Legal Studies Short Programs in Israel for Indian Students

Study of Law and Religion in Israel for Indian Students

Introduction 

Hindutva and Zionist might seem parallel parallel ideologies where both talks about a state preserving Sanskrit / Hebrew, a home to all Hindus / Jews wherever they live, rebuilding the 2000 year old temple, fighting terrorism, building homes for the Hindus / Jews in the areas where they used to live from centuries, and a lot of others areas. But some might argue that due to the demographics scenario in India, poor management of the Hindutva agenda by the Hindu organizations, and influence of Soviet and China in Indian politics have created friction in the internal functioning of Indian Right Wing where they lack a very robust research center and knowledge creation on the subject. These are few of the reasons why 'Hindu Nationalism' took around 60 years to get into the center stage. 

Rise of the Hindu Nationalistic Party and Importance of Study of Law

The current ruling party in India (which is considered a right wing Hindu Nationalist party) has got workforce broadly from two domains - 1) Hindu nationalistic cultural religious organization and 2) prominent lawyers (generally who become famous fighting for Hindu Right or against financial corruption arising from outdated left wing governance styled policies or other activities). There is disconnect between the two which can be bridged by focusing on the interconnections between Law and Religion. Here the courses developed by Israeli Universities can be of help when India lacks research center that focus in details on the issue of Law and Religion. 

Hence the need for studying Hindu law and understand how the old laws from the religion would fit into the new framework of the modern state is crucial. Israel is a perfect example that combines the old laws with the modern though and promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and modern thought. Hence education in Israel on Law & Religion would greatly benefit Indian students.

Holy book of Gita - The book of Law

There are many interpretation and discussion done my Mahatama Gandhi on Gita - a book that talks about how to decide on Dharma (duty) when in case of dilemma. The interpretation of Gita by Mahatama Gandhi is the same book that PM Narendra Modi visited US and met Obama during his visit. With the emergence of Hindu Nationalism this book now finds its place in the official curriculum in a few right wing states of India.

  

Laws in Hinduism and Current Implementations

Hindus don't have clearly delineated law like the Jewish Laws, and in the current framework religion and state are treated as different subjects. Although, there is great number of Hindus organizations which thinks that Hindu Identity needs to be preserved. Hinduism has a very vast literature which should be considered while making the laws for the state. This would become important in the time to come with rise of Hindu Nationalism which has already started with the emergence of Narendra Modi as the new PM of India.

An example of this is the ban on cow slaughter that happened in India (Feb-March 2015), subsidy in traveling to very old temples (states like MP), recitation of Holy book Gita, adding Yoga and 'Surya-Namashkar' in school curriculum, etc.

Law in Conflict Resolution for Hindu Heritage

Law becomes important for candidates who would like to understand more about Hindu Nationalism. Cases pertaining to Hindu Religion and state are also seen in areas like fighting in Supreme Course of India for Kashmiri Pundit Re-habitation, protection of Ram-Setu (the spiritual old bridge of Lord Ram which connects India to Lanka), making changes in Hindu marriage act, etc.

Lord Ram is the most revered diety in India, Mahatama Gandhi also revered Lord Ram and the last two words before his death is 'Ram'.

Currently, there is no place in India where research on religions and law is taken and hence studies in Israel would become an important phase for prospective students to handle the issues related to Lord Ram under current framework of 'Law of the state'.

List of areas that where is overlap between Law and Religion from an Indian perspective.

1. Uniform Civil Code - The current code applies strictly to Hindus and not to Muslims who have their own Muslim personal Law board. Indian Right wing has demanding a UCC.
2. Article 370 - This restricts re-habitation of Kashmiri Pundits in the Muslim dominated Kashmir - the right wing in demanding abrogation of this act.
3. Yoga
4. Gita as national book
5. Temple consensus vs. Constitution amendment - The temple of Ram in the holy city in Ayodhya was destroyed by Muslim invader Babar which Hindus want to rebuilt but are not able to.
6. Different law for revenues governing mosque and temples. Temple under government while mosques don't under govt

Bar Ilan University and Whittier College Study Abroad Program- June 7-July 2, 2015

Bar-Ilan offers a four week program that an Indian student could take to understand the Israeli angle of Law with religion or conflict. 

Whittier Law School and Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law provides a unique, four-week legal studies program, offered in two two-week semesters.

I have tried to draw parallels on what an Indian student can possible learn through this course.

•    Comparative Dispute Resolution   
•    Regulation, Politics & Law
•    Holocaust, Genocide and the Law - Laws for Hindus who faced genocide    
•    Religion and State - Hindutva and India
•    International Criminal Law - Applications on dealing with Terrorists in Kashmir which is internationalized by Pakistan
•    Jewish Law - Hindu Law

Conclusion

Based on the emerging world order, and new dynamics of India politics, study of Law in Israel becomes fascinating and there is great scope of learning from such programs for Indian Students.

Conflict Management & Negotiation Studies in Israel v3

Conflict Management & Negotiation Studies in Israel

Introduction

India and Israel have a common threat - Terrorism. It needs to be tackled strategically and in a scientific way. 

This article explores aspects of  'Conflict Management and Negotiation Studies' provided at an Israeli University. This article showcases the academic initiatives taken by the state of Israel to deal with such an intense threat. Also, this article explores the utility of the course as far as Indian students are concerned.

Firstly, the background of the prospective Indian candidate is important. He/She should be of Political Science or other similar backgrounds to understand the intensity involved in such courses. Israel has a history of dealing with complex challenges posed by it's neighborhood, similarly, India is placed in a troubled region with no neighboring country that can be called as stable. India has managed to work out diplomatic solutions to it's troubles but it had to indulged in conflicts as well & the years 1948, 1962, 1965, 1971 & 1999 are witness to that.

Thus, Conflict Management has become an important aspect of policy making of both these nations (India & Israel).

Current Developments

A recent example of excellent conflict management and negotiation skills has been shown by the Indian ruling party's (BJP) leader Mr. Ram Madhav. He was the one who handled the negotiations for government formation between PDP-BJP in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. It was unimaginable few days earlier as both these parties are ideologically opposite to each other. But, Mr. Ram Madhav made possible the impossible and formed the first coalition government of BJP in the troubled state. Now, BJP has shun it's earlier ways of doing politics and is seen as more aggressive party when it comes to politics in India.

There are some courses in India which talks about the area of conflict management but these courses lack the depth and international dimension which are needed to understand the complete picture. These courses are more influenced by Soviet era political ideas rather than present day Globalized politics. The courses are listed in [5-7]. Hence,to provide the larger picture and to offer the present day realities of the world, emphasis is put on Israeli courses rather than Indian.

When we review various literature on conflicts marring the Republic of India, no proper scientific approach has been taken and the story has been told to the masses depending on the ideology of the person writing the same. No emphasis has been given to the learning that India should take from past conflicts and how it should deal with similar situations in the future. It is a known fact that India lacks research and academic centers to specialize in this complex area of conflict management. The need is to have a state of the art center for the same which studies the past, analyze the present realities and subsequently comes up with future probable situations and there probable solutions.

Another complicated area of conflict which should be dealt with immediately has been the illegal immigration from the neighboring Muslim majority state of Bangladesh into India. It has threatened the whole demographics of the Indian states like Bengal and Assam. The result of this has been that there has been huge loss to the existing Indian population in these states as it has created loss of jobs and put huge strain on limited resources. As if this wasn't enough, the Government of India (GOI) hasn't been able to handle the situation since the ruling parties in these troubled states have been long indulging in vote bank politics resulting in political roadblocks for the GOI.

These are some of the 1000s of conflicts that India is marred with, and it is not at all doubted that all the conflicts in which India is involved is having more of an International flavor rather than domestic one. Thus, understanding global situations is important while dealing with conflicts within India. This course started by the Israeli University thus becomes an ideal one.

Similarities & Contrasts

 

British Rule had huge impact on both India and Israel. One of the systems inherited from British by both these countries has been the system of Law. Also, British rule have ensured that religious tensions remain forever in these two countries (both nations were divided on the grounds of religion). 

How this situation is handled or dealt with are totally different in these two countries, while India believes in the Ideas of Gandhi which emphasis on non-violence, Israel believes on more aggressive approach. Religiously speaking, while Israel believes in secularism and at the same time promotes Judaism as the religion of majority, in India, concept of Hindutva (way of living) is lost in the concept of secularism.

Right wing ideology don't find academic strength in India as the majority of top Universities in India are dominated by Left leaning people. Also, the right wing lobby of India lacks scientific and systematic approach, this is the area where Israel can help these lobbies to strengthen there hold in India.

Conflict Management & Negotiation Studies at Bar-Ilan University Israel

Though the conflict scenarios in the state of India and Israel are to a large extent similar in nature, India lacks a proper academic approach to deal with the situation. 

It is in this scenario that Bar-Ilian university takes the lead and can be a go to destination for many Indian students. For Courses launched by Bar-Ilan University, please check out the link : http://pconfl.biu.ac.il/en/node/1950

Courses are listed and how Indian students can benefit from the same in Indian context is shown. Courses are open for International Students and is taught in English:

1) From Identity-Based Conflict to Identity-Based Cooperation - This course talks about  ARIA model.

2) Religion and Conflict Resolution - This becomes important in Indian context considering huge diversities and religious tensions in India.

3) Collective Memory, Narrative and Conflict [2] - Indian security and political professional needs to learn how to understand and present the collective memory. The sad time of Jewish holocaust and the way of presenting in arts and literature would become an important case study. One should never forget the history while formulating policy for the future, this has been always kept in mind by the state of Israel and has strengthen it to great extent.

4) Alternative Dispute Resolution and Culture - Mediation, arbitration and justice can be important because most of the matters go to International Court of Justice (ICJ) and also mediation and arbitration occurs in many issues related to India and Pakistan.

 5) Field Work/Internship (3 credits, four weeks) at leading think tanks and practitioner - NGOs as well as guided excursions and meetings. 

References:

[1] http://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php?id=33&pt=20&pid=4&level=1&cPath=4&type=1&news=2307

[2] http://pconfl.biu.ac.il/en/node/1968

[3] http://pconfl.biu.ac.il/en/node/1971
[4] http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-pdp-bjp-government-in-jammu-and-kashmir-a-historic-opportunity-rss-mouthpiece-2065220
[5] http://www.conflict-resolution.org/sitebody/education/international/India.htm

[6] https://programslive.iimcal.ac.in/calendar/managerial-leadership-and-conflict-resolution-1

[7] http://jvbi.ac.in/
[8] http://www.jnu.ac.in/sis/cipod/Courses_files/MA-Introduction%20to%20Peace%20and%20Conflict%20Resolution.pdf
[9] http://www.idcindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=158
[10] http://www.arbitrationindia.org/htm/contact.htm
[11] http://www.idcindia.org/
[12] http://www.ipcs.org/
[13] http://www.mguniversity.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162&Itemid=115

Choosing the best MBA in Israel for Indian Student

Choosing the best MBA in Israel for Indian Student

Keyword Optimization

There themes which could be added in a para to get BIU in top 10 for below keywords along with the peer group, this could be done by making a page with title, description, headings and other aspects:

1. Startup Up Nation (Technion)
2. Make in India , example nanotech manufacturing - (make in India program at TAU)
3. Cyber warfare / Cyber security (TAU)
4. Green Energy - Water purification - Agriculture (Green MBA Haifa)

Companies where BIU can place Indian students with strong presence are:: Amdocs, Elbit, IBM, Goldman, Comverse, WorldQuant, etc

Figure: Ranking of BIU 

Indian students prefer USA as their destination due to the easier OPT and H1B resume that allows them the best talent to contribute in US economy[]. Although for some, the MBA abroad due to its cost makes it very tough to return back when the the post MBA earning doesn't increase in the proportion to offset the parity[]. 

Reference

[] http://www.forbes.com/sites/shawnoconnor/2015/02/19/overcome-stiff-b-school-competition-as-an-international-applicant/

[] http://redbus2us.com/is-studying-mba-in-usa-really-worth-it-what-if-i-do-not-make-more-money-in-job/