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The influence of the security circumstances of Israel and its point of departure as a nation for democracy in Israel will be the focus of this class. The exigencies of war put tremendous pressure on liberal-democratic ideals and institutions, and very few democracies have endured such long-term conflict as Israel has. How has Israel managed to combine security with liberty without sacrificing one to the other? How might Israel democracy better serve its multi-ethnic constituencies? What is it about the nature of Israel’s institutions, its history, and its culture that enables it to persevere as a liberal democracy? With authoritarianism on the rise in the world – will Israel be able to resist it? We have planned a variety of units to look at these facets of Israeli democracy – its strengths, challenges, and vulnerabilities.