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Viewpointby Carice WitteIsraeli academia has been ahead ofthe curve in its commitment to Chinesestudies. Hebrew University in Jerusalemopened its first Chinese class in 1958,more than three decades beforeofficial relations began between thetwo countries were established. Today,Israeli universities have waiting lists ofIsraeli students from around the countrywishing to enroll in Chinese classes.There are workshops and seminarsheld on an almost weekly basis onissues related to China and Sino-Israelrelations, topics ranging from tradepolicy to re-assessments of Confuciantexts. In line with recent global trends,the Ministry of Education in Israel aimsto incorporate China into its educationalcurriculum; it is considering the nationalincorporation of Chinese languageinstruction into primary and middleschools. Already a pilot program has afew hundred children in grammar schooland junior high learning Chinese.Sino-Israel relations are enteringa new era of deeper ties andinterconnectedness in the politicaland economic arenas.However, such formalized institutionalstructures can only succeed in thelong-term if they are understood tosupport the interests of the greaterpublic. This is an opportune moment toreach beyond superficial perceptionsof one another’s political processand regional conflicts, and to gaintruer understanding of each other’sexistence by envisioning creative areasof cooperation between the two statesthrough academic interchange.The past five years have ushered ina strong wave of growing businessrelations between Israel and China.Now, as Israel turns 63, the coming fiveyears have the potential to bring thedawn of strong intellectual, academicand scholarly relations. Strengtheningties between Israel and China will helpnot only scholars, business people, andgovernment officials, but will extend tobroader regional peace and stability.This article was contributed byCarice Witte, the Founder/ExecutiveDirector of SIGNAL, along withAurora Carlson, SIGNAL’s Head ofStrategic Research.34 ASIAN JEWISH LIFE ISSUE 6