Liberal order — composed of sovereign statehood, individual rights, democratic government under the rule of law, and economic openness — is under growing pressure around the world. The modern State of Israel was born with, and into, the Liberal International Order (LIO) built under American leadership in the aftermath of the Second World War and has generally thrived in that liberal world. How is Israel experiencing the challenge to liberal order and the erosion (some would say collapse) of the LIO? What shapes the Israeli experience with liberalism and public debate about the strengths and weaknesses of liberal politics? Join us for a conversation about the past, present, and possible futures of liberalism in Israel with political theorist, author, and activist Dr. Tomer Persico.   

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Tomer Persico is a Senior at the Shalom Hartman Institute and a Senior Research Scholar at the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Persico was the Koret Visiting Assistant Professor at the UC Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies for three years and has taught for eight years at Tel Aviv University. His fields of expertise include cultural history, the liberal order, Jewish modern identity, contemporary spirituality, and Jewish fundamentalism. His books include The Jewish Meditative Tradition (Hebrew, Tel Aviv University Press, 2016), Liberalism: its Roots, Values and Crises (Hebrew, Dvir, 2024 and German, NZZ Libro, 2025) and In God's Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea (Hebrew, Yedioth,2021, English, NYU Press,2025). Persico is a liberal activist in Israel and has written hundreds of articles on current events for legacy media outlets, including Haaretz and The Washington Post. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and two sons.

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