Paul Eidelberg (born 1928) is an American-Israeli political scientist, author and lecturer, and is the founder and president of The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy, with offices in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
Eidelberg served in the United States Air Force where he held the rank of first lieutenant. He received his doctoral degree at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
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 1976, Eidelberg wrote a trilogy on America’s founding fathers: ''The Philosophy of the American Constitution'' (), ''On the Silence of the Declaration of Independence'' (), and a ''Discourse on Statesmanship'' ().
In 1976 he joined the faculty of
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
, and holds adjunct positions at Otago University in New Zealand and The University of Georgia.
He has written several books on the Arab-Israel conflict and on Judaism. ''Demophrenia'' () analyses the mentality of Israel’s ruling elites. ''Jewish Statesmanship: Lest Israel Fall'' (), which has been translated into Hebrew and Russian, discusses what he sees as the flaws inherent in Israel’s system of governance and how they may be remedied. His work, ''A Jewish Philosophy of History'' (), investigates the world-historical events leading to the rebirth of Israel in 1948.
Policy and politics
Eidelberg is on the Advisory Council of the , which has published many of his policy papers. In addition to writing more than 1,000 articles for newspapers and scholarly journals in the U.S. and Israel, he is a weekly guest on The Tamar Yonah Show on Arutz Sheva radio.
In 2003, Eidelberg's Yamin Yisrael ran with
Herut – The National Movement
Herut – The National Movement ( he, חרות – התנועה הלאומית, ''Herut – HaTnu'a HaLeumit''), commonly known as just Herut (), was a minor right-wing political party in Israel. Though it saw itself as the ideological successor ...
for the Knesset elections of that year. The joint list fell 8,000 votes short of the electoral threshold. After the elections Herut and Yamin Yisrael parted ways.
In 2005, Yamin Yisrael merged with the
Jewish National Front
The Jewish National Front ( he, חֲזִית יְהוּדִית לְאוּמִּית, ''Hazit Yehudit LeUmit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym, Hayil (Hebrew: ), is a religious far-rightthe 2006 election. The party did not pass Israel's
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
. Yamin Yisrael and the JNF have since parted ways due to political and ideological differences.
Eidelberg has a weekly column in the Jewish Press, a leading American Orthodox Jewish newspaper.
Published works
Eidelberg has published numerous papers and articles. Some of his published books include:
*''The fixation of Israel's elites on "land for peace" : five interpretations'', Shaare Tikvah : Ariel Center for Policy Research, 2007.
*''On the silence of the Declaration of independence'', Amherst :
University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts a ...
, 1976.
*''Our culture 'left' or 'right' : litterateurs confront nihilism'' (with Will Morrisey), E. Mellen Press, 1992, Lewiston, N.Y., 1992.
*'Jewish statesmanship : lest Israel fall'', University Press of America, Lanham, Md. 2002
*''A Jewish philosophy of history : Israel's degradation and redemption'' Lightcatcher Books, 2007 Springdale, Ark.
*''A discourse on statesmanship; the design and transformation of the American polity.''
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...
, Urbana, 1974
*''Judaic man : toward a reconstruction of Western civilization'', Caslon Co., Middletown, NJ, 1996.
*''Jerusalem vs. Athens : in quest of a general theory of existence'' University Press of America, Lanham, Md. 1983
*''Beyond the secular mind : a Jewish response to the problems of modernity'' Greenwood Press, New York, 1989