UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies will host the 34th annual conference of the Association for Israel Studies June 25-27. More than 300 academics are expected to attend.

This year’s conference title is “Israel at 70: Challenges and Opportunities.” It will include sessions on subjects such as “Revisionism and the ‘Eastern Jews,’” “The Impact of War on the Israeli Psyche” and “Zionism and the Question of Jewish Whiteness.”

It is the first time this conference is being held in Berkeley, a town more often in the news for anti-Israel events.

“The fact that Berkeley is hosting the annual AIS conference is a testament to the leadership position this campus has achieved since the program on Israel studies was launched just six and a half years ago,” the institute’s founding director, Kenneth Bamberger, said in a press release.

Some events will be open to the public, including a keynote address on June 25 at 6 p.m. from University of Haifa President Ron Robin, a UC Berkeley graduate, about free speech on college campuses, at Booth Auditorium  (reception at 5:15 p.m.); and a June 26 concert and conversation with Israeli musicians Amos Hoffman and the Noam Lemesh Quartet at 6:30 p.m. at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. To RSVP for either event, email [email protected].

The Association for Israel Studies is an international academic organization focused on the scholarly study of Israel.