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| Doron Ben‑Atar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Doron Ben‑Atar |
| Birth date | 1957 |
| Birth place | Haifa, Israel |
| Occupation | Historian, author, playwright, professor |
| Employer | Fordham University |
| Education | Columbia University (PhD), Haifa University (BA) |
| Notable works | The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel’s Soul, Power and Powerlessness, Coexistence and Conflict |
Doron Ben‑Atar is an Israeli‑American historian, author, playwright, and professor whose work addresses modern Israel, Zionism, British Mandate for Palestine, and transatlantic political history. He has taught at Fordham University and published scholarship and popular works that intersect debates involving Ben‑Gurion, Herzl, Yitzhak Rabin, and broader narratives about Middle East peace process, Palestinian National Movement, and Anglo‑Jewish relations. Ben‑Atar’s career spans academic monographs, opinion journalism, theatrical plays, and public commentary involving institutions such as Columbia University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv University.
Ben‑Atar was born in Haifa during the period following the Suez Crisis era and was raised amid cultural and political currents shaped by figures like David Ben‑Gurion and events such as the Six-Day War. He studied at University of Haifa before moving to the United States to pursue graduate work at Columbia University, where he completed a Ph.D. focusing on modern British Empire administration in Palestine and transnational connections involving Zionist Organization actors. His formative years connected him to debates around leaders such as Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, and institutional frameworks exemplified by the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Ben‑Atar joined the faculty at Fordham University in the Bronx and developed courses on modern European history including the histories of England, France, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire as they related to Zionism. His scholarship situates figures such as Arthur Balfour and Winston Churchill alongside organizations like the British Mandate for Palestine administration and movements including the Irgun and Haganah. He has participated in conferences at institutions such as Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale University, Princeton University, Harvard University, and Columbia University, and contributed chapters to edited volumes published with presses connected to Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Ben‑Atar has supervised doctoral research intersecting topics on Ottoman history, Jewish Agency, and diaspora connections involving American Jewish Committee and American Zionist Movement affiliates.
Ben‑Atar authored monographs addressing the political and diplomatic history of Israel and the British Empire in Palestine, engaging archival materials from repositories such as the National Archives (UK), Israel State Archives, and Yad Vashem. His books discuss policymakers including David Ben‑Gurion, Golda Meir, and Moshe Dayan and analyze episodes like the Balfour Declaration, the UN Partition Plan for Palestine, and post‑1948 diplomatic crises such as the Suez Crisis (1956). He has written on Jewish‑American relations involving organizations like the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and personalities such as Henry Kissinger and Jimmy Carter. Ben‑Atar’s essays have appeared in journals and newspapers connected to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Haaretz, and The Jerusalem Post, where he debated intellectuals including Noam Chomsky, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert.
Ben‑Atar’s public positions have intersected with controversies involving figures such as Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman, and movements like Likud and Israeli Labor Party. He has criticized policies tied to settlement expansion in the West Bank, referencing political debates that include Oslo Accords, Camp David Accords, and actors like Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas. His commentary prompted responses from commentators affiliated with institutions such as The New York Post and Fox News, and drew attention from scholars at Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, and American Enterprise Institute. Discussions of Ben‑Atar’s views have engaged legal and civil society actors including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Israeli NGOs like B’Tselem.
Ben‑Atar has appeared on broadcast outlets including NPR, BBC, CNN, and CSPAN, and has participated in panels at locations such as The New School, City University of New York, and Columbia University. He has delivered public lectures at cultural venues including 92nd Street Y, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and universities such as Princeton University and Georgetown University. His plays have been staged in theaters associated with the Off‑Broadway scene and he has engaged with literary festivals and forums run by institutions like Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center.
Ben‑Atar has been recognized with prizes and fellowships from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Philosophical Society, and foundations linked to Columbia University and Fordham University. His scholarship received support from archival grants connected to the British Library and awards from scholarly associations like the American Historical Association and the Association for Jewish Studies. His theatrical work earned nominations in regional arts competitions and commendations from cultural institutions including New York Foundation for the Arts.
Category:Israeli historians Category:American historians Category:Fordham University faculty