THE
TAPLIN PROJECTS
The following projects have received their initial funding from
the Sol Taplin Foundation. They are under the direction of Prof.
Eugene Rothman, a Visiting Scholar from Carleton University
in Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Rothman is assisted in these projects
by Mitch Dabach.
People-to-People Peace Projects
- Peace
Education for Palestinian and Israeli Youth
This project involves the design,
development, piloting, evaluation and delivery of an educational
program intended to enable Palestinian and Israeli youth,
ages 17 to 20, to be aware of how the other perceives
events, history, processes and developments, especially
what constitutes “hot button” issues for the other, particularly
within the context of Arab-Israeli relations. Such awareness
and sensitivity, it is hoped, will lead eventually to
better mutual understanding and, ultimately, rapprochement.
It will be carried out in collaboration with American,
international, Israeli and Palestinian agencies and relevant
institutions.
- Cross-Cultural
Awareness for Israeli Jewish and Arab Youth
This is an adaptation of the
above project - Peace Education for Israeli and Palestinian
Youth - and focuses on the need for cross-cultural awareness
between young Israeli Jews and Arabs. It will be developed
as a pilot and delivered in conjunction with local non-governmental
organizations working in this area in mixed towns, such
as Lod, Ramleh and Nazareth as well as academic institutions
such as Haifa University’s Center for Peace Education
and its Jewish-Arab Center and Tel Aviv University’s Konrad
Adenauer Center for Jewish-Arab Cooperation.
- Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder Program for Palestinian and Israeli Youth
This program focuses on the efforts
of the Israeli Trauma Coalition led by the Latner Center
for Trauma at Herzog Hospital and their Palestinian counterparts,
such as the Gaza City Mental Health Program, to bridge
the divisions between Israelis and Palestinians by working
together to treat those most vulnerable and affected by
the conflict - the region’s youth. The first stage of
this program and the building of initial bridges was a
meeting between Israeli and Palestinian experts that recently
took place in Cyprus.
- Health
Initiatives for Peace emphasizes the lessons
learned from one of the few areas
in which there has been continuing
collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian experts
– even at the height of the Intifada, and builds on
these experiences to create a continuing dialogue that
will bring Palestinians and Israelis to closer cooperation
in other areas. Such collaboration already exists in
the field of epidemiology and can be broadened to include
other areas of cooperation that build critical bridges
between people. Preliminary discussions have been held
about jointly sponsored projects in this area with UM
Provost Dr. Luis Glaser, UM Vice Provost Dr. Steven
Ullmann, Dr. Sanford Kuvin of Palm Beach, representing
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and representatives
of the Department of Epidemiology at UM’s School of
Medicine.
Economic/Environmental/Infrastructure
Development Projects
- Dead
Sea Reclamation Project
The objective of the Dead Sea
Reclamation Project is to contribute to the peace process
through the initiation of a program that will involve
Israeli and Jordanian partners (with the possibility of
eventually adding Palestinian partners) under international
funding and supervision to work towards the reclamation
of the rapidly shrinking Dead Sea. It is intended to prevent
the further deterioration of the Dead Sea and to preserve
its unique ecology through options such as a Red Sea-Dead
Sea canal that would raise the water level of the Dead
Sea. In collaboration with international and regional
agencies, this project will provide part of the conceptual
infrastructure and scientific research framework for such
work. The University of Miami’s Rosentiel School of Marine
and Atmospheric Science is a unique, internationally renowned
research resource for this project.
- Aqaba
and Persian Gulf-to-Mediterranean Land Bridge Project
This project involves the research,
design and implementation of an inter-modal (sea/land/rail/sea)
land bridge between the Jordanian port of Aqaba and Israel’s
Mediterranean coast. This project will enhance relations
between Israel and Jordan, encourage regional cooperation
and promote regional economic integration. It is being
carried out as part of an international consortium involving
leading public and private sector figures in Israel, Jordan
and the Persian Gulf.
Exploration
of the Holy Land by U.S. Naval Lieutenant William Francis Lynch/
History of the River Jordan-In 1848, Lt. Lynch and a dozen
members of his crew conducted an extensive and comprehensive
scientific survey of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea commissioned
by the U.S. government. Dr. Haim Shaked has located at the U.S.
National Archives Lynch’s unpublished handwritten correspondence,
logbooks and reports to the Secretary of the Navy. He intends
to add his commentary and print the documents as a monograph.
A
much more ambitious proposed study, related to the Lynch Expedition,
could later result in a book/documentary charting the historical
role of the Jordan River from antiquity to the present day,
similar to a “biography” in its presentation.
1948
Project - to comprehensively examine the events/people involved
in the creation of the State of Israel; specifically focusing
on American individuals, private organizations, and U.S.governmental
figures. Special reference will be made to their memoirs, private
papers, and other official and non – official documents/collections
on the subject.
The
following two projects will be pursued in collaboration with
the Inter Disciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel, where
Dr. Haim Shaked is affiliated):
Mediterranean
Jewish Diaspora – to conduct research and related academic
programming about the various deeply rooted communities in the
region (Southern Europe/Balkans, North Africa, and Sephardim)
in the 20th Century. In particular, to examine how their separate
identities and histories were reflected in, and affected by
their common geographic location.
EU-Israel
Forum - to study the growing bilateral scientific, research,
cultural, economic and political ties between the two entities,
in the context of the Middle East peace process and the EU initiated
Barcelona Process with the 27 nations bordering on the Mediterranean
Sea region. Other relevant areas of study relate to the proposals
for developing a ‘Med./Red/Dead Sea’ Canal and the
sharing the Mount Hermon watershed resources. Dr. Shaked will
be working with Dr. Uzi Arad of the IDC on this project.
Jewish
World - CCJS will address various relevant topics including:
“Diaspora as Israel’s Strategic Depth”; creating
the Jewish equivalent of the Aspen Institute think tank. In
cooperation with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, CCJS plans to also
focus on “The Ten Events/Decisions That Changed Jewish
Future/Destiny” and “The Codification of Jewish Ethics”.
Cuban
Jewry – (The following project is intended to be a
collaborative effort between CCJS and the Institute for Cuban
and Cuban American Studies at the School of International Studies):
To
analyze the different successive waves of immigration to Cuba,
and their late remigration to Florida, other U.S. states and
Israel. The proposed result of the study will be to produce
a documentary film chronicling the history of the community
and its evolution under changing political conditions and regimes.
Fostering
Peace Between Israelis/Palestinians: (CCJS plans to make
this a five year project named in honor of the donors):
Some
potentially productive topics include: utilization of water
resources shared between the two parties and Jordan; encouraging
broader economic cooperation; diminishing harmful stereotypes
and other forms of incitement in the educational systems and
news media; examining the “state of the art” in the
field of Arab/Jewish relations and recommending/identifying
new areas requiring redress. A particular area of national priority
is increasing water resources and efficiency, including desalination
and importation. It also is the key field in which Israelis/Palestinians
have a common interest for mutual survival.
CCJS
would also like to expand several existing projects that were
formerly conducted by the undergraduate Judaic Studies Program
at UM: the “Florida Jewish Demography” study and annual
report; the ”Jewish Life in Florida” activities.
In
addition, the innovative field of Distance Learning will be
examined in terms of its relevance to contemporary Judaic studies.
