Baruch Kimmerling (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

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

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. Upon his death in 2007, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 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 ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n town of

Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, 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 European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

, a developmental disability which led him using on a wheelchair for the last three decades of his life. His family narrowly avoided the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

. 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; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, Kimmerling enrolled in the

in 1963, and obtained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. 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 List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly 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 ...

''. He held a chair at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. In August 1975, he married Diana Aidan, a

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n-born immigrant from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

who had moved to Israel from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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. Kimmerling was an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, and spoke out on issues related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. He was dubbed one of Israel's New Historians, and himself insisted that he was a patriotic

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, 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 Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. He was buried in the secular cemetery at Kibbutz Mishmarot, 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 Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, 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 an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

. 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 faculty ...

, 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 Am Oved ("A Working People") is an Israeli publishing house. History Am Oved was founded in 1942 by Berl Katznelson, who was its first editor in chief. It was created as an organ of the Histadrut, Israel's federation of Labor, with a goal of publ ...

, 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 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 and cultural anthropology, European history, politics, and film and media ...

, 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 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 atheists Israeli columnists Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli political scientists Israeli sociologists People from Turda People with cerebral palsy Romanian Jews Jewish atheists Jewish historians Romanian emigrants to Israel Writers on Zionism New Historians 20th-century Israeli historians Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni 20th-century political scientists Scientists with disabilities Israeli people with disabilities Scholars and academics with disabilities Writers with disabilities