General Background
The Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University was founded in 2000 to serve a wide student audience that evinced interest in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. It has since emerged as one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Jewish Studies. Despite being the youngest department for Middle Eastern affairs in Israel, it graduated several dozen students for the M.A. (with or without a final thesis) and Ph.D. This does not include the numerous undergraduates who completed their B.A. degree. The majority of our graduates are gainfully employed in academic and non-academic institutions throughout Israel putting their expertise into practice.
Departmental Events in the Academic Year 2009-2010
The first meeting of Mazat.Com for this academic year took place on 28 December 2009. The ones presenting their research findings were Shai Matza, "History Reflected in Language - The Case of Aleppo's Jewry"; Sariel Birnbaum, "Historical Films in Egyptian Movies"; Moshe Menaschehof, "And I Voted for Khomeini: Memories of a Jewish Soldier in the Iranian Military at the Height of the Shah's Regime and during the Islamic Revolution"; Dr. Tal Pavel, "The Internet in the Service of marginal Elements of Arab Society;" and Dr. Anat Aderet, "Muslim Jerusalem in the 17th Century as Described in a Yiddish Travel Book."