Can Academics Change the World?

Moshe Shokeid is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Tel Aviv University. His major publications include Children of Circumstances (1988, Cornell), A Gay Synagogue in New York (1995, Columbia), and Three Jewish Journeys through an Anthropologist's Lens (2009, Academic Studies Press).

“Shokeid often implies that academia’s moral voice is more unified, coherent, and enlightened than the forces outside the ivory tower, a perspective one might take issue with. But the greater value of this book lies in the deep questions it forces us to ask of ourselves.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute“…a contribution to the understanding of contemporary Israeli society and an example of academic, not least anthropological, engagement with public affairs” • Ulf Hannerz, University of Stockholm“This book is interesting at least in three ways: it gives insight into the fraught political/ideological situation in Israel; it shows how academics can make a difference (and where they fail to do so); and it gives a portrait of a prominent Israeli anthropologist’s intellectual and political itinerary.” • Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroduction: On MemoryChapter 1. A Personal NoteChapter 2. The First Palestinian IntifadaChapter 3.Intellectuals/Academics Engagement in the Public ForumChapter 4. Israeli Academics’ Political Involvement Prior to the First IntifadaChapter 5. The Founding of AD KANChapter 6. Opening the Sealed Box of AD KANChapter 7. The Working of a Protest OrganizationChapter 8. The Media CoverageChapter 9. The Moving Scene from Afar and NearChapter 10. The Senate DebacleChapter 11. Raising the PLO Presence on CampusChapter 12. Towards the Last StageChapter 13. The Aftermath: When Prophecy FailsChapter 14. Listening to AD KAN VeteransChapter 15. Past and Present Israeli Protestors ReconsideredChapter 16. Israeli and other Critics’ Commentary on the Continuing OccupationChapter 17. Israeli Society 2018: An Anthropological PerspectiveEpilogueReferencesIndex