05-18-07

Media Release

Political Science Professor to Study Terrorism Threat in Israel

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University faculty member David Bernell will travel to Israel on May 26 to study the threat of terrorism in that country as part of a fellowship with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington D.C.

Bernell is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at OSU. His research areas are international relations and U.S. foreign policy. Bernell has a textbook coming out this year on U.S. foreign relations.

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank that seeks to educate Americans about the terrorist threat to democracies worldwide.

Bernell will join 44 other academics in going to Israel for two weeks to look at how that country deals with terrorism. The program consists of an intensive series of lectures by academics, diplomats and military officials from India, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and the United States as well as field trips to military, police and immigration facilities through Israel. Participants will learn about terrorism and how democratic states combat the threat.

“As someone who teaches international relations, I’m interested in getting an up-close look at one of the world’s most interesting, and troubled, areas,” Bernell said.