This symposium is the opening event of the "Israel Week @UTokyo Komaba Research Campus" which is held during the week of March 1-5, 2021.

* Date: Monday, March 1, 2021, 16:00-18:00 JST (9:00-11:00 IST (UTC+2))

* Venue: Online via Zoom (URL will be sent to registered participants)

* Language: English / Japanese simultaneous interpretation will be provided

* Registration: No charge. Advance registration required

Israeli Normalization with Gulf and North African Arab States
In 2020, four Arab countries agreed to normalize their relations with Israel. At this symposium, scholars from the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC), Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will analyze the normalization with Israel, including the Abraham Accords (Israel-UAE Agreement and Bahrain-Israel Agreement), Israel-Sudan Normalization Agreement, and the Israel-Morocco Normalization Agreement, and assess its impact on the Middle East. Furthermore, this symposium will discuss the implications for Japan’s foreign policy toward the Middle East.

 

イスラエルと湾岸諸国・北アフリカのアラブ諸国による国交正常化
2020年8月以降、アラブ4か国（アラブ首長国連邦（UAE）、バーレーン、スーダン、モロッコ）はイスラエルとの国交正常化に合意しました。本シンポジウムでは、テルアビブ大学のモシェ・ダヤン中東アフリカ研究センター（MDC）やエルサレム・ヘブライ大学の研究者をお招きし、これらの合意の背景や中東地域への影響についての分析と評価を紹介いただくとともに、日本の対中東政策へのインパクトについて議論します。

 
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks by the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Yaffa Ben-Ari

Dr Nir Boms, Research Fellow, The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC), Tel Aviv University

 

Eline Rosenhart, Academic Coordinator, MDC, Tel Aviv University

 

Dr Daniel Zisenwine, Contributing Researcher, MDC, Tel Aviv University

 

Egypt, Jordan and the Regional Security Implications of the Normalization Agreements
Dr Joshua Krasna, Research Fellow, MDC, Tel Aviv University

 

Moderator: Dr Brandon Friedman, Director of Research at the MDC, Tel Aviv University

 

Commentator: Satoshi Ikeuchi, Professor of Religion and Global Security and the Head of ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies), The University of Tokyo

 

Dr Boms is a Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. He is the Chairman of the Syria Research Forum and the coordinator of the TAU Workshop on Israel and the Middle East. Dr Boms received his doctorate from the University of Haifa. His recent book, “The Syrian War: Between Justice and Political Reality” (Cambridge University Press, 2020) is an edited volume on the Syrian War (2011 – 2019).

 

Eline Rosenhart is a Junior Researcher and Academic Coordinator of the Dayan Center's Annual TAU Workshop on Israel and the Middle East. Eline completed her MA in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. She commentates on current events in Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic, and has lived in the region.

 

Dr Zisenwine is a contributing researcher at Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. He also teaches modern North African history at the university's Department of Middle Eastern and African History and at the Hebrew University's Rothberg International School. His research focuses on modern North African history.

 

Joshua Krasna, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and a former senior Middle East and strategic analyst for the Israeli government. He served in the Israeli embassies in Jordan and Canada, and as an Instructor at the Israel National Defense College. His research focuses on the strategic, political, and regional developments in the Arab World. 

 

Brandon Friedman, PhD, is the Director of Research at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. Brandon is also the Managing Editor of the Dayan Center’s journal Bustan: The Middle East Book Review. His monograph, The End of Pax Britannica in the Persian Gulf, 1969-1971, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2020.

 

Satoshi Ikeuchi is the Professor of Religion and Global Security and the Head of ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies) at the University of Tokyo. Professor Ikeuchi has published extensively on Middle East politics, Islamic Political issues, and global security challenges.

 
---
This event is part of a research project funded by a research grant by MOFA of Japan.

--- 

"Israel Week @UTokyo Komaba Research Campus" consists of a  series of webinars on the recent trends and developments in Israel and its impact on Japan-Israel relations. The webinars in this framework will cover a broad range of topics, including the recent normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries,  security risks of digital transformation, policy responses to COVID-19 and the digital healthcare ecosystem, STEM education, Science & Design, and the comparative study of the Abrahamic religions.

 

It aims to provide an international forum for the exchange of ideas and inspiration from researchers and experts across different fields, and to seek opportunities for collaboration among the participants from academia, NPOs, industry, and the public sector. 

“Israel Week @UTokyo Komaba Research Campus” is organized by ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies) in cooperation with IIS (the Institute for Industrial Science) of the University of Tokyo and supported by the Embassy of Israel in Japan.

---

Contact Information
Division of Religion and Global Security (Ikeuchi Laboratory) of RCAST, the University of Tokyo
office＠me.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp

---