Post-Doctoral Student from Shandong
Wang Zhehui (王喆慧) graduated from the Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies at Shandong University with a Ph.D. in June 2023. Several months later, in September, he arrived in Tel Aviv where he began his post-doctoral fellowship at the SDU-TAU Joint Institute.
Not long after he arrived, Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in the early hours of October 7th. He remembers being awakened by the blaring sirens that morning and soon received the news that Israel was under attack. This, however, did not deter him from fully engaging with his post-doctoral studies and experiencing Israel. Under the guidance of Professor Uriya Shavit, co-Head of the Joint Institute, Wang Zhehui contributed to an article with Sara Zalcberg on the ultra-Orthodox in Israel during Covid-19 that will be published as part of the Institute's edited volume. Additionally, he has worked on an article that explores China’s attitude, position and policy toward Israel, particularly after October 7th. Beyond these projects, he has continued his research on Vatican-Israel relations, collecting documents from the Israel State Archives. Following Prof. Shavit's and Prof. Youde Fu’s suggestion, he is planning to interview some ultra-Orthodox rabbis to gain their perspective on the relationship between Judaism and Catholicism.
In addition to his academic work, he has attended a series of lectures and field trips organized by Prof. Shavit and Dr. Carl Yonker. These activities not only gave him the chance to meet prominent political and religious figures in Israel, such as former Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor and Rabbi Israeli Meir Hirsch, the leader of Neturei Karta, but also allowed him to visit many historical sites and museums. Experiences that have broadened his horizons. Reflecting on his time here, he states, "The experience here has been invaluable not only for my future academic career but also for gaining a deeper understanding of Israeli society and the Jewish religion. As the old Chinese saying goes, “The knowledge gained from books is always superficial; to thoroughly understand, one must practice personally” (纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行).
