Baruch Kimmerling (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ברוך קימרלינג; 16 October 1939 – 20 May 2007) was an Israeli scholar and professor of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. Upon his death in 2007, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' described him as "the first academic to use scholarship to reexamine the founding tenets of Zionism and the Israeli State". Though a sociologist by training, Kimmerling was associated with the New Historians, a group of Israeli scholars who question the official narrative of Israel's creation.

Biography

Baruch Kimmerling was born in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

n town of

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europ ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1939. He was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

, a developmental disability which would confine him to a wheelchair for the last three decades of his life. His family narrowly avoided the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

by escaping from Turda in a Romani wagon in 1944, after rumors of the imminent deportation of the Jews began circulating. During the journey, the wagon was strafed by a German plane. When the Kimmerling family returned to Turda after the war had ended, they discovered their property had gone. The family immigrated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1952, and took up residence in a ma'abara (immigrants' camp), Sha'ar ha-Aliya, before moving to a small apartment on the outskirts of

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

. Despite his significant disabilities, which caused Kimmerling to experience motor difficulties and speech problems, his parents raised him as a typical child and encouraged him to strive high. Exempt from conscription into the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, Kimmerling enrolled in the

in 1963, and obtained his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in 1973 as a sociologist. Kimmerling was known for his work analyzing pre-1948 Jewish settlement in Palestine in terms of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...

. He lectured widely and wrote nine books and hundreds of essays. He also wrote numerous newspaper articles, in venues such as ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

''. He held a chair at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. In August 1975, he married Diana Aidan, a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

n-born immigrant from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

who had moved to Israel from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

in 1967, and was a doctoral student under Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz. She gave up her professional career to become a homemaker. The couple had three children: Shira (born 1976), Eli (born 1978), and Naama (born 1981). Kimmerling was an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, and spoke out on issues related to the

Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

. He was dubbed one of Israel's New Historians, and himself insisted that he was a patriotic

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

dedicated to celebrating the diversities of cultures within Israel, and to the ideals of a secular state. Kimmerling was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and lamented the inability of Jews and Arabs to "separate religion from nationality." Unlike some critics of Israeli policy, he publicly opposed the proposed boycott of Israeli academics by the Association of University Teachers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, arguing that it would "weaken the last public sphere of free thinking and free speech in Israel." Kimmerling died at the age of 67 after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He was buried in the secular cemetery at

Kibbutz Mishmarot Mishmarot () is a kibbutz in northern Israel near the town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur. Located about 50 m above sea level and close to the villages Ein Shemer and Kfar Glickson, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In it ...

, leaving his wife, Diana Aidan, and three children.

Major publications

# ''Zionism and Territory: The Socioterritorial Dimensions of Zionist Politics''. Berkeley: University of California, Institute of International Studies, 1983, 289 pages. # ''Zionism and Economy''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Company, 1983, 169 pages. # ''The Interrupted System: Israeli Civilians in War and Routine Times''. New Brunswick and London: Transaction Books, 1985. 29 pages# (As editor) ''The Israeli State and Society: Boundaries and Frontiers''. Albany:

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

, 1989, 330 pages # Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal, ''Palestinians: The Making of a People''. New York: Free Press, 1993, 396 pages. Paperback enlarged edition:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

. Italian version: La Nuova Italia Editrice, 1994. Enlarged Edition, 2002 age 512 Enlarged and revised Hebrew version: Keter, 1998, 300 pages. Arabic: Ramallah, 2001. # ''The End of Ashkenazi Hegemony''. Jerusalem: Keter, 2001, 124 pages (Hebrew). # ''The Invention and Decline of Israeliness: State, Culture and Military in Israel''. Los Angeles and Berkeley:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, 2001, 268 pages. # ''Politicide: Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians''. London: Verso, 2003. # Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal, ''The Palestinian People: A History''. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

, 2003, 604 pages. # ''Immigrants, Settlers, Natives: Israel Between Plurality of Cultures and Cultural Wars''. Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 2004 (Hebrew, 630 pages). # ''Sociology of Politics: A Reader''. Binyamina: The Open University, 2005 (Hebrew) # ''Shuli bamerkaz: Sippur hayyim shel sotziolog tzibburi'' (''Marginal in the Center: The Autobiography of a Public Sociologist''), Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 2007, 252 pages, (Hebrew) # ''Clash of Identities: Explorations in Israeli and Palestinian Societies'', New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fie ...

, 2008, 431 pages.
at the Center: The Life Story of a Public Sociologist''
Translated from the Hebrew by Diana Kimmerling, Oxford and New York:

Berghahn Books Berghahn Books is a New York and Oxford-based publisher of scholarly books and academic journals in the humanities and social sciences, with a special focus on social & cultural anthropology, European history, politics, and film & media s ...

, 2012, 258 pages.

References

External links

Sociologist Baruch Kimmerling, 'new historian,' dies at age 67
Obituary in ''

'', 21 May 2007
Controversial critic of Israel's origins and its role in the Middle East
Obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 26 June 2007
Israeli sociologist who strongly criticised the state’s policies
Obituary in ''

'', 14 June 2007
A life less ordinary
Interview by Dalia Karpel in ''

'', 19 October 2006
Baruch Kimmerling's publications
including abstracts {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimmerling, Baruch 1939 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in Israel Israeli columnists Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli political scientists Israeli sociologists People from Turda People with cerebral palsy Romanian Jews Jewish historians Romanian emigrants to Israel Writers on Zionism New Historians 20th-century Israeli historians Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni 20th-century political scientists