On January 11, the Irwin Cotler Fellows spent the day exploring Jerusalem. The day began with an exciting visit to the Israel Aquarium, where the Fellows were introduced to the ecological diversity of Israel’s surrounding seas and waterways. Fellows also experienced an alternate tropical ecosystem as they walked through the indoor butterfly garden. Known for its unique display of Mediterranean aquatic life, the Aquarium delivered nothing short of that.
From there, the Fellows traveled to Mount Herzl. Standing at the resting place of the founder of political Zionism and his family, the Fellows reflected on Herzl’s enduring legacy and the ways in which his vision has been interpreted, institutionalized, and contested over time. The visit continued at the nearby Herzl Museum, where the Fellows took part in a guided tour tracing the life of Binyamin Ze’ev Herzl and the evolution of his vision of political Zionism. Through immersive exhibits and historical artifacts, the Fellows examined Herzl not only as a symbol of statehood, but as a complex thinker shaped by European politics, antisemitism, and debates over Jewish self-determination that continue to resonate today.
As evening approached, the group made its way to Shuk Mahane Yehuda. Amid the bustle of vendors and food stalls, Fellows had time to eat dinner and wander through the market’s narrow lanes, experiencing a space where tradition and modernity intersect and where the city’s social diversity is on full display. The final stop of the day took the Fellows to Mea Shearim, one of Jerusalem’s most insular ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. There, they met with Rabbi Israel Meir Hirsch, the current leader of Neturei Karta, the most radical anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox group in Israel, along with his sister. The conversation offered a rare opportunity to engage directly with a community whose theological and political worldview fundamentally rejects Zionism and Herzl’s vision.
Canadian MP Roundtable with Cotler Fellows
On January 8, the Cotler Institute was honored to host Mr. Shuvaloy (“Shuv”) Majumdar, a Canadian Conservative politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Calgary Heritage (Alberta) since July 2023. Mr. Majumdar, who is considered the country’s first MP of Bengali heritage, has served on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights (including as vice-chair) and previously sat on the Standing Committee on Health in the House of Commons. Before entering elected office, he worked in conservative foreign policy and advisory roles, including as a policy adviser—experience that continues to shape his focus on international affairs and human rights.
During his roundtable meeting with Cotler Fellows and TAU International Students, Mr. Majumdar fielded questions on topics ranging from Canada’s environmental and foreign policies to US-Canada relations and fighting anti-Hindu hate in the country. In turn, Mr. Majumdar asked students to provide him with insights about Israel and their time in the country that they would like him to convey to Canadians, prompting responses that urged understanding the diversity of Israeli society and the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The engrossing evening with Mr. Majmudar concluded with him passing on his words of advice to students, urging them not to be afraid to fail, treat others with kindness, and appreciate those who help you along the way.
Young Legislators
During our January 4 meeting, the Colter Fellows took on the role of legislators, presenting innovative proposals for new laws that they drafted and sent to elected officials in their respective home countries and Israel. These proposals, spanning local and global contexts, sparked lively debates and deep reflections during our classroom discussion, and several received responses from elected officials stating they would consider the proposals. To read the collection of proposed laws, click here. Here’s a glimpse into the thought-provoking ideas they shared. Click on the title to read the proposed laws:
This proposed legislative amendment aims to strengthen electoral transparency by enabling Maltese voters to access clear, standardized information about candidates’ backgrounds, qualifications, and public service experience. Under the current General Elections Act, candidates are validly nominated without any obligation to disclose comparable biographical, educational, or professional information to the public. The bill proposes amendments to the candidate nomination process by requiring the submission of a certified Candidate Information Form, making nomination validity conditional on its completion, and mandating the timely publication of this information by the Electoral Commission. By introducing clear procedures, verification timelines, and limited publication periods, the proposal aligns Malta’s electoral framework with EU best practices.
This legislative proposal aims to enhance employees’ protections by ensuring greater access to courts, transparency, and accountability. Under current Nevada employment practices, employees who have endured racial or religious discrimination are forced to resolve their claims through mandatory, binding arbitration as stipulated in their employment contracts. The bill proposal prohibits employers from enforcing arbitration on an employee as a condition of employment or of continuation of employment and renders any existing contractual provisions void and unenforceable. It also bars employer retaliation against employees who refuse to sign any agreement that contains a provision prohibited by the bill.
This legislative proposal aims to strengthen students’ understanding of the Holocaust, antisemitism, and racism in the state of Victoria. Currently, Holocaust education is being taught in Years 9–10, but there is no mandatory, age-appropriate framework that connects historical education to contemporary antisemitism or broader anti-racism education. The bill proposal introduces compulsory Holocaust, antisemitism, and anti-racism education for Years 7–9, integrates contemporary examples, and requires specialized teacher training to ensure effective and sensitive instruction. Together, these measures aim to reduce prejudice in schools, strengthen social cohesion, and better equip teachers and students to recognize and respond to rising hate.
This legislative proposal aims to enhance electoral integrity and public confidence in South Korea’s elections by increasing transparency. Whilst South Korea’s electoral system is institutionally strong, coordinated influence operations targeting the digital environment can outpace authorities’ assessment and response by undermining the public’s trust. The bill proposal establishes a minimum-intrusion, maximum-transparency framework by standardizing disclosures for online political advertising, introducing registration and labeling for certain foreign influence activities, and codifying lawful data-sharing and coordination procedures among platforms and public institutions during election periods. It also creates a statutory basis for a joint election-period response mechanism, ensuring rapid, accountable, and non-partisan cooperation aimed at protecting electoral fairness.
This proposed legislative amendment aims to enhance personal safety and dignity in public spaces by providing clear legal protection against sexist harassment. At present, German law leaves individuals who experience sexist harassment in public without an effective or proportionate legal remedy unless higher criminal thresholds are met. The bill proposal introduces a new administrative offense under the Act of Regulatory Offenses that defines sexist harassment, specifies typical conduct, and establishes graduated fines for first and repeat violations. It also includes safeguards against overlap with criminal law and requires a post-implementation evaluation to assess enforcement, effectiveness, and potential displacement effects.
This legislative proposal aims to protect the religious freedom of minority religious communities in Israel by ensuring meaningful recognition and accommodation of their religious holidays in work, education, and public life. Despite Israel’s diversity, there is currently no comprehensive statutory framework guaranteeing leave, flexibility, or protection from discrimination for the observance of minority religious holidays. The bill proposal formally recognizes minority religious holidays and grants employees and students a right to leave on religious grounds, as well as reasonable accommodation. It also imposes clear duties on public and private institutions while safeguarding individuals from minority religious communities from discrimination.
A Voice of Courage
On December 15, the Cotler Institute was honored to host Eloge Butera, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda who rebuilt his life in Canada after immigrating in 2002. Trained in political science and law, Mr. Butera became a human-rights advocate and public servant, working with the Hon. Irwin Cotler and figures like Roméo Dallaire and speaking widely about genocide prevention and the long shadow of trauma.
Speaking to an audience of Cotler Fellows and Israeli students, Mr. Butera shared and discussed the history of Rwanda, his personal experience during the 1994 genocide and story of survival, and about his life after immigrating. Students then watched the feature film directed by Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain,” in which one of the characters was inspired by Mr. Butare’s life story, after which they discussed questions about memory, victimhood, comparative suffering, justice, challenges of migration, and how people from different backgrounds carry their pain.
Holiday Spirit
On December 14, the Irwin Cotler Fellows journeyed north on their third field trip of the year, beginning their day ascending the winding roads of Mount Tabor, where they visited the Church of Annunciation and took in panoramic views of the Jezreel Valley, Megiddo plains, and distant Galilee hills.
From Mount Tabor, the Fellows continued to Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel with a population of almost 80,000, 70% of whom are Muslim and 30% of whom are Christian. The Fellows were led through Nazareth’s narrow old city streets, learning about Nazareth’s rich and diverse Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history and its troubled present. Weaving through the old city, the Fellows visited places like Mary’s Well, the Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches of the Annunciation, the White Mosque, and the Diwan of Zahir al-‘Umar, the 18th-century ruler in the area during the Ottoman era. The Christmas spirit was in the air as the city prepares to celebrate the coming holiday, a large tree and Christmas lights dotting the landscape while stores and shopkeepers sold Christmas decorations.
The final stop was in Nof HaGalil at Merkaza, the largest supermarket in Israel that was established by the Hamoud family from the Druze village of Yarka. Similar to Costco and Walmart, the commercial success of Merkaza and the Hamoud family’s contribution to Israeli society as a whole, and in the north in particular, is notable. Even more so are its efforts to promote cultural understanding and strengthen relations between its diverse customer base of Jews, Arabs, Druze, Muslims, Christians, and secular. When we visited, the store was filled with Christmas and Hanukkah decorations, and the holiday spirit in the air.
In the Footsteps of Patriarchs
On November 30, the Irwin Cotler Fellows journeyed south into the Negev on their second field trip of the year, beginning with the vast expanse of Makhtesh Ramon. As the world’s largest geological erosion crater, Makhtesh Ramon reveals millions of years of tectonic shifts, receding seas, and the slow carving power of wind and water. From vantage points overlooking the crater, the Fellows took in sweeping views of multicolored rock layers and watched nimble ibex herds navigating the rocky terrain.
From there, the Fellows continued to Tel Be’er Sheva, a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site closely tied to the biblical narratives of the Patriarchs. Known as the “City of Seven Wells,” the tel consists of fifteen layers of settlement, the most striking of which are the visible remains of a meticulously planned Iron Age city, including an impressive water system. The site’s horned altar, dated to the time of Hizkiyah at the end of the 8th century BCE, and the site’s connections to figures such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, allowed the Fellows to step imaginatively into the world of the Patriarchs and ancient Israelites.
The final stop was the Midbarium, a new, interactive zoo in Be’er Sheva dedicated to desert ecology and conservation. Here, the Fellows encountered a remarkable range of wildlife, including meerkats, baboons, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, and the unforgettable white lions whose roar reverberated across the park.
Fellows Visit Beit She’an and Gan HaShlosha
On November 2, the fourth cohort of Irwin Cotler Fellows embarked on their first field trip of the academic year to the magnificent ancient city of Beit She’an in Northern Israel. Located on the crossroads of the Via Maris trade route in the Jordan Valley, Beit She’an’s strategic location made it a thriving center of power and culture for millennia. A massive earthquake flattened most of the city in the 8th century, but thick layers of mud and silt covered and preserved archaeological wonders. Today, Beit She’an is home to the most marvelously excavated Roman ruins in Israel. Adriel Friedler (United States) commented that “it was immediately clear that Beit She’an is among the most breathtaking archaeological sites in the world. We could easily imagine its grandeur.”
Following Beit She’an, the Fellows traveled to the nearby Gan HaShlosha (Sakhne) National Park, where Dr. Carl Yonker, the Institute’s Academic Director, led a thought-provoking discussion on how the “Jerusalem” and “Tel Aviv” schools of archaeology interpret discoveries in relation to biblical narratives, sparking a wider conversation on how faith, politics, identity and history intersect in the study of Israel’s past. After the discussion, the Fellows swam and relaxed in the afternoon sun, enjoying the warm natural spring pools in one of the most beautiful national parks in the world.
Irwin Cotler Institute Seminar – Western Jihadists: Salafi-Jihadism in Austria (Part Two)
Based on his important research, Jakob Brandstätter, a student in the MA in Security and Diplomacy Program at Tel Aviv University, provides insights from his study on Western jihadists, focusing on Salafi-jihadism in Austria, in part two of a two-part series.
Record International Participation in the Irwin Cotler Fellowship Program
A record 24 fellows from 21 countries and five continents will start in October the Irwin Cotler Fellowship Program in response to the high demand and in a demonstration of the high international profile of the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Justice and Human Rights and the continued strong global standing of Tel Aviv University.
This will be the fourth cohort of the Fellowship Program (fifth, including a pilot year). The program includes academic lectures, practical in-person training, and field studies.
With new fellows from India to Spain, Switzerland to Brazil and Turkey to Australia – the Cotler Fellowship Cohort for 2025-2026 continues the tradition of spanning the world entire.
Several countries will be represented for the first time, including South Korea, Kenya, Haiti, China, Liberia, Ghana, and Malta.
The Fellows, graduate, PhD, and Post-Doctoral students in a variety of fields, from medicine, biology and sustainable development to political science, law, security and diplomacy, environmental studies and disaster management, will enjoy a life-changing opportunity to explore the rich history and dynamic present of Israel, engage with leading intellectuals, scholars and activists and establish a network of enriching contacts.
To read more about the 2025-2026 cohort, please visit the link below:
Cotler Institute Seminar – Western Jihadists: A Meta Study (Part One)
Based on his important research, Jakob Brandstätter, a student in the MA in Security and Diplomacy Program at Tel Aviv University, provides insights from his meta-study on Western jihadists in part one of a two-part series. Watch the first part below:
