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Israel - Summer

Tel Aviv & Ramat Gan, Israel

July 1 – July 26, 2012

Bar-Ilan University

Students reside in the modern and beautiful cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city which sits along the Mediterranean coastline with stunning beaches, history, culture and nightlife for which it is known as “The City That Never Sleeps.” Students travel by private bus to classes at the prestigious Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan. The Israel program provides a one-of-a-kind cultural experience, including optional tours to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Nazareth, Eilat, the lost city of Petra in Jordan, and Cairo and its famous pyramids.

Program Dates: July 1 – July 26, 2012
Program Director: Professor Neil H. Cogan: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Host University: Bar-Ilan University
Location: Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, Israel
Tuition: $4,500 for 4 weeks (max 6 units) [includes legal and cultural tours]
$3,000 for 2 weeks (max 3 units) [includes legal and cultural tours]

For the ninth consecutive year, Whittier Law School and Bar-Ilan University School of Law are proud to announce their Israel Summer Abroad 2011 program. No other ABA-accredited law program has taken so many students to study law in Israel as our program.

This unique program is the only one of its kind — the longest-running and largest ABA-accredited summer program taking law students to Israel.

The program will focus on courses relevant to the region. In addition to unique course work, the Israel program provides a one-of-a-kind cultural experience, including a FREE ALL-DAY GUIDED TOUR OF JERUSALEM AND ITS HOLY SITES. Optional tours are also available to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Nazareth, Eilat, the lost city of Petra in Jordan, and Cairo and its pyramids.

Legal tours include visits with a Supreme Court Justice in Jerusalem, trial court in Tel Aviv; and meeting with lawyers at the largest law firm in Israel and the Middle East.
A private bus will be at our disposal to take us from the Program’s hotels in Tel Aviv to classes at Bar-Ilan University School of Law and all legal tours.

Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University, located in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, is Israel’s largest academic community of students, scientists and staff (32,000 in total). It seeks to produce students of moral and intellectual aptitude and students who adopt the highest standards of excellence in scientific and academic research. The unique Bar-Ilan formula blends tradition with modern technologies and scholarship. Bar-Ilan University is a peerless congregation of scientists and scholars toiling to synthesize the ancient and the modern, the sacred and the material, the spiritual and the scientific.

For further information about Bar-Ilan University and its law school please see: http://www.biu.ac.il/index_eng.shtml.

Courses

Capitalism, Environment and the Law (1 unit) Professor Oren Perez

The seminar will explore the tension between the environmental ethos and capitalist ethos. We will start by examining what are the constitutive elements of these competing discourses and explore whether the tension between capitalism and the environment can be resolved through the use of principles such as sustainable development, precautionary action, innovation and growth. In this context we will also explore the transition of Israel from an economy dominated by socialist ideas to a highly capitalistic one and will also examine how this transition was challenged by the tent protest that took place in the summer of 2011. In the second part of the seminar we will examine how the tension between capitalism and the environment is manifested in varied legal topics such as the liability of multinational enterprises, the new corporate social responsibility movement, transnational private regulation, models of civic participation and the climate change negotiations.

Comparative Dispute Resolution Processes: Models from the United States and Israel (1 unit) Professor Leslie Salzman

This seminar will provide an introduction to dispute resolution processes used in the United States and Israel. The course will begin with an examination of the foundational processes of arbitration, negotiation, and mediation, as well as the evaluative, facilitative, transformative and narrative approaches to mediation. We will compare the various methods and models to understand their purpose and design, and to think critically about the ways in which the various models serve (or detract from) our notions of fairness and justice. We will also explore some more unique models of dispute resolution utilized in Israel, including the use of religious courts to resolve marital disputes and the traditional Arab reconciliation process of Sulha to resolve intra-communal disputes. In thinking about the particular challenges of conflict resolution in Israel, we will also consider the impact of cultural diversity on dispute resolution processes.

The course will be taught through class discussions, films and simulated exercises that will provide students with basic negotiation and mediation skills and will enable them to better understand the appropriateness, efficacy, and fairness of the various dispute resolution processes and models.

Freedoms and Rights in Israel, I and II (1 unit each) Professor Neil H. Cogan

This seminar is about civil and human rights in the State of Israel as understood through the laws of Israel’s K’nesset, particularly the Basic Laws, and the decisions of the Israel Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice. The coverage is, in part, comparable to that in Constitutional Law courses taught in the United States, that is, the parallels to procedural and substantive due process, equal protection, speech, and free exercise of religion; and the coverage is in part not comparable, that is, Israel’s non-parallels, its protection of human dignity and labor. The course book discusses and critiques Israel’s protection for civil and human rights from legal sources that it has inherited as well as enacted, and from sources such as the nature of Israeli democracy and culture. The Court’s reliance on sources that some judges and scholars outside of Israel would consider non-legal provides an opportunity for doing comparative law and examining justice and fairness. The course applies the material to current legal issues in Israel, including the tent protests, the ultra-Orthodox segregated buses, and the separation fence.

International Business Transactions (1 unit each) Professor Arie Reich

For the summer program, this seminar will deal with the national (Israeli, European and American) and international law that govern the relationship between individuals engaged in international business transactions. The course will analyze the special problems related to such transaction, in particular international sales of goods, and the special legal solutions offered to solve these problems. We will present the ancient and modern lex mercatoria and how it developed without the involvement of state legislators or courts, but through the customs of merchants around the world involved in international trade. We will also study initiatives to harmonize the various national laws that apply to international business transactions and in particular the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), and how it has been implemented in Israel and, differently, in the United States. The course will revolve around a series of simulated drafting and negotiation exercises performed by the students, each of which focuses on one of the central aspects of the international sale transaction.

The Regulatory State (1 unit) Professor Jacob Nussim

The constant and recurring interactions among individuals in society require legal control. The most frequently used legal instrument for this purpose is regulation. This seminar will examine the substance and practice of regulation in society drawing on examples from the American and Israeli legal systems. Applying economic thinking and methodology, this course will first explore the normative justifications for legal intervention by the state – i.e., controlling individual behavior. Next, the main legal instruments for such intervention (regulation, taxation, tort liability, and property rights) will be presented and confronted, yielding criteria for choosing the regulatory mechanism over other legal instruments. Lastly, political theories of regulation will be presented, and their legal application will be assessed.

Externship (variable credits)

Lawyering Skills (one credit)

Previous legal tours have included

  • A private visit with the Honorable Justice Aharon Barak, the then President of the Supreme Court of the State of Israel in Jerusalem. The visit was preceded by a tour of the Supreme Court building.
  • Visit to the Tel Aviv District Trial Court and talk by a judge of that Court.
  • Visit to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament.
  • Visit to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
  • Visit to Yad Vashem, the Israel Holocaust Museum.
  • A tour of the Israeli Stock Exchange.
  • Visits with various law firms in Israel and presentations by their partners and associates.
  • Talks by spokespersons from Israeli Civil Rights organizations, the Israeli Defense Force, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
  • Visit to trauma center for victims of terrorism.
  • View of and talk given by an expert on the security barrier in Jerusalem.
  • Talk by the Israeli Law Center, a law firm that specializes in civil suits against terrorist organizations and others on behalf of victims.

Cultural Tours (Optional)

An important part of the program is the opportunity to experience the magic of Israel and its environs. Previous students have included many for whom this was their first visit to the Holy Land. Classes end on Thursday morning, so students have time to travel over a long weekend.

In conjunction with our partners, Israel Experts Ltd., the program provides optional tours to other parts of Israel, including Galilee, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Eilat, and Jerusalem. Students in past years also traveled to Jordan, including the lost city of Petra, to the Sinai Desert in Egypt, Cairo, and Cyprus.

Rooms and Services

Classes are held in the Faculty of Law main building and annex. The administrative office of the program is on the second floor of the main building, adjacent to the dean’s office. The library and carrels are in the main building on the first and sub-first floors. Computers with internet access are in the sub-first floor of the library. Classrooms and restrooms are accessible to the disabled.

Housing Information

Israel Summer Abroad Program has arranged housing accommodations to be available through IsraelExperts for program participants on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. Although most students choose to reside in such housing, it is not a requirement in order for you to participate in the academic program. Regardless of whether you obtain housing from IsraelExperts or obtain housing on your own, the Program assumes no responsibility for housing.

IsraelExperts also provide arrangements for a private bus to take students to/from classes at Bar-Ilan University and to all legal excursions. The private bus will leave from nearby the location of the arranged housing.

Accommodations through IsraelExperts

To view housing options arranged by our tour provider, IsraelExperts, please see:

http://www.israelexperts.com/whittier.html

Questions for IsraelExperts may be sent by email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Access to Computers & Internet Service

It is strongly recommended for students to bring their own notebook/laptop computer, particularly for those courses that require papers or written assignments.

Grading

Students are required to attend all classes and participate actively in all classes. All students receive a course grade based on class participation and a required paper or exam administered at the end of each course. Seminar classes have limited enrollment and require regular class participation. For seminars, students may be required to make group or individual presentations, and typically the most significant component of the final grade is determined by a research paper of approximately 10-15 pages per unit of credit to be determined by the professor.

All Whittier Summer Abroad Courses are graded by using the same grading system used for the on-campus program. We do not offer courses on a Pass/No Pass basis except for units earned for Externships, Independent Study projects, and clinical or extern units. Professors report numerical grades based on a 4.0 point system as follows:

  • 3.6 – 4.0 (A)
  • 3.0 – 3.4 (B)
  • 2.5 – 2.9(C )
  • 2.3 – 2.4(C-)
  • 1.8 – 2.2 (D)
  • 1.7 (F)

Reporting of Grades

Whittier Law School will report all grades once they are reported and finalized by the professors. Professors submit grades no later than six weeks after the end of the program. Non-Whittier students must inquire with their home school for policies regarding accepting courses and transferring credit for courses taken at Whittier law school’s summer programs. Whether credit will be accepted and how grades will be reported at the home school is entirely at the discretion of each student’s home school.

Grading Normalization

For more information regarding Whittier Law School’s grading normalization policies, please see Whittier Law School’s Policies and Procedures.

Visiting Students

The acceptance of any credit or grade for courses completed in a Whittier Summer Program by any law school other than Whittier Law School is subject to determination by the home school.

Admissions

The program is open to law students who have completed their first year of full or part time study by the time the program begins. Law graduates may be admitted as auditors. All students, except Whittier students, must submit a letter of good standing from the Dean or Registrar of their school.

The application deadline is March 1, 2012. Early applications are encouraged as program enrollment may be limited. Applications received after the March 1 deadline will be considered only if space is available.

You may request an application from the Law School or print the form from this site. For your convenience, you may submit your application(s) and the required fee(s) by mail, email, fax, or in person to:

Office of International Relations
Whittier Law School
3333 Harbor Boulevard
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Fax: (714) 444-0855
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Attn: Jennifer Maniscalco

A complete application consists of a completed application form, and a non-refundable application fee of $100, payable by Visa, MasterCard or personal check. (Checks should be made payable to Whittier Law School. The application fee must accompany the application at the time of submission.)

Participant File

  • A complete file consists of all of the following:
  1. Completed application form
  2. A letter of good standing from the Registrar of your law school (not required of Whittier Law School students). Students on Academic Probation are discouraged from applying, but will be considered on a case by case basis
  3. Copy of your passport [should be valid for the duration of your study abroad]
  4. Signed Acceptance Letter
  5. Signed Participation Agreement
  6. Signed Tuition Agreement

Residency Requirements

It is unlikely that participation in foreign summer programs may be used to accelerate graduation. Whittier Law students interested in acceleration should consult with the Student Affairs office to review this issue in light of Standard 305, Interpretation 4. Non-Whittier students should consult with their home school.

Course Registration

You will be required to select your courses no later than the March 1 application deadline. For some programs, there are several course choices. In order for the Program Director to know whether all courses will be adequately subscribed, we require early registration. For your convenience, we have included on each program website course descriptions and a course plan or syllabus for each course to enable you to make your selections. This information is critical for planning the operation of our programs so that we are certain to offer courses that interest you. In the event that a course for which you have enrolled is undersubscribed, we will notify you promptly so that you can consider alternative choices. Courses with insufficient enrollment will be cancelled.

Add/Drop Period: March 2 – 9, 2012

We must make early commitments of financial resources to operate our summer programs, including faculty assignments. Therefore, we will offer a very limited opportunity to add or drop a class after the registration deadline. Please consider carefully your course selections. You may change your registration until March 9 without consequence. Any request to add or drop a class(es) after March 9 will require an additional administrative fee of $25 per course.

Deadlines & Payment Schedule

Application Deadline: March 1, 2012. Applications received after this date will be considered only if space is available.

First Tuition Deposit Deadline: March 15, 2012. $200 Deposit Due

Final Tuition Balance & Housing Payment Deadline: April 16, 2012. (If you are applying for financial aid, please advise us.)

Last day to withdraw with no tuition obligation: April 16, 2012.

Requests to withdraw must be made in writing, and submitted or postmarked on or before April 16, 2012. Notices of withdrawal received after April 16 will not be considered for tuition/fee relief. Any program participant who withdraws after April 16 will be responsible for the full price of tuition and/or other non-refundable fees.

Failure to Comply With Deadlines

PLEASE NOTE: Failure to comply with a deadline will not automatically withdraw you from a program(s) to which you have applied and been admitted. Your failure to meet a defined deadline may subject you to an additional administrative fee. To request exemption from a deadline and avoid a fee, please contact the Office of International Relations.

Financial Aid

Projected Expenses based on figures from 2011 (may vary depending upon when you purchase your ticket, the carrier, and other variables.)

Personal Expenses $ 1,320
Housing $ 850
Transportation $ 1,750
Tuition & Fees $ 4,475
Total $ 8,935

Please see Study Abroad – Financial Aid

Withdrawal Policy

Admitted students are automatically enrolled in the program(s) and counted for purposes of program plans upon submitting the signed acceptance letter. Should a student decide to withdraw from a program(s), s/he must submit in writing a “Letter of Declaration” setting forth an intention to withdraw no later than the close of business on April 16, 2012. For timely requests for withdrawal, all appropriate tuition and/or fees will be refunded within 10 business days of receipt of a letter of withdrawal. Failure to withdraw by April 16 will subject a student to tuition obligations as well as other fees the Law School has advanced on his or her behalf.

Please be advised that the Program Directors make early commitments to secure housing, purchase materials and pay for other program expenses based upon the number of participants determined shortly after the application deadline. Additionally, the Law School makes non-refundable financial commitments to faculty, program activities, and foreign hosts based upon the anticipated student tuition revenue at the time of registration. Therefore, it will not be possible for Whittier Law School to accept requests for refunds and/or relief of commitment to pay tuition or housing fees after the April 16, 2012 deadline to withdraw. A student who withdraws from a program after that date will be liable for all fees and tuition.

Please be advised that once you withdraw from a summer program, there will be a $50 fee to re-activate your application and reserve your space in the program in the event that you subsequently change your mind. We understand that a few of you may need to change your summer plans, and we are ready to assist you as best we can. We wish you all a wonderful and productive summer.

Notices of withdrawal received after April 16, 2012 will not be considered for refund or for tuition fee relief. Any program participant who withdraws after April 16, 2012 will be responsible for the full price of tuition and/or other non-refundable fees.

Withdrawal after the April 16 Deadline

Whittier Law School will not refund tuition or housing fees or grant relief from these financial obligations under any circumstance after the April 16 deadline, not even in the event that a student withdraws for reasons or misfortunes beyond his or her control, e.g., academic disqualification, financial aid disqualification, medical emergencies, or any other unforeseen circumstances, etc. Therefore, it is very important that each student weigh carefully his or her decision to participate in one of Whittier Law School’s Study Abroad Programs. Since no tuition or housing fee will be refunded under any circumstance after April 16, students are encouraged to consider Tuition Insurance. You may inquire with the Jennifer Maniscalco for additional information regarding Tuition Insurance.

Changes in Course Offerings or Other Significant Aspects of the Program by Whittier Law School

Whittier Law School reserves the right to cancel or alter the Study Abroad Programs. The programs, or specific courses advertised, are subject to cancellation if the enrollment is insufficient or if a State Department travel warning has been issued for the country or area where the program will take place. Any cancellation or material alteration of the program will be promptly communicated to all enrolled participants. In the event that Whittier Law School decides to cancel, significantly change the course offerings, or make other material changes to a program, students will be notified and given the opportunity to withdraw without financial penalty. All tuition and all fees will be promptly returned. In the event of program cancellation, the Associate Dean for International Relations will assist displaced registrants to find suitable alternative summer programs.

Students on Academic Notice

Students typically learn their GPA in June after all grades have been submitted and published. It is particularly important that you carefully weigh whether you should apply to a Summer Abroad program if there is an apparent risk of academic disqualification. After April 16, 2012, no one is excused from financial commitments, even when disqualified and even when student loans are cancelled.

Program Enrollees Who Subsequently Learn That They Are Academically Disqualified

Please be advised that if you fail to withdraw by the withdrawal deadline and subsequently learn that you are academically disqualified, we will hold you responsible for tuition fees and any other fees we cannot recover should you decide not to attend the summer abroad program. Therefore, we invite your participation. You will be welcome to take courses, participate in enrichment opportunities, and fully participate in all program activities.

Please note, however, that due to your disqualification you will be ineligible to earn law school units or credit for your participation in the courses you take abroad. If you have concerns about your plans to go abroad, please contact the Office of the Associate Dean for International Relations.

Program Cancellation by Whittier Law School

Whittier Law School reserves the right to cancel or alter the Study Abroad Programs. The programs are subject to cancellation if the enrollment is insufficient or if a State Department travel warning has been issued for the country or area where the program will take place. Any cancellation or material alteration of the program will be promptly communicated to all applicants. In the event that Whittier Law School cancels a Study Abroad Program or makes a material alteration to the academic curriculum of any program, we will promptly return all tuition and all fees. In the event of cancellation, the Associate Dean for International Relations will assist all displaced registrants to find suitable alternative summer programs.

Medical Insurance

Whittier Law School assumes no responsibility for medical care or costs, and students may be required to show proof of health insurance that covers medical expenses incurred abroad. You are advised to check with your medical insurance provider to see if your current medical insurance covers emergency medical care while overseas. If it does not, you are strongly encouraged to consider buying supplemental medical and hospital coverage for the period of your stay overseas. You might inquire with your medical provider, insurance agent or travel agent.

Additionally, students are strongly encouraged to obtain medical evacuation insurance. Such insurance may be obtained from various providers including, but not limited to, the following possible providers: Travel Assistance International, (800) 821.2828 , http://www.travelassistance.com; Global Travel Insurance, (800) 232.9145 , http://www.globaltravelinsurance.com; and Travel Insurance Services, (800) 937.1387 , http://www.travelinsure.com; The Gateway Plans http://www.gatewayplans.com; Wallach & Company Inc. http://www.wallach.com; BETiNS, (866) 552-8834 , http://www.betins.com.

Administrative Staff

Professor Neil H. Cogan is the stateside director responsible for planning and overall administration of the program. Professor Cogan is a well-known civil rights scholar and has written extensively on constitutional and civil rights legislation. He has lived, studied and worked in Israel on many occasions and enjoys sharing its wonders with students. He will also serve as the on-site director during the program. You can reach him directly at (714) 444-4141, ext. 216; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Calvin D. Peeler is the Associate Dean for International Relations, and oversees all Summer Abroad Programs. You can reach him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); ext. 111.

For general inquiries, you may also contact Jennifer Maniscalco at (714) 444-4141 × 111; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).