Join the Visiting Fellows in Israel Studies Program at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies for a discussion about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, its historic importance for Israel’s statehood and security as well as the country’s strategic and operational lessons from the war. 

The seminar, featuring guest speaker Professor (Emeritus) Meron Medzini of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, is presented in cooperation with The Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies (U.C. Berkeley) and the Consulate General of the State of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. Promotional support is provided by the Stanford Jewish Alumni Network and Hillel at Stanford. 

Larry Diamond, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, will moderate the discussion.

About the Speakers:

Meron Medzini is Professor (emeritus) at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. In 1962 he was appointed Director of the Israel Government Press Office in Jerusalem and in that capacity he served as spokesman for Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol (1965-1969), Golda Meir (1973-1974) and Yitzhak Rabin (1974-1975). He was sent on many speaking missions for the Jewish Agency, the United Jewish Appeal and served as Scholar In Residence for the World Zionist Organization multiple times. From 1973- 2017 he taught courses on Israel, Zionism, Israeli politics and foreign policy at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University. His book Golda - A Political Biography (De Gruyters, Oldenburg, 2016) won the Israeli Prime Minister’s Award for books on Israeli leaders for the year 2010. He was the editor of the Series Israel’s Foreign Relations – Selected Documents, published by the Israel Foreign Ministry, 18 volumes were printed from 1997-2001. 

Ron E. Hassner is the Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies at the U.C. Berkeley. He teaches courses on international conflict and religion. His research explores the role of ideas, practices, and symbols in international security with particular attention to the leadership between religion and violence. 

Or Rabinowitz, is an Associate Professor in the International Relations Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. During the 2022-2023 she is a visiting associate professor at Stanford FSI’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. Her research interests focuses on nuclear proliferation, intelligence studies, and Israel-U.S. relations.

Gil-Ii Vardi is a Core Lecturer in the History Department of Stanford University. Her research examines the interplay between organizational culture, doctrine, and operational patterns in military organizations, and focuses on the incentives and dynamics of change in military thought and practice.