Israel 101: The Israeli-Arab, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Iranian Conflicts

Rabbi Elhanan Miller is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, specializing in Arab politics and the intersection of Judaism and Islam, and the founding editor of People of the Book, an online platform that teaches Jewish faith and culture to Muslim audiences on social media. He has served as faculty for the Pardes Institute, as Arab affairs correspondent for The Times of Israel, and as rabbi of the Jewish community in Canberra, Australia. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Elhanan began studying Arabic at 13, serving as a linguist in the IDF’s Intelligence Unit 8200. He completed his BA and MA degrees in Middle East History and Islamic Studies at Hebrew University, and received Orthodox rabbinic ordination from Beit Midrash Harel. Elhanan regularly comments on Israeli politics in Arabic news channels including BBC Arabic, Sky News Arabia, DW Arabic, and Israel’s public broadcaster Kan. His opinion articles have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is fluent in English, Hebrew, Arabic, French and Yiddish.

Mikhael Reuven Kesher is a curator of educational experiences and resources, whose professional passion is supporting Jewish educators and learners in building informed, constructive, and committed relationships with am yisrael (the Jewish people) and medinat yisrael (the Jewish state). As a British-born Israeli-by-choice and new American, he cares deeply about strengthening each Jew’s connection to global Jewry. Before joining The Jewish Education Project as Director, Israel Education, Mikhael worked at Harvard Hillel, MIT Hillel, and Hebrew College. He holds Master’s degrees in Philosophy (University of Cambridge), Near Eastern & Judaic Studies (Brandeis University), and Jewish professional leadership (Brandeis University). At home, Mikhael is an avid reader, ḥevruta enthusiast, and devoted abba to two young children.