March 13, 2026
Economist Dr. Adi Shany Joins MGSDII for Spring!
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Adi Shany as our ninth Visiting Professor of the year, teaching “Start-Up Nation: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Israel” and “Economics of Israel” at UCSD in Spring. Students are clearly excited to learn what made Israel’s economy third in the world for 2025 and what’s coming next: One course has a waitlist and the other is filling fast!
Our UCSD Winter Quarter courses were similarly full. We thank Dr. Udi Sommer for sharing his expertise with over 200 students in “Politics in Israel” and “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, and we are grateful to Dr. Meir Edrey for teaching “Archaeology of the Mediterranean Seas” and “Biblical Archaeology: Fact or Fiction.”
Our SDSU Spring Semester classes continue with historian Dr. Tal Elmaliach‘s exploration of “Modern Israeli History Through Hollywood Feature Films” and “Arab-Israeli Relations, Past and Present”, and with literary critic Yuval Avivi‘s discussion of “Israeli Short Stories and Films” and “Contemporary Israeli Novels.”
Stay tuned to find out who will be in our 27-28 cohort, as MGSDII heads into its 11th year of ensuring balanced and diverse knowledge about Israel occurs on our San Diego campuses.
Recent Events
Israeli literary critic and Visiting Professor Yuval Avivi shares how cultural moments uplifted Israel since October 7th, and Israeli artists discuss their creative processes during this time.
Visiting Professor Udi Sommer speaks to Salon members about elections, Iran, Israel’s role in the Middle East, how US politics intertwine – and more.
Upcoming Event
Salon Dinner
with Israeli and
San Diego Students
April 16 @ 5pm
Salon members, save the date for an intimate and relaxed evening at beautiful Leichtag Commons to connect with students from SDSU, Technion, and Azrieli College who have been working together on Classroom Collaboration projects in Aerospace and Water Engineering. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear firsthand about their cross-border collaborations and to meet our future thought leaders!
Thank You for Your Support!
Thank you for being part of the MGSDII community.
We are only able to offer our programs because of donations from supporters like you. Your generosity in any amount will help us continue our work ensuring balanced and informed discourse about Israel occurs on our San Diego university campuses.
