids: The Case of Israel-Arab Countries

Chair: Dr. Yiftach Ron

Lecturer: Prof. Itay Fischhendler
                 The Department of Geography
                 The Hebrew university of Jerusalem

Date: Monday, December 21, 2015
Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

4.1.16

Lecture Title: The Occupier's Dilemma: Foreign-Imposed Nation-Building after Ethnic War

In collaboration with Prof. Danny Miodownik – Head, The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations

Chair: Prof. Danny Miodownik

Lecturer: Prof. Nicholas Sambanis
                The Department of Political Science
                Yale University

Date: Monday, January 4, 2016
Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

14.3.16

A seminar held in cooperation with the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University as part of a conference organized by the Department of Communication and Journalism, The Swiss Center for Conflict Research and The Smart Family Institute of Communication. The conference discussed conflict from political communication, journalism, public opinion, discourse and psychological perspectives.

Panel Title: Journalism, Politics and Conflict 

Chair: Dr. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt

Speakers: Dr. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt, Prof. Motti Nieger, Dr. Christian Baden, Prof. Gadi Wolfsfeld, Prof. Moshe Negbi

Date: Monday, March 14, 2016
Room 501, Maiersdorf Faculty Club

4.4.16

Lecture Title: The Plan to Increase the Use of Mediation in Courts: Implementation,

                        Lessons Learnt and Future Implications

Chair: Dr. Yiftach Ron

Lecturer: Adv. Carmit Fenton, Adv. Nathaly Levi, Michal Lifshitz

Date: Monday, April 4, 2016
Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

30.5.16

A seminar held in cooperation with the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University as part of a conference organized by the Department of Communication and Journalism, The Swiss Center for Conflict Research and The Smart Family Institute of Communication. The conference discussed new media, conflict resolution and cultural, political and technological aspects.

Panel Title: New Media, Culture, Religion and Technology 

Chair: Dr. Nicholas John

Speakers: Dr. Nicholas John, Dr. Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Prof. Menahem Blondheim, Dr. Hananel Rosenberg.

Respondent: Prof. Zizi Papacharissi

Date: Monday, May 30, 2016
Room 501, Maiersdorf Faculty Club

Lecture Title: The Geopolitics of Power Grids: The Case of Israel-Arab Countries

Chair: Dr. Yiftach Ron

Lecturer: Prof. Itay Fischhendler, The Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 

Abstract: The academic literature highlights the economic, social and environmental benefits of international electricity grids. Therefore, countries and international institutions often attempt to establish electricity integration via regional electricity grids. However, whereas research on natural resources, such as oil and gas, frequently seeks to understand policy outcome through a geopolitical prism, when it comes to electricity studies the prism is always economic or technical. This oversight may explain the failure of many attempts to establish power interconnections. Hence, this study is a first attempt to identify the geopolitical dimension of international electricity grids. The study argues that similarly to many other contentious natural resources issues, the resolution of conflicts relating to electricity transmission requires identifying how the geopolitical dimension interplays with the physical dimension of regional electricity integration. This study first presents the expected benefits from transboundary electricity grids. Then it suggests four geopolitical bottlenecks that may explain why many of the social benefits of electricity grids have not fully materialized. To examine the role of these geopolitical bottlenecks, the study examines negotiations protocols, spanning over 15 years, on establishing ten grid connections between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It finds that electricity geopolitics has been used both as a platform for deeper international cooperation and as a stick against neighboring states. When policies are driven by a peace dividend, proposals for grid connection appear to evolve and overcome the dependency and the security-economy bottlenecks. When relations deteriorate, proposals for grid connections appear to undergo reconsideration and to be held hostage by higher politics.  For both options, the geopolitical dimension  of electricity network is attributed to the nature of the electricity network as a twofold package.

Date: Monday, December 21, 2015
Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

Prof. Fischhendler is a member of the Geography Department at the Hebrew University. His research engages in environmental disputes resolution, and climates and political changes.

He examined cases in Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Canada, USA and Mexico. He publishes in academic journals dealing with environmental politics, geography, water, conflict resolution, ecological economics, changes in climates and more. Today he is involved in two projects of the European Union ( FP7) dealing with disputes in international waters and integrated coastal management.

During the academic year 2014-15 six lectures and seminars were held in the framework of the Swiss Center colloquium. These lectures cover a variety of topics, relevant to conflict, peace, and inter-group relations from psychological, political, media related and sociological perspectives.

In cooperation with the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations we hosted a special series of lectures related to international relations and conflict resolution during the spring semester. Three scholars presented their works on the subtleties of the breakthroughs and failures in past Israeli peacemaking; interethnic conciliation in severely divided societies; and the relations between demography and national security.  The series of lectures attracted both current and former students and teachers in the conflict research program, as well as research students from other programs at the Hebrew University.

All seminars are Organized and coordinated by Dr. Yiftach Ron.

24.11.14

Lecture title: Studying Women's Role in Peacemaking: Insecurity, Hope and Silence in Israel

Lecturer: Dr. Sarai Aharoni

Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Opening Comments: Prof. Ifat Maoz

Date: Monday, November 24, 2014

Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

15.12.14

Lecture title: Leaders, Society, Context and Change in Intractable Conflicts: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

Lecturer: Dr. Nimrod Rosler

Lady Davis Postdoctoral fellow, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Lecturer, Conflict Management Program, Bar-Ilan University  

Opening Comments: Dr. Yiftach Ron

Date: Monday, December 15, 2014

Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

26.1.15

Lecture title: Democratic Peace: A Political Biography

Lecturer: Prof' Piki Ish - Shalom

Department of International Relations, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Opening Comments: Prof. Ifat Maoz

Date: Monday, January 26, 2015

Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

16.3.15

In collaboration with Dr. Danny Miodownik from the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relation.

Lecture title: Intractable conflict: Factors for breakthroughs and (mainly) failures in past Israeli peacemaking  

Lecturer: Prof. Galia Golan

Professor Emeritus of the Hebrew University and Professor of government at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Abstract: Factors behind transformation of intractable conflict have been suggested by Coleman of Columbia and Kriesberg of Syracuse. My recent book examines the factors that made for the breakthroughs or failures in Israeli peacemaking efforts since 1967. Drawing from the lessons learned, the talk will also deal with possible "corrections" for future negotiations.    

Opening Comments:  Dr. Danny Miodownik  

Date: Monday, March 16, 2015

Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

20.4.15

Lecture title: Approaches to Interethnic Conciliation in Severely Divided Societies    

Lecturer:  Prof. Donald Horowitz  

Professor of Law and Political Science Emeritus at Duke University

Abstract: There are two main approaches to interethnic conciliation in severely divided societies. One of these, the consociational, relies on a set of agreed guarantees for all ethnic groups.  The other, the centripetal approach, rests on incentives for political leaders of ethnic groups to behave moderately toward the interests of groups other than their own.  Both approaches aim at interethnic compromise and accommodation, but through different methods. Touching just briefly on the relative efficacy of the two methods, this lecture will deal principally with the matter of their problematic adoptability and durability.          

Opening Comments: Dr. Danny Miodownik  

Date: Monday, April 20, 2015

Media Room no. 32, Central Library, Mount Scopus Campus

15.5.15 

Lecture title: Demography and national security

Lecturer: Prof. Monica Toft  

Professor of Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford  

Abstract: On January 17, 1979 the sixth all-Union census was conducted across what was once the Soviet Union, which revealed that the character of the population of the Union had undergone and would likely continue to undergo enormous change. One of the most alarming of the trends revealed by this census was the low birth-rate among the European peoples relative to their Central Asian compatriots. The results were so worrisome to Soviet officials that publication of the census was delayed for five years The timing of this census was critical as 1979 proved a watershed in terms of conflict along the Union’s southern periphery, including war and revolution in Afghanistan and Iran. This period represented a sobering turn of events in a state with vast coercive and material resources, which had sustained three generations of heroic efforts to create  homo sovieticus . But the census underlined that to its leaders and many beyond the Urals and to the South that these efforts were failing. The disintegration of any state—whether slow or fast, whether at war or at peace—is necessarily a complex matter, and each case is at root unique. However, the demographic dynamics that unpin any state are critical for understanding whether and how the demise of a state might come about.

Opening Comments: Dr. Danny Miodownik  

Date: Monday, June 15, 2015

Room 405, Maiersdorf Faculty Club

4.11.13

Lecture Title: "Between Spring and Winter: Intermediate Evaluation about the Revolutions in the Arab World" 
Lecturer: Prof. Elie Podeh
The Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Opening Comments: Dr. Zohar Kampf – Director of the Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.
Date: Monday, November 4 2013, 12:30-14:00.
This lecture was held jointly with the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. 

9.12.13

Lecture Title: "Everybody's Children? The Role of the Media in Covering Kidnapping and Captivity Stories around the Globe"
Lecturer: Dr. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt
The Department of Communication and Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 
Date: Monday, December 9 2013, 12:30-14:00.
This lecture was held jointly with the Department of Communication and Journalism

6.1.14

This department seminar will be held as a part of the first panel of a conference presenting Dr. Zohar Kampf's and Prof. Tamar Liebes's book: "Transforming Media Coverage of Violent Conflicts: The New Face of War".

Abstract:

Transforming Media Coverage of Violent Conflicts offers a fresh view of contemporary violent conflicts, suggesting an explanation to the dramatic changes in the ways in which war and terror are covered by Western media. It argues that viewers around the globe follow violent events, literally and metaphorically, on "wide" and "flat" screens, in "high-definition". The "wide-screen" means that at present the screen is wide enough to include new actors - terrorists, 'enemy' leaders, ordinary people in a range of roles, and journalists in the field - who have gained status of the kind that in the past was exclusive to editors, army generals and governmental actors. The "high-definition" metaphor means that the eye of the camera closes in on both traditional and new actors, probing their emotions, experiences and beliefs in ways that were irrelevant in past conflicts. The "flat-screen" metaphor stands for the consequences of the two former phenomena, leading to a loss of the hierarchy of the meanings of war. Paradoxically, the better the quality of viewing, the less the understanding of what we see. Through these metaphors, Kampf and Liebes systematically analyse changes in the practices, technologies, infrastructures and external institutional relationships of journalism.

First Panel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XeUQoXGr_U

Second Panel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQnjr0FK-fQ

3.3.14

Lecture Title: Sulha - Muslim Dispute Resolution through Honor Restoration

Lecturer: Doron Pely

Abstract: Is there a difference between Eastern and Western alternative dispute resolution practices? An exploration of inter-clan dispute resolution mechanisms within Northern Israel's Arab community provides some answers.

Date: Monday, March 3 2014, 12:30-14:00.

12.5.14

Lecture Title: Talking Peace and Prophetic Peace

Lecturer: Dr. Alick Isaacs

Co-Director of Siach Shalom (Talking Peace) and Lecturer at the Rothberg International School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Abstract: The Lecture dealt with the differences and possible tensions between the dominant Western political philosophy of peace and the meaning of peace in Jewish thought. The work of Siach Shalom was also presented. Siach Shalom, which D. Isaacs co-directs along with D. Avinoam Rosenak and Sharon Leshem-Zinger establishes processes of dynamic group dialogue about peace which bring together rabbinic leaders from the Religious National Zionist (settler) camp and leaders from the center and left (including leading intellectuals, politicians, foreign service diplomats and peace activists).

Date: Monday, May 12 2014, 12:30-14:00. 

2.6.2014

Lecture Title: The Impact of International Criminal Tribunals on National Reconciliation: The Case of Rwanda

Lecturer: Dr. Sigall Horovitz 

Rabin Scholar, Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace

Date: Monday, June 2 2014, 12:30-14:00.

During the academic year 2012-13 the following lectures and seminars were and are held in the framework of the Swiss Center colloquium. These lectures cover a variety of topics, relevant to conflict, peace, and inter-group relations from psychological, political, media related and sociological perspectives:

"Public hazard, feminine fear and personal price"  

Lecturer: Dr. Yifat Bitton

The College of Management Academic studies, Co-founder and chair of "TmuraAntidiscriminationLegalCenter".

Chair: Prof. Esther Schely-Newman – Chair of the Department of Communication.

Opening Comments: Prof. Ifat Maoz – Head of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution and Director of the Smart Communication Institute.

Respondent: Mr. Yossi David – Department of Communication.

Date: Wednesday, January 16 2013, 12:30-14:00

This lecture was held jointly with the Smart Communication Institute and the Gender Forum of the Department of Communication and the Conflict Research Program.

"Emotion, emotion regulation and conflict resolution: Psycho-political perspective"

Lecturer: Dr. Eran Halperin

School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya.

Abstract: The central role played by emotions in conflict has long been recognized by many of the scholars who study ethnic conflicts and conflict resolution. Yet recent developments in the psychological study of discrete emotions and of emotion regulation have yet to receive adequate attention by those who study and seek to promote conflict resolution. At the same time, scholars of emotion and emotion regulation have only rarely tested their core theories in the context of long term conflicts, which constitute a unique and highly emotional environment. I argue that building bridges between these two communities would help us to form a better understanding of core processes in emotion and emotion regulation as well as greatly advance theory and practice in conflict resolution. To address that goal, a theoretical, appraisal based, model elucidating the way emotions operate in the context of conflict resolution processes is presented, followed by a review of recent empirical developments in the study of discrete emotions in conflict resolution processes. Next, I discuss various avenues of influence and provide preliminary data regarding the potential role of two types of emotion regulation processes (i.e., direct and indirect) in conflict resolution efforts. Finally, I describe the future challenges in integrating these two bodies of knowledge, at both the theoretical and the applied levels.

Chair: Prof. Tamir Sheafer – Director of the Program of Political Communication in the Department of Communication and the Department of Political Science, Vice Dean for Academic Matters in the Faculty of Social Science.

Date: Wednesday, March 6 2013, 12:30-14:00

This lecture was held jointly with the Program of Political Communication

in the Department of Communication and the Department of Political Science

The event was opened by short speeches in the memory of Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov (1946-2013), the founder of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution, and its director in 1999-2009.

"Perceptions of public opinion in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 2001-2012: On projections, biases and in between"

Lecturer:  Dr. Shira Dvir Gvirsman

School of Communication, NetanyaAcademicCollege.

Chair: Prof. Ifat Maoz – Head of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution and Director of the Smart Communication Institute.

Date: Wednesday, April 24 2013, 12:30-14:00

Held jointly with the Program of Political Communication in the Department of Communication and the Department of Political Science

The Smart Communication Institute

"The role of media in coverage of conflicts: between the nation and the profession"

Lecturer: Dr. Motti Neiger

School of Communication, NetanyaAcademicCollege.

Chair: Prof. Esther Schely-Newman – Chair of the Department of Communication.

Respondents: Prof. Esther Schely-Newman – Chair of the Department of Communication, and Dr. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt – Department of Communication.

Date: Monday, May 6 2013, 16:30-18:00

Jointly held with the Department of Communication and the

Smart Communication Institute

"From repression to activism: The Palestinian image in the epic and documentary Israeli cinematography"

Lecturer: Mrs. Maya De Vries

Graduate, Swiss Center Masters Program, Doctoral student, Department of Communication and SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

Date: Wednesday, May 22 2013, 12:30-14:00

This Seminar is a farewell event from Irina Peleg – Coordinator and advisor of the SwissCenter between 1999-2012, and will open by short speeches of students and faculty members from the center. .

Speakers:

-          Prof. Ilana Ritov - Director of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution in 2009-2012.

-          Prof. Gabriel Horenczyk – School of Education and the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

-          Prof. Ilan Yaniv - Department of Psychology and the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

-          Dr. Eitan Alimi – Department of Political Science and the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution. 

-          Mr. Dani Fridberg – Graduate, SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution Masters Program.

-          Mr. Tal Shahaf – Doctoral student in the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

-          Mrs. Yael Lahav - Doctoral student in the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

-          Mrs. Einat Levi – Masters research student in the SwissCenter for Conflict     Research, Management and Resolution.

The Marguerite Wolff Annual Seminar

Between Compassion and Conflict

Key Note Lectur: "Cheating for our loved ones"

Dr. Shaul Shalvi, Department of Psychology, Ben-GurionUniversity of the Negev.

Abstract: How far will people go for their loved ones? Are people willing to lie for the benefit of those they care about? What are the biological foundations for such dishonesty? And what are the underlying psychological processes driving it? I will present experimental evidence suggesting that oxytocin, a hormone released during bonding behaviors such as hugging or breastfeeding and associated with trust and cooperation, plays a role in modulating group supporting dishonesty. The findings evoke the question - is lying always immoral?

Opening Comments: Prof. Ilana Ritov – Director of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution in 2009-2012.

Respondent: Prof. Ilan Yaniv – Department of Psychology and the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

Date: Wednesday, December 19 2012, HebrewUniversity, MountScopus Campus

The Marguerite Wolff Annual Seminar

Between Compassion and Conflict

Key Note Lectur: "Cheating for our loved ones"

Dr. Shaul Shalvi, Department of Psychology, Ben-GurionUniversity of the Negev.

Abstract: How far will people go for their loved ones? Are people willing to lie for the benefit of those they care about? What are the biological foundations for such dishonesty? And what are the underlying psychological processes driving it? I will present experimental evidence suggesting that oxytocin, a hormone released during bonding behaviors such as hugging or breastfeeding and associated with trust and cooperation, plays a role in modulating group supporting dishonesty. The findings evoke the question - is lying always immoral?

Opening Comments: Prof. Ilana Ritov – Director of the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution in 2009-2012.

Respondent: Prof. Ilan Yaniv – Department of Psychology and the SwissCenter for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution.

Date: Wednesday, December 19 2012, HebrewUniversity, MountScopus Campus