In this episode, we travel to the western end of ‘Asia’ (as conventionally defined) to discuss the internationalisation of higher education in the politically troubled context of Israel / Palestine. Our guest on this occasion is Dr. Annette Bamberger of Bar Ilan University in Israel. Annette has conducted comparative analysis of higher education internationalisation in many societies, but in this episode she and Ed primarily discuss the implications for Israeli university internationalisation (and especially ties with Asia) of the current war in Gaza.
Higher education internationalisation can take a variety of forms. In many Anglophone countries, for example, the commercialisation of universities has been accompanied by concerted efforts to expand recruitment of fee-paying Asian students. But as Annette explains, the goals of university internationalisation in Israel have tended to be less commercial and more strategic in nature - and this has influenced the evolution of the sector’s ties with Asian institutions.
As they do for many countries, China and India loom especially large in Israeli discussions of university internationalisation. After decades of hostility during the Cold War, when Chairman Mao called the Jewish state ‘a dagger pointing at the heart of the Arab people’, China’s ties with Israel have been steadily warming since diplomatic relations were established in the early 1990s. Today, Israeli universities host a number of Confucius Institutes, one has a branch campus in China, and research collaboration (especially in science and technology) has been flourishing. However, the current Gaza conflict has cast something of a shadow over ties with China, as Beijing has taken a more critical line towards Israel.
Relations with India, meanwhile, have continued to flourish regardless of the current conflict. In attempting to explain this, Annette points to ties of language (i.e. shared fluency in English) and a shared understanding of religion’s role in society. For example, Indian students and scholars tend to be readily accepting of features of Israeli life such as dietary restrictions. Rather more disturbingly, a sense of shared anti-Muslim animus may be a factor in making some Indian students - those influenced by the Hindutva ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi - favourably disposed towards Israel, and relatively untroubled by the strife in Gaza. This, together with interest in Israeli technology (and defence industries), is certainly a factor in reinforcing the BJP government’s interest in promoting stronger links to Israeli higher education.
What, though, of Israeli ties to universities elsewhere in Asia? In those Muslim-majority countries where ties had been improving in recent years, notably Turkey, the current conflict has caused a significant rupture. Elsewhere, prospects of developing closer partnerships have receded. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Thailand have emerged as significant new partners for overseas student exchanges (though less for research). Surveying Asia as a whole, however, and in a context where ties with European and North American partners seem under threat, India stands out as an especially promising land for internationalising Israeli universities.
Recommended readings:
Bamberger, A. (2018). ‘International Student Mobility in Israel’. International Higher Education, (96), 9–10. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2019.96.10774
Bamberger, A., & Kim, M. J. (2023). ‘The OECD’s influence on national higher education policies: internationalisation in Israel and South Korea’. Comparative Education, 59(4), 602–619. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2022.2147635 (deeper analysis about the internationalization policy; notes the rationale for turning towards Asia)
Bamberger, A., Yan, F., & Morris, P. (2023). ‘Adapting “internationalization” to integrate “troublesome” minorities: higher education policies towards Hong Kong and East Jerusalem’. Journal of Education Policy, 38(2), 254–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2021.2002419
This is a link to Annette’s PhD thesis, the last chapters of which detail the shift towards Asia:
