Description:7:30PM lecture preceded by a 7PM reception welcoming Dr. Ayalon to Charleston

What is left of the political left in Israel? “Not much,” one might say, given that the two main Zionist-left parties, Labor and Meretz, once holding nearly half the seats in Knesset, won less than 10% of them in March’s elections. The downfall of the Israeli left is undeniable. The reasons for it, however, are more complex than a simple “most Israelis are on the right” explanation. In this talk, Dr. Yaron Ayalon will explore the myriad factors that have led to the collapse of the political left in Israel, what this might mean for Israeli democracy, and possible ways for the Zionist left to reinvent itself and once again become relevant in Israeli political discourse.

Yaron Ayalon joined the College of Charleston in July 2019 as Associate Professor of Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies and the Director of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program.