On May 29, Prof. Uriya Shavit, Head of the Institute, and Dr. Carl Yonker, the Institute’s Academic Director, spoke with dozens of students at the University of Pristina in Kosovo. The  Israeli-Kosovo dialogue was initiated and organized by Mr. Premton Asllani in coordination with the University of Pristina’s student union. Mr. Asllani is a Kosovar student who recently completed his master’s thesis (summa cum laude) at Tel Aviv University on the process of Israel’s recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.

During the dialogue, students asked insightful and thoughtful questions on topics ranging from Israel-Kosovo relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the current war in Iran, Israeli society, how to succeed in academia, and building democratic institutions and society in Kosovo.

Prof. Shavit and Dr. Yonker also met with members of the university faculty and discussed ideas for academic cooperation, including organizing a seminar for young Israeli and Kosovar scholars on the concept of Besa, the code of honor that inspired Albanians to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.