Conference in Jerusalem

A view of Jerusalem from atop
a hill in the old city
Yesterday I returned from a three day conference in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. The title of the conference, as I mentioned in my last entry, was "Local Government in a Changing World". The conference brought together scholars from all over the world; Israel, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and France; all researches of local politics in its different facets, each specializing in issues pertaining to their respective countries.


Some of the lecture I found most interesting, among them ones which had parts pertaining to my research, included:

• Electoral Politics in Local Government in Israel
• Democratic Transformation and the City
• The US Housing Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities for Local Governments
• Councilors as members of representative body within the "three worlds of democratic action", their understanding of democracy and task perception
• Urban Governance and the Role Perception and Behavior of the City Councilors in Switzerland
• Neoliberalism or Welfare State Interventionism? Governance and Metropolitan Inequality

These were only a few of the lectures at the conference, which totaled 32 participants, most of them lecturers and a few who just came to listen and learn (like myself).

Maiersdorf Faculty Club at the

Mt. Scopus Campus of the HUJ

Besides the great food served all throughout the conference, the fact that the conference included scholars from such different places, made it all the more interesting and enjoyable, both from an academic standpoint, and from a personal learning one. For instance, discussing with one of the Polish participants who lectured on Cooperation of local government in Poznan metropolitan area, the topic of my research, and being given a comparison between the situation in Israel to the one in Eastern Europe, was eye opening; all the more so because it took place in a pool at the Dead Sea hotel.

My learning and personal experience from this conference was unprecedented for all the reasons mentioned above. It also made me think of some different angles I can take with my research as I move along with my work.

And on another note: I happened to be in Jerusalem just as the Gilad Shalit march reached Jerusalem, and settled in front of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's house on Azza Street, right up the street from my sister's apartment, where I stayed. I used this opportunity to stand and observe the gathering, which brought together local residents from all sectors of society; young and old, parents, students, religious and secular; and the entering of Shalit's parents to a meeting with the PM, which subsequently, according to news reports, was not very productive. The family and supporters are expected to remain in front of the PM's residence until a deal is struck with Hammas to release the abducted soldier. If and when this happens, we'll just have to wait and see.

People gathering in front of the

PM residence in support of the
Shalit family