Past Events

February 2, 2012: Forum Iran hosted Prof. Shahram Chubin. In his lecture Prof. Chubin explained "Why Iran Negotiates the Way It Does?"

January 11, 2012: Iran Forum hosted Prof. Fariborz Mokhtari, who lectured on his new book In the Lion's Shadow: The Iranian Schindler and his Homeland in the Second World War.

January 8, 2012: International Conference on Iran, Nuclear Proliferation and the Stability of the Middle East at Tel Aviv University.
November 14, 2011 - book presentation: "The Good, the Evil and the World: A Journy to Pre-Islamic Iran" by Tamar Elam Gindin.
The speakers in the event: Prof. David Menashri, Prof. Meir Litvak, Dr. Ori Goldberg, Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur, Raz Zimmt, Menahem Merhavi, Edna Kaneti and Dr. Tamar Elam Gindin
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September 14, 2011 - Iran Forum hosted Jonathan Paris from King's College, London who lectured on Iran and the Arab Spring
September 14, 2011 - Iran Forum hosted Jonathan Paris from King's College, London who lectured on Iran and the Arab Spring

June 15, 2011 - Iran Forum hosted Marina Nemat, author of "Prisoner of Tehran" and "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed"

June 1, 2011 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Elisheva Machlis, CIS Post-Doc, who lectured on Ali Shariati and the Concept of Tawhid: A New Perspective on the Doctrine of Oneness?

May 21, 2011 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Rasool Nafisi from Strayer University who lectured on The Clerics' State Perception of the Arab Spring
January 3-4, 2011 - The Heritage of the Past and the Challenges of the Future: The Jews of Iran, International Conference in collaboration with the Center for Iranian Studies at Beit Hatfutsot, Tel Aviv University. The Conference was held in conjunction with the exhibition Light and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews (closing date: May 31, 2011), sponsored by the Y & S Nazarian Family Foundation.
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December 29, 2010 - Iran Forum hosted Doctor Fan Hongda from Xiamen University, China. Doctor Hongda's lecture concentrated on China policy options toward Iran.

November 25, 2010 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Robert Gleave of the University of Exeter. Prof. Gleave discussed the topic of Recent Legal Debates in the Shi'ite Seminaries of Iran and Iraq
June 2-3, 2010 - A Joint Conference of the The Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for Iranian Studies of Tel Aviv University on the topic - The Shi'a: Theology, Law and Culture
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May 30, 2010 - Iran Forum hosted Rami Regavim of the University of Pennsylvania who lectured on the Opium and the Economic History of Iran (the lecture and discussion were conducted in Hebrew)

March 21, 2010 - Iran Forum hosted Reza Aslan, author of "No god but God: Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam", in a lecture on the topic of Islamic Reformation

January 14, 2010 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Professor of Persian Language, Literature, and Culture Director, Roshan Center for Persian Studies, University of Maryland. Prof. Karimi-Hakkak discussed Authors and Authorities: Culture, Censorship and Ideology in the Islamic Republic of Iran
December 14, 2009 - One day symposium: Rewriting Histories in Modern Iran
GREETINGS: Prof. David Menashri, Director of the Center for Iranian Studies (CIS)
SESSION I: RECREATING ANTI-SEMITISM was Chaired by Prof. Meir Litvak, CIS, Tel Aviv University. Dr. Matthias Kuntzel, Political Scientist in Hamburg, presented the paper: "Fateful Friendship: Anti-Semitism & Iran-Germany Relations"; Dr. Charles Asher Small, Director of YIISA, Yale University, discussed "The Iranian Revolutionary Regime and Anti-Semitism as an Issue of Human Rights", Miss Orly R. Rahimian of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, presented the paper: "Images of Jews in Post-Revolutionary Iran", and Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur, CIS, Tel Aviv University & the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discussed the "Iranian Cyber-Hate: The Islamic Republic’s Anti-Semitic Propaganda Online".
SESSION II: PRIVATE LIVES, PUBLIC NARRATIVES was chaired by Prof. David Yeroushalmi, CIS, Tel Aviv University. Prof. Nasrin Rahimieh, Maseeh Chair and Director, University of California, Irvine, presented the paper: "Writing the Ordinary in Extraordinary Times: Contemporary Iranian Women's Literature", Dr. Mahmood Karimi-Hakkak, CIS Fulbright Scholar of Siena College, adressed the topic: "Evolution vs. Revolution: The Youth's Progressive Play in the Iranian Political Theatre", and Mrs. Miriam Nissimov, CIS, Tel Aviv University, discussed "Fereydoun Adamiyat: The Controversial Historian of modern Iran"
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October 29, 2009 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari, former Iranian diplomat and London based analyst on Iranian affairs on the topic: The Evolving Situation in Iran
June 25, 2009 - The Struggle for the Islamic Republic: A Flash in the Pan or Real Change?
The 1st panel: Whither Iranian Politics? Calibrating Civil Unrest, chaired by Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur. Speakers: Prof. Rasool Nafisi, Strayer University; Mr. Raz Zimmt, Tel Aviv University; Prof. Bernard Hourcade, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris; Prof. Stephen Kinzer, Northwestern University, Chicago Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari, Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, London
The 2nd panel: Prospects for Change in Iran's International Posture, chaired by Prof. David Menashri, Tel Aviv University. Speakers: Prof. Shahram Chubin, Geneva Centre for Public Security; Mr. Steven Simon, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC; Dr. Toby Dodge, Queen Mary University, London; Prof. Steven Miller, Harvard University; Dr. Dana Allin, International Institute for Security Studies, London

Link to the webcast

May 24-25, 2009 - International Convention The Iranian Revolution: 30 Years After
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May 17-18, 2009 - Israel & the Middle East - A Two Day Conference, Co-sponsored by The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies; The Center for Iranian Studies; The University Institute for Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation; The S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies; Louise and Dr. Nachum Barag Lectures on French Culture; Les Amis Français de l
May 4, 2009 - Iran Forum hosted Vanna Vannuccini, reporter of La Repubblica and author of "Rosa è il colore della Persia: Il sogno perduto di una democrazia islamica", on the topic Iran is Not Black & White
May 3, 2009 - Book presentation: The Secret War with Iran by Dr. Ronen Bergman, senior security and intelligence correspondent and analyst for Israel’s daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
The panel, chaired by journalist Tali Lipkin-Shahak, included Prof. David Menashri, Director of the Center for Iranian Studies; Dr. Uzi Rabi, head of the TAU Department of Middle Eastern and African history and Senior Research Associate at the Center; General (res.) Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, former head of Military Intelligence in Israel; and, General (res.) Ethan Ben Eliyahu, former Commander of the Israeli Air Force
Click here for the Hebrew Webcast
April 23, 2009 - Iran Forum hosted Geneive Abdo, Author of the book: "Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America after 9/11" and a fellow at The Century Foundation, in a special session on The U.S., Iran and the Challenge of Political Islam
March 15, 2009 - Iran Forum discussed Religion as Participation - Shi'i Theology as Revolutionary Experience
Guest lecturer Ori Goldberg, TAU PhD Candidate & former Fox International Fellow at Yale University
February 1, 2009 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Charles Asher Small, Director of The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism, Yale University on the topic of The Social Construction of the Other - The Iranian Regime and the Possibility of Negotiations
January 4, 2009 - Book presentation: Una historia, dos países: La saga de la familia Yecutieli Cohen by Samuel Yecutieli Bicaco and Raquel Markus de Finckler
Speakers in the event: Prof. David Menashri, Prof. David Yeroushalmi, Prof. Leo Corry & Mr. Samy Yecutieli
Co-sponsored by The Center for Iranian Studies, The S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies & The Israeli Genealogical Society
December 4, 2008 - Co-sponsored convention with The Ben Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the East & The World Congress of Bukharian Jews on The Jews of Bukhara (Hebrew)
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July 7, 2008 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Anthony Cordesman, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C. on the topic of Iran and the Persian Gulf- the Security Dilemma
July 7, 2008 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Farian Sabahi, Professor of "Islam and Democracy", Faculty of Political Sciences, Turin University on the topic of Iran at the Crossroad: The Dilemma of an Educated and Ironic Society
June 15, 2008 - A Colloquoum on Women Creating Iran in Israel (in Hebrew)
Click here for the Hebrew webcast
June 4, 2008 - An International Conference on Iranian Jewry (Hebrew & English)
In memory of the late Prof. Amnon Netzer
Speakers: Dr. David Yeroushalmi, Tel-Aviv University; Dr. Daniel Tsadik, Hebrew University; Dr. Nahid Pirnazar, UCLA; Ruthi Jacoby, Hebrew University; Mrs. Esther Shkalim, Hebrew University; Dr. Dan Y. Shapira, Bar-Ilan University; Dr. Vera B. Moreen, Philadelphia; Hilda Nissimi, Bar-Ilan University; Dr. Meir Litvak, Tel-Aviv University
March 27, 2008 - Iran-Forum hosted General (res.) Itzik Segev, the last Israeli Military Attaché in Iran on the topic of Israel and the Fall of the Iranian Monarchy
February 3, 2008 - International Colloquium In the Aftermath of the NIE Report:
Iran's Domestic Challenges and Regional Prospects
January 24, 2008 - Iran Forum on Political Development in Iran and their Implication
Guest speaker: Mr. Menashe Amir
January 8, 2008 - Iran Forum special session Historicizing Muslim Exceptionalism Islamic Modernism versus Fundamentalism
Guest speaker: Prof. Mansoor Moaddel of the Eastern Michigan University
January 7, 2008 - CIS Annual Lecture Prospects for Liberal Democracy among Iranians: Findings from Values Surveys
Guest Lecturer: Prof. Mansoor Moaddel, Prof. of Sociology Eastern Michigan University
December 31, 2007 - Iran Forum hosted Ms. Yasmin Vossoughian, an international journalist on the topic of State & Society in Iran - A View from the Streets of Iran
December 25, 2007 - A one day conference in collaboration with The Netvision Institute for Internet Research and The Daniel Abraham's Institute for International and Regional Research:
"From Surfing the Internet to Information Warfare Online" (in Hebrew)
Among the speakers: Mr. Shai Blitzblau; Mr. Shai Raz, Mr. Meir Javedanfar; Mr. Menashe Amir; Mr. Uri Friedman; Dr. Meir Litvak; Dr. Liora Hendekman-Baavur & Dr. Uzi Rabi.
Click here for the Hebrew webcast
December 17, 2007 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Farideh Dayanim-Goldin, the author of "Wedding Song: Memoirs of an Iranian Jewish Woman", on the topic of Prospects for Research in the History of Shirazi Jews
June 17, 2007 - Iran Forum hosted Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari, Senior Research Consultant at the Centre for Arab & Iranian studies in London on the topic of The State & Civil Society in Iran
June 7, 2007 - Iran Forum hosted General (res.) Itzik Segev, the last Israeli Military Attaché in iran on the topic of The Collapse of the Iranian Army in 1979
June 6, 2007 - Iran Forum special session focused on the topic of Iran & the Hizballah: a Patron-Client Relationship
Guest speaker: Prof. Richard Norton, Professor of international relations and anthropology, Boston University
June 4-5, 2007 - International Workshop co-sponsored by The Center for Iranian Studies & The Moshe Dayan Center For Middle Eastern and African Studies on:
"The Sunni-Shi'i Divide in History"
Lectures were deliverd by Dr. Jacob Lassner; Dr. Nimrod Hurvitz; Dr. Deborah Tor; Dr. Sabine Schmidtke; Dr. Meir Litvak, Dr. Ismail Safa Ustun; Prof. David Menashri; Dr. Kamile Adang; Meir Hatina; Prof. Rainer Brunner; Dr. Sagi Polka; Dr. Guido Steinberg; Prof. Ofra Bengio; Prof. Amatzia Baram; Dr. Noga Efrati; Prof. Yosef Kostiner; Dr. Mehdi Khallaji; Prof. Eyal Zisser; Dr. Richard Norton; Dr. Bderiye Poyraz; Dr. Uzi Rabi & Dr. Ze'ev Magen.
May 31, 2007 - First session in the CIS Distinguished Lecture Series:
"Sacrificing the Self and Others in the Way of God"
Guest lecturer: Prof. Ali Banuazizi, Professor of Cultural Psychology and Co-director of the Program Middle East and Islamic Studies at Boston College
Chair: Dr. Meir Litvak, CIS Tel Aviv University
May 15, 2007 - Co-sponsored workshop with Tel Aviv Science, Technology and Security : "Iran, the Jews and the Bomb"
March 25, 2007 - International Conference sponsored by the Center’s co-founders, Mr. & Mrs. David and Laura Merage:
"Iran - The Emerging Challenge in Multiple Perspectives"
Hotel Intercontinental - Grand Salon, Los Angeles, CA
Lectures were deliverd by Prof. Nasrin Rahimieh of University of California at Irvine; Dr. Houman Sarshar of the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles; Dr. Meir Litvak of TAU CIS; Dr. Mohammad Amini of Los Angeles; Dr. Liora Hendelman-Baavur of TAU CIS; Prof. David Menashri of TAU CIS; Prof. Abbas Milani of Stanford University and Dr. Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
March 13, 2007 - A special session of Iran Forum focused on the topic of An Effective American Response to the Iranian Nuclear Program
Gguest lecturer: Prof. Kori Schake, A Bradley Professor of International Security Studies, the military academy at West Point, N.Y. & a research fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
March 11, 2007 - The Center and the Dayan Center co-sponsored an evening of lectures regarding:
"Religion and State in the Middle East."
The seminar was held on the occasion of the publication of the book: Religion and State in in the Middle East, edited by Prof. Menashri in honor of Professor Emeritus Shimon Shamir.
Lectures were delivered by Professors Menashri, Ofra Bengio, Eyal Zisser, David Kushner, Asher Susser, Reuben Aharoni, Eli Podeh, Itamar Rabinovitch, and finally, Prof. Shimon Shamir
March 6, 2007 - An international conference Iran and the Iranian Civilization: History, Society and Culture
Lectures were delivered by Prof. Richard Frye, Prof. Farhang Mehr; Prof. Ali Akbar Jafary; Mr.Fataneh Farid; Dr. Soli Shahvar; Dr. Ze'ev Magen ; Dr. Masood Ansari; Prof. Mehdi Mozaffari; Dr. Vandidad Golshani; Dr. Muhammad Asemi; Dr. Ardeshir Anoushirvani & Mr. Menashe Amir.
Click here for the program
January 10, 2007 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Fred Mokhtari, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies National Defense University, Washington D.C., on the topic of Iran: Alone & Surrounded
Moderator: Prof. David Menashri, CIS Founding Director, Tel Aviv University
December 27, 2006 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Shintaro Yoshimura, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan. The discussion focused on Reza Shah's Reign & Foreign Relations
December 27, 2006 - Special Iran Forum In Search for a New Paradigm of Civilization
Lecturer: Prof. Kojiro Machida, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan
Chair: Dr. Raquel Shaoul, Department of East Asian Studies,Tel Aviv University
December 7, 2006 - Iran Forum focused on the topic of Living the Absolute: Metaphor, Community and Faith in the Stories of Mortaza Motahhrari
Lecturer: Mr. Ori Goldberg, Tel Aviv University
November 6, 2006 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Sadashi Fukuda, Director-General Institute of Developing economies & Professor at Waseda University, Tokyo. The session focused on Japan, Iran and the Nuclearization of the Persian Gulf
September 6, 2006 - A Joint Symposium organized by The CIS and The S. Daniel Abrahams Center for International and Regional Studies
"Iran in the Aftermath of the War in Lebanon" (in Hebrew)
Lectures were delivered by Prof. David Menashri; Dr. Meir Litvak, Ms. Liora Hendelman-Baavur; Dr. Uzi Rabi; Prof. Eyal Zisser; Prof. Shlomo Avineri & Prof. Eitan Gilboa

Click here for the Hebrew webcast
June 6-7, 2006 - Two-Day International Conference:
* June 6, 2006
"Iran: Modern Religious Thought and Society"
Among the speakers: Prof. David Menashri; Prof. Bernard Hourcade; Mr. Ori Goldberg; Prof. Shaul Bakhash; Prof. Farhad Kazemi; Faegheh Shirazi; Ms. Liora Hendelman-Baavur & Dr. Meir Litvak

Click here for the webcast
June 7, 2006 - International Conference on:
"The Jews of Iran: Continuity & Change"
Session I: “Jewish Iranian Contacts in the pre-Islamic Era” was chaired by Prof. Shaul Shaked of the Hebrew University; lectures were delivered by Prof. Zeev Rubin of TAU & Mr. Shai Secunda of the Hebrew University.
Session II: “Literature and Culture of Iranian Jews” was chaired by Dr. David Yeroushalmi; lectures were delivered by Prof. Vera B. Moreen of Swathmore College, Dr. Dalia Yasharpour of UCLA. and Dr. Dan Shapira of the Bar-Ilan University.
Session III: “Modern History, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century" was chaired by Dr. Daniel Tsadik of the Hebrew University; lectures were delivered by Dr. David Yeroushalmi of TAU, the independent scholar Ms. Haideh Sahim, and Mr. Zeev Levine of TAU.
Session IV: “Contemporary Society and Culture among the Jews of Iran” was chaired by Dr. Haim Saadon of the Hebrew University; lectures were delivered by Mr. Chen Bram of the Hebrew University, and Ms. Farideh Goldin, an independent scholar.
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May 15, 2006 - Iran Forum held a session on Rethinking the Way We Teach the Modern Middle East
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Camron M. Amin, The Department of Social Sciences, The University of Michigan at Dearborn
May 10, 2006 - Iran-Forum hosted Dr. Camron M. Amin, The Department of Social Sciences, The University of Michigan at Dearborn, on the topic of The Press and the Media under Reza Shah
April 24, 2006 - The official Inauguration of the Center
The inauguration was followed by a one day conference:
“Iran’s Emergence as a Regional Power”
Speakers: Dr. G. Kemp, Mr. P. Errera, Dr. Ephraim Kam and Dr. Emily Landau, Prof. Shimon Shamir, Prof. David Menashri and Prof. Asher Susser.
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January 26, 2006 - Iran-Forum on Reform, Youth, and Technology in Iran
Guest lecturer: Mr. Hossein Derakhshan, Freelance journalist and blogger
December 12, 2005 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. P.R. Kumaraswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, School of International Studies (India) & Prof. Morris Mottale, Franklin College, Lugano (Switzerland), on the topic Iran Today: Between East and West
January 12, 2006 - Iran Forum hosted Prof. Nayereh Tohidi, California State University, Northridge and U.C.L.A & Pro. Ali Akbar Mahdi, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wesleyan University, Ohio, on the topic of Reform Fragments: Women and Students in Iran
December 8, 2005 - Inauguration lecture of Iran Forum Iran Mirrored in Academic Research: Trends and Potential Development
Lecture by Prof. David Menashri, Director of the CIS Center
November 17, 2005 - Launching of the Academic Activities of the Center
lectures, devoted primarily to the history and cultural heritage of Iranian Jewry were delivered by Prof. David Menashri, Dr. Houman Sarshar and Dr. David Yeroushalmi.
November 15, 2005 - The Launching Ceremony of the Center
Addresses, lectures and presentations were delivered in Hebrew, Persian and English. Main speakers: the director of the Center, Prof. David Menashri; director of the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History, Ms. Homa Sarshar, Los Angeles; Mr. Meir Ezri, former Israeli ambassador to Iran; Dr. Houman Sarshar, scholar of Iranian Jewry, New York, and Dr. David Yeroushalmi, senior research fellow at the CIS.