Gelber, Yoav 1943-

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Gelber, Yoav 1943-

PERSONAL:

Born September 25, 1943, in Tel Aviv, Israel; son of Emmanuel and Carmela Gelber; married September 28, 1968; wife's name Ruth; children: four. Education: Hebrew University, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1968, M.A. (summa cum laude), 1974, Ph.D., 1977.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Historian and educator. Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheba, Israel, instructor in Jewish history, 1975-77; University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, department of land of Israel studies, associate professor, 1983-87, professor, 1987—, chair, 1999-2001, head of Strochlitz Institute for Research and Study of the Holocaust, 1985-95, head of Herzl Institute for Research and Study of Zionism, 1987—, chair of school of history, 2000-02. Member of Academic Committee, Jabotinsky Institute, 1990—; member of Academic Council, Oranim Academic College, 2001—.

Visiting professor at Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1993; Knox College, Galesburg, IL, 1996; and the Lipinsky Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 1997. Military service: Served as career officer, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 1961-74, primarily with the paratroopers, and in Officers' Training School; achieved rank of lieutenant colonel; Agranat State Commission of Inquiry, academic and military assistant, Yom Kippur War, 1973-75.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Izhak Ben-Zvi Prize for research in the history of the Land of Israel, 1986; Arthur Ruppin Prize for research in Jewish history, 1990; Izhak Sade Prize for military literature, 1993.

WRITINGS:

IN HEBREW

Toldot ha-hitnadvut, Yad Yitshak Ben-Tsevi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1979.

Ha-hitnadvut la-tsava ha-Briti be-Milhemet ha-'Olam ha-Sheniyah, Merkaz ha-hasbarah, Sherut hapirsumim (Jerusalem, Israel), 1984.

Lamah perku et ha-Palmah: ha-koah ha-tseva'i bama'avar mi-yishuv li-medinah, Shoken (Jerusalem, Israel), 1986.

Gar'in le-tsava 'Ivri sadir: terumatam shel yots'e ha-Tsava ha-Briti la-hakamat Tsahal, Yad Yitshak Ben-Tsevi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1986.

Meha-ma'avak neged ha-Britim le-Milhemet ha-'Atsma'ut: yom 'iyun, Merkaz le-toldot koah hamagen ha-"Haganah," Yad Tabenkin (Ramat Ef'al, Israel), 1989.

"Metsadah": ha-haganah 'al Erets-Yisra'el be-Milhemet ha-'olam ha-sheniyah, Universitat of Bar-Ilan (Ramat-Gan, Israel), 1990.

Moledet hadashah: 'aliyat Yehude merkaz Eropah u-kelitatam, 1933-1948, Yad Yitshak Ben-Tsevi: Mekhon Le'o Bek (Jerusalem, Israel), 1990.

(Editor) Hani Ziv, Bene keshet: me'ah shenot ma'avak, hamishim shenot Tsahal, Misrad habitahon (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1998.

Komemiyut ve-Nakbah: Yisra'el, ha-Falestinim u-medinot 'Arav, 1948, Devir (Or Yehuda, Israel), 2004.

Historyah, zikaron ve-ta'amulah: ha-distsiplinah hahistorit ba-'olam uva-arets, 'Am 'oved (Tel Aviv, Israel), 2007.

IN ENGLISH

The Emergence of a Jewish Army: The Veterans of the British Army in the IDF, Yad-Ihak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1986.

Why the Palmach Was Disbanded? The Jewish Military Force in the Transition from a Yishuv to a State, 1947-1949, Schocken (Tel-Aviv, Israel), 1986.

(Editor, with Charlotte Wardi and Asher Cohen) Comprehending the Holocaust: Historical and Literary Research, P. Lang (New York, NY), 1988.

Masada: The Defense of Palestine in the Second World War, Bar-Ilan University Press (Ramat Gan, Israel), 1990.

A New Homeland: The Immigration from Central Europe and Its Absorption in Eretz Israel, 1933-1948, Leo Baeck Institute/Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1990.

(Editor, with Asher Cohen, Yehoyakim Cochavi, and Carl Alpert) Dapim: Studies on the Shoah, P. Lang (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor, with Asher Cohen and Yehoyakim Cochavi) The Shoah and the War, P. Lang (New York, NY), 1992.

Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, Frank Cass (Portland, OR), 1997.

Palestine, 1948: War, Escape, and the Emergence of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, Sussex Academic Press (Portland, OR), 2001.

Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953: Cooperation, Conspiracy, or Collusion?, Sussex Academic Press (Portland, OR), 2004.

Independence versus Nakbah: The Arab-Israeli War of 1948, Zmora-Bitan (Tel Aviv, Israel), 2004.

"THE HISTORY OF ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE" SERIES

The History of Israeli Intelligence, Part I: Growing a Fleur-de-Lis: The Intelligence Services of the Jewish Yishuv in Palestine, 1918-1947, two volumes, Ministry of Defense Publications (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1992.

The History of Israeli Intelligence, Part III: 1949-1953, Volumes I-III (classified edition), Israel Defense Forces (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1999.

The History of Israeli Intelligence, Part II: Budding a Fleur-de-Lis: Israeli Intelligence in the War of Independence, 1947-1949, two volumes, Ministry of Defense Publications (Tel Aviv, Israel), 2001.

"JEWISH PALESTINIAN VOLUNTEERING IN THE BRITISH ARMY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR" SERIES

Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army during the Second World War, Volume 1: Volunteering and Its Role in the Zionist Party, 1939-1942, Yad-Izhak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1979.

Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army during the Second World War, Volume 2: The Struggle for a Jewish Army, Yad-Izhak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1981.

Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army during the Second World War, Volume 3: The Standard Bearers—The Mission of the Volunteers to the Jewish People, Yad-Izhak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1983.

Jewish Palestinian Volunteering in the British Army during the Second World War, Volume 4: Jewish Volunteers in British Units, Yad-Izhak Ben-Zvi (Jerusalem, Israel), 1984.

OTHER

(With Walter Goldstern) Vertreibung und Emigration deutschsprachiger Ingenieure nach Palastina, 1933-1945 (title means "Emigration of German-Speaking Engineers to Palestine, 1933-1945"), VDI-Verlag (Dusseldorf, Germany), 1988.

SIDELIGHTS:

Yoav Gelber was born on September 25, 1943, in Tel Aviv, Israel. He attended the Hebrew University, earning both his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees summa cum laude, completing his education at the university with a doctorate in 1977. Gelber served as a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 1961 to 1974, primarily in the paratroopers, and in the Officers' Training School, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. In addition, Gelber served on the Agranat State Commission of Inquiry as an academic and military assistant during the Yom Kippur War, between 1973 and 1975. He began his academic career as a member of the faculty of Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel, where he served as an instructor in Jewish history from 1975 to 1977. He eventually took a position at the University of Haifa in Haifa, Israel, serving in the department of the land of Israel studies. Gelber joined the faculty as an associate professor in 1983, achieving the rank of full professor in 1987. He also served as department chair from 1999 to 2001. At the University of Haifa, Gelber was the head of the Strochlitz Institute for Research and Study of the Holocaust from 1985 to 1995, and the head of the Herzl Institute for Research and Study of Zionism in 1987. He also served as the chair of the school of history from 2000 to 2002. Over the course of his career, Gelber has won a number of awards, including the Izhak Ben-Zvi Prize for research in the history of the Land of Israel in 1986, the Arthur Ruppin Prize for research in Jewish history in 1990, and the Izhak Sade Prize for military literature in 1993. He is the author of numerous books, both in Hebrew and English, about Israel and Palestine, war, and military intelligence.

In Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, Gelber looks at how Emir 'Abdallah of Transjordan and the Zionist leaders made contact from 1921-1948, leading up to and lasting until just after World War II. In researching the book, he delved into a wealth of Jewish source material, making the most of access to the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem, Israel, that provide much of the general information he was seeking. Over the course of the book, Gelber traces the development of the Jewish-Transjordanian relationship until the spark of the Arab-Israeli War. According to Gelber, a strong relationship was formed between the two groups, which led to many of the odd, inexplicable occurrences between them later on. The relationship's focus also turned toward politics and security, as opposed to the casual connection they shared prior to the Arab-Israeli War. Raad Alkadiri, in a review for the Middle East Quarterly, stated that "Gelber does not provide a complete picture of the conduct and motives of the many other parties who contributed to Palestine's fate."

Palestine, 1948: War, Escape, and the Emergence of the Palestinian Refugee Problem analyzes the Arab-Israeli War that was most instrumental in the Jewish fight for a homeland. The battle itself ultimately represented what would be considered the most successful war that the Jews fought against the Arabs. Gelber's effort is the result of access to a number of new documents from Israel, Britain, and the United States, which were recently made available to researchers. A reviewer for the Middle East Quarterly declared that "there have been flashier histories of Israel's war of independence and longer ones, but none as well informed, more sensible, and more compelling than Gelber's magisterial account."

Gelber's Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953: Cooperation, Conspiracy, or Collusion? addresses the division of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states and its refugees who had nowhere to go afterwards. The book serves as a rebuttal against the claim made by Avi Shlaim, a professor at Oxford University and "new historian," who asserts that the division of Palestine was partially the fault of King Abdullah I of Transjordan and Jewish leaders, who worked together to press for this solution as a means of providing the Jews with their own land. Throughout the book, Gelber tracks the Israeli-Jordanian relationship, up until it began to dissolve in the wake of the attack on the West Bank village of Qibya. Eventually, Jordanian alliances were changed, as the group returned to the coalition made up of Arab nations. Suzanne Gershowitz, in a review for the Middle East Quarterly, stated that the book "sheds light not only on an important historical episode, but it has historiographic significance as well." She concluded that "careful historical research such as Gelber's grounds the debate about the early years of the Palestinian refugee crisis." Marc Lynch, in a review for the Middle East Journal, pointed out that "while Gelber has tirelessly mined Israeli and British archives, the book suffers from an absence of sources written in Arabic. Like his rivals among the New Historians, Gelber uses British reports as a proxy source for the intrigues of the Hashemite court, but this is hardly a full solution."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, July 1, 1997, B. Harris, review of Jewish-Transjor-danian Relations, 1921-48; January 1, 2002, B. Harris, review of Palestine, 1948: War, Escape, and the Emergence of the Palestine Refugee Problem, p. 943; March 1, 2005, B. Harris, Jr., review of Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953: Cooperation, Conspiracy, or Collusion?, p. 1285.

International History Review, September 1, 1998, Ritchie Ovendale, review of Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, p. 618.

International Journal of Middle East Studies, November 1, 2002, Charles D. Smith, review of Palestine, 1948, p. 756; November 1, 2005, Miriam Joyce, review of Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953, p. 630.

Journal of Palestine Studies, March 22, 1998, Mary C. Wilson, review of Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, p. 110.

Middle East, October 1, 2001, Fred Rhodes, review of Palestine, 1948, p. 41.

Middle East Journal, January 1, 1998, John Creed, review of Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, p. 126; March 22, 2005, Marc Lynch, review of Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953, p. 329.

Middle East Quarterly, September 1, 1998, Raad Alkadiri, review of Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48; January 1, 2002, review of Palestine, 1948, p. 83; March 22, 2006, Suzanne Gershowitz, review of Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953, p. 82.

Reference & Research Book News, May 1, 1997, review of Jewish-Transjordanian Relations, 1921-48, p. 27; August 1, 2001, review of Palestine, 1948, p. 40; November 1, 2004, review of Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948-1953, p. 45.