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 8^th 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.

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.

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:

https://cotler.tau.ac.il/irwin-cotler-fellows-2025-2026/

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:

The Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice at Tel Aviv University (TAU) welcomes applications from TAU International Students for its Cotler Fellowship Program for academic year 2025/2026. Fellows will receive scholarships of up to 17,000 Shekels.

The program involves lectures and discussions on present-day challenges to democracy, human rights and justice; acquaints fellows with Israeli history and with the historical and human landscapes of the country, and instructs them about the origins of racism, and antisemitism specifically, their present-day manifestations and the means to fight them.

The Program will be in English and consists of 26 meetings, including lectures, discussions, and field trips, held largely during the winter and spring semesters.

The Program will commence on October 26, 2025, and end on June 30, 2026. Meetings will take place on Sundays between 10:00-14:00. Field trips will also take place on Sundays.

Participants will –

• Attend lectures and discussions on topical strategic and moral issues given by leading scholars

• Gain practical training in oratory and advocacy from leading policymakers and professors

• Join field trips to museums and to some of the most exciting nature and archeological sites across Israel. Past trips have included the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, the Ramon Crater, Beit Shean, and Gan Hashlosha (free of any charge)

• Receive scholarships of up to 17,000 Shekels

• Prepare and lead workshops that contribute to the fight against antisemitism and racism at large, or the advancement of democracy and democratization

To be eligible for the scholarship, participants are expected to attend and participate in all class meetings, read and engage with assigned texts, prepare at least one workshop, and complete any other required assignments. Distinguished participants will be encouraged and additionally financially supported to initiate and conduct workshops in their home countries during the summer break and following the conclusion of their studies.

Applications are open to all TAU international masters’ students, Ph.D. candidates, and post-doctoral students of all academic disciplines, all faiths, and of all nationalities with public leadership potential. Exceptionally talented undergraduate students will also be considered. The committee is not obligated to accept applicants.

The acceptance rate over the previous two years of the program has been around 25% of the applications received.

The Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice advances the intellectual and moral legacy of a champion of the fight against the Apartheid regime, a former Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada, and currently Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.

Application Process

Applications (including a CV and contact details) should be sent to Dr. Carl Yonker by August 31, 2025: yonker@mail.tau.ac.il. The results will be announced by October 1, 2025.

Any questions and inquiries should be directed to Dr. Carl Yonker (yonker@mail.tau.ac.il).

On Sunday, April 26, Irwin Cotler Fellows explored aspects of the struggle for gender equality in Israeli politics and diplomacy. The day began with a lecture by Foreign Ministry official Hagit Ben Yaacov, former Israeli ambassador to Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Estonia. Ben Yaakov shared her inspiring life story that brought her from a humble background in Israel’s periphery to top diplomatic missions. She discussed the unique challenges women diplomats have faced, and still do, in Israel and other countries, what changed and what did not. She also discussed how she dealt with post-October 7 realities in Helsinki.

Following her lecture, the fellows went to Golda Meir’s historic residence in Ramat Aviv, located a few hundred meters from the TAU campus. Together with Prof. Uriya Shavit they discussed the history of the struggle over women’s right to vote in the early days of the Zionist community in Mandatory Palestine and how ultra-Orthodox opposition to universal suffrage was defeated. They also discussed the complicated legacy of Golda Meir, the first woman to serve as prime minister in a Western democracy, including with regard to gender rights. Noting that history is often in front of our eyes and overlooked, they then went to visit the historic homes of former prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, also located close to campus, and discussed one of the most curious rivalries in Israeli politics, as well as the circumstances that led to Rabin’s assassination by a Jewish militant in 1995. 

On Sunday, April 6, the Cotler Fellows toured several ancient Jewish and Christian sites around the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They first stopped in the city of Tiberias, one of the four holy cities in Judaism and the former hub of ancient Jewish life in the Galilee following the destruction of the Second Temple. There, they visited the graves of Maimonides (the Rambam), the prolific Sephardic Jewish rabbi, philospher, and Torah scholar who also served as the personal physician to Saladin, and of Yochanan Ben Zakkai, one of the most important Jewish sages of the late Second Temple period who was the key contributor to the Mishnah and the establishment of Rabbinic Judaism.

After Tiberias, the Fellows visited the ancient synagogue at Capernaum (Kfar Nahum), a bustling Second Temple fishing village on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus and several of his followers lived. The site houses many well-preserved archaeological findings, including the third-century synagogue and ruins of the town. The Fellows then visited Tabgha, or “Ein Sheva” in Hebrew, the site associated with Jesus’ miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and the Mount of Beatitudes (Har HaOsher), overlooking the sea where Jesus is said to have given his famous Sermon on the Mount.

After some free time to swim and leisure at Hukok Beach on the shores of the Galilee, the Fellows returned home to Tel Aviv.

On Friday morning, January 17, the Irwin Cotler Fellows participated in a field tour of Ramla, exploring the rich history and the exciting present of one of the oldest cities in the country. They were joined by Israeli students of religions, including several who have recently returned from several months of reserve duty in Gaza.

The fellows met with the mayor, Michael Vidal (Likud), who spoke about Ramla as a mixed Jewish-Arab city known for its warmth, hospitality, rich history, and achievements in sports. Mayor Vidal noted that Ramla is home to diverse Jewish communities, including from India and Latin America, and discussed with the fellows his development plans, including those addressing university students. He asked the fellows to act as ambassadors for the city that is often negatively depicted.

Guided by a local tour guide, the fellows visited the Grand Mosque of Ramla, the famous Pool of Arches, where they had a short sail in boats, the British Cemetery for soldiers killed in WWI, and the lively Ramla Market. An exciting day and another opportunity to learn about the charms and nuances of Israel.

During our December 22nd meeting, the Colter Fellows stepped into the shoes of legislators, presenting innovative proposals for new laws to address pressing challenges to democracy. These proposals, spanning local and global contexts, sparked lively debates and deep reflections on the state of democracy worldwide. Here’s a glimpse into the thought-provoking ideas they shared. Click on the title to read the proposed laws:

Reviving Diaspora Democracy
Fellow George Karatasios (Greece) championed a proposal to enable mail-in voting for Greeks living abroad. Highlighting the significant challenges faced by the Greek diaspora, he shared a personal anecdote about being required to travel from Tel Aviv to the Greek embassy in Cairo just to cast his vote. This provoked an interesting discussion about whether people abroad should be able to vote – regardless of how long they have lived abroad. Some students proposed that even those who have been outside of their home country for decades may maintain a strong connection, and should therefore have a say in the democratic elections of their home countries. This discussion brought up broader ideas about transnationalism and feelings of belonging to multiple counties at once, and the interplay of different identities within a democracy.

AI, Deepfakes, and the Fight Against Disinformation
Fellow Dana Levinson (Ukraine/Israel) turned the spotlight on the perils of AI and deepfake technology, proposing stringent regulations to combat disinformation, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war and political campaigns worldwide. Her proposal ignited a debate on whether such regulations should target all regimes equally or focus specifically on authoritarian governments. Opinions diverged, with some arguing for the need to address propaganda in democratic nations as well, citing examples from Israel and the U.S.

Navigating Free Speech in the Digital Age
Amarah Friedman’s (United States) proposal to criminalize hate speech based on disinformation in the U.S. tackled a controversial issue: balancing freedom of speech—a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution—with the need to combat harmful rhetoric. This led to an impassioned dialogue on where to draw the line and how to safeguard democratic values while addressing misinformation.

Defining Antisemitism: A Legal Leap
Avi Teich (Canada) closed the session with a proposal to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism as a legally binding standard in Canada. This move, aimed at curbing the alarming rise of antisemitism, especially on university campuses, sparked a nuanced discussion. Fellows debated the efficacy of the IHRA definition, the boundaries between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism, and the challenges of codifying an evolving framework into law.