Center for Israel Studies

The Center for Israel Studies was founded in 2013 as an organization based in Vienna, the cradle of Zionism. It is dedicated to stimulating interest and enhancing the knowledge of modern Israel in its amplitude and diversity. It intends to attract scholars, students and the general public.

The center will host monthly public lectures on issues concerning Israeli history, society and culture, as well as films, artistic performances, and music. Prominent scholars from all disciplines in academia, international experts, as well as artists, authors, and public figures will illuminate nuances of the contemporary, dynamic, and polarized Israeli scene. The lectures are designed to serve as a high-level forum for the exchange of perspectives and will take place at the Diplomatic Academy and the University of Vienna.

We are committed to broadening the understanding of Israeli society and its culture amongst the general Austrian/German audience.

NEWS:

TONIGHT – 19 May 2026

18:00h

Invitation – Einladung – הַזמָנָה

The Institute for Political Science, CeSCoS,

University of Vienna and the Center for

Israel Studies Vienna, supported by the New

Israel Fund and the Future Funds of the

Republic of Austria, invite you to an evening

lecture and discussion with

Prof. Dr. Yael Hashiloni-Dolev

“Choosing What to See: Collective Trauma

and Denial in Wartime Israel.”

Welcome and Moderator:

Prof. Dr. Barbara Prainsack, University of Vienna, Director of CeSCoS

Date: 19 May 2026, 18:00h

Venue: Main Building, University of Vienna, Erika Weinzierl Saal

(Stiege 1, 1st Floor), Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien

The lecture examines a specific phenomenon in Israeli liberal discourse: the silencing of people who

publicly condemn Israeli actions in Gaza by others who themselves recognise that these actions are wrong. Combining autobiographical experience with analysis of online discourse and activist testimony, the talk portrays a “sorry, but” mechanism. The “sorry” acknowledges moral awareness of wrongdoing, while the “but” denies the implications. A key driver of this dynamic is the collective trauma following October 7th. Trauma leads to emotional withdrawal, limits engagement, and prevents acknowledging the suffering of others. Trauma and denial thus reinforce each other.

Yael Hashiloni-Dolev is Full Professor of Sociology at the

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She has been the university President’s advisor on gender equity (2023-2025), Co-president of the Society for the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science (2018-2021), a member of the National Council on Bioethics (2013-2021), and a member of the Committee for the Promotion of Gender Equity at the Council for Higher Education. She works at the complex interface of sociology, family, bioethics, health and illness with gender and repro-technologies, and recently edited, with Sharon Orshalimy,

the collection: “A Body of One’s Own: Medicine, Sex and Gender” (2025) published by Lambda, Open Uni. 2025.

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October 2023

Statement of the Center for Israel Studies Vienna

The Center for Israel Studies Vienna stands in solidarity with the people of Israel against the vicious aggression of Hamas and its allies. As our Board member Doron Rabinovici writes, „This is the moment to take a clear stand. Whoever seeks to relativize the horrific deeds of Hamas by pointing to the Israeli occupation defends mass murderers.“

On behalf of the Board: Professor Mitchell G. Ash, President

Center for Israel Studies

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