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This talk will delve into the dynamic and evolving nature of Israeli politics and society, comprehensively analyzing the forces driving change in this complex landscape. It will examine the growing influence of diverse demographic groups, such as the ultra-Orthodox, Arab-Israelis, and immigrants, and how their increasing political and social activism is reshaping traditional power structures. The discussion will also explore Israel's shifting political landscape and how the friction between different ideological approaches is generating new dynamics between the three branches of government that, in turn, form new societal cleavages and reinforce some preexisting ones.  

Dr. Ilai Saltzman is an Associate Research Professor of Israel Studies and the Director of the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. His scholarship and teaching focus on international security, Israeli foreign and security policy, US foreign policy, and political psychology. Dr. Saltzman is the author of Securitizing Balance of Power Theory: A Polymorphic Reconceptualization (2012). He has also written numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, and commentaries in the Los Angeles Times, Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post, and other prominent outlets. He is also a board member at Mitvim – the Israel Institute of Foreign Regional Policy and a Non-Resident Researcher at TRENDS Research & Advisory.
 
Dr. Saltzman earned his Ph.D. in International Relations in 2010 from the University of Haifa and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the International Security Program (ISP), Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2009-2010).
 
Before he arrived in College Park, Dr. Saltzman was the Israel Institute’s Associate Director for Academic Programs. In the past, he served as a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College where he taught classes in International Relations, Israeli foreign and security policy as well as US foreign policy. He also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s International Relations Department, the Rothberg International School (RIS), and Tel-Aviv University’s Political Science Department.