Allies in Context: Exploring the U.S.–Israel Relationship is a four-part learning series that offers participants an accessible look at how the U.S.–Israel relationship has taken shape over the past century. Tracing its evolution from early American Jewish engagement with the Zionist movement in Europe and Palestine to the close—and sometimes fraught—partnership that has defined the two countries’ relations since the 1950s, the series explores the key forces that shaped this transnational connection.
Each session considers how shifting politics, social movements, and regional developments in both nations and across the Middle East have influenced U.S.–Israel relations. By placing major events and debates within their broader historical and geopolitical contexts, participants gain the tools to understand how this relationship was built, how it has changed, and the questions that may shape its future.
Each session considers how shifting politics, social movements, and regional developments in both nations and across the Middle East have influenced U.S.–Israel relations. By placing major events and debates within their broader historical and geopolitical contexts, participants gain the tools to understand how this relationship was built, how it has changed, and the questions that may shape its future.
Session Schedule
Session 1
friday, march 6
American Jewry, Zionism, and the early foundations of a transnational U.S.–Israel relationship before 1948
Session 2
friday, march 13
How the U.S.–Israel partnership took shape from 1948 to 1973, shaped by Cold War pressures and key regional conflicts
Session 3
friday, march 20
The rise of strategic cooperation and diplomacy from Camp David through Oslo, and the formation of the “special relationship”
Session 4
friday, march 27
Post-9/11 regional shifts, U.S. political changes, and the forces shaping today’s U.S.–Israel relationship, including Gaza
Hosted by The Dupree
The Dupree Conference and Education Center is a Sandy Springs hub for high-quality Jewish and Israel education programs that empower adults to learn, connect, act, and thrive. We offer programs that inspire curiosity, deepen community, and spark action rooted in Jewish values and identity.
Location: 6120 Powers Ferry Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30339
Cost: $50 for the full series (registration is for all four sessions)
Recommended attendance: Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions; however, it is fine if someone misses up to one session.
Coffee provided at each session
The Dupree Conference and Education Center is a Sandy Springs hub for high-quality Jewish and Israel education programs that empower adults to learn, connect, act, and thrive. We offer programs that inspire curiosity, deepen community, and spark action rooted in Jewish values and identity.
Location: 6120 Powers Ferry Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30339
Cost: $50 for the full series (registration is for all four sessions)
Recommended attendance: Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions; however, it is fine if someone misses up to one session.
Coffee provided at each session
About Eli Sperling, Ph.D.
Eli Sperling has traveled and conducted research extensively throughout the Middle East, spending significant time in Israel, Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula. He holds an MA in Middle Eastern history and received his PhD in September 2019 from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 2012–2020, Eli served as the Senior Academic Research Coordinator at Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel and taught as a guest Professor in Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies from 2019–2020. From June 2020-July 2022, Eli served as a Postdoctoral Associate in Duke University’s Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and currently serves as the Israel Institute Teaching Fellow in the University of Georgia’s Department of International Affairs.
In partnership with:
