Jewish studies has been a vibrant academic discipline for many decades, and since the establishment of the Association for Israel Studies in 1985 to engage in research on the history, politics, society, and culture of the modern state of Israel, the two disciplines have worked along parallel tracks in universities. This book focuses on the vibrant academic field of Israel studies and its complex and dynamic relations and intersections with its older sibling Jewish studies. Scholarly contributions from around the globe illustrate that the ongoing and growing interest in Israel studies, in particular since the early 2000s, must be analyzed and understood in its relationship to Jewish studies. Only this will allow scholarship to reflect on not only the intersections between the two fields but also on the prospects of cross-pollination between the disciplines for research and teaching. This will become ever more vital in an increasingly globalized world with shifting concepts, borders, and identity concepts.

Klaus Hödl teaches the history of Israel and related topics at Graz University. His latest book,Jews inViennese Popular Culture around 1900, will be published in late 2019.Carsten Schapkowis L. R. Brammer Jr. presidential professor in history at the University of Oklahoma, where he also serves as the director of the Center for the Study of Nationalism. His most recent book isRole Model and Countermodel: The Golden Age of Iberian Jewry and German-Jewish Culture during the Era of Emancipation(Lexington Books).

Introduction:Carsten Schapkow (University of Oklahoma)Defining the Field: Bible Studies and BeyondDavid Ben-Gurion, the Bible, and the Case for Jewish Studies and Israel Studies,Alan Levenson (University of Oklahoma.)Meta-Halacha and Real Life: Using Jewish Thought Methodology in Solving Religion and State Issues in Contemporary Israel ,Yossi Ben-Harush (Hebrew University Jerusalem)Defining the Borders of Israel StudiesIsrael, Palestine, and Holy Land Studies in Post-Soviet Territory: Views, Trends, and Prospects,Dzimitry Shavialiou (Belarusian State University)Israel in the Mirror of Iran: An Iranian Approach to Jewish and Israeli Messianism,Amir Rezaeipanah (Shahid Behesti University Tehran)Turkish Jews Perspectives on Israel,Özgür Kaymak (University of Istanbul)Israel Studies, the Jewish Challenge,Yaacov Yadgar (University of Oxford) and Yakov M. Rabkin (Université de Montréal)The Place of Israel Studies Contested?Israel Studies, Intersectionality, and the Changing American College Scene,Aharon Klieman (Tel Aviv University)Intersections between Israel Studies and Israel Education: Language-use and Educational Programming,Shlomit Attias (Levinsky College of Education Tel Aviv)The Middle Eastern AngleJewish Studies as Transdisciplinary Middle Eastern Studies: Notes from Tunisia,Achim Rohde (University Marburg)Methodological Canaanism: The Case for a Rupture between Jewish Studies and Israel Studies,Johannes Becke (Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg)The Future of Israel StudiesThinking Big: Connecting Classical Jewish Studies, Jewish Studies Past, Present, Presence, and Israel Studies,Dani Kranz (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)Intersections of Jewish Studies and Israel Studies: Israeli Haredim ,Tryce Hyman (University of Oklahoma)About the Contributors