Bernard Avishai
Encyclopedia
Bernard Avishai, Contributing Editor of Harvard Business Review
, splits his time between Jerusalem and Wilmot, New Hampshire
. He has taught at Duke
, MIT, and was director of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the Interdisciplinary Center
, Herzliya, Israel. From 1998 to 2001 he was International Director of Intellectual Capital at KPMG
LLP. Before this he headed product development at Monitor Group
, with which he is still associated. From 1986 to 1991 he was technology editor of Harvard Business Review. A Guggenheim Fellow, Avishai holds a doctorate in political economy from the University of Toronto
. Before turning to management, he covered the Middle East as a journalist. He's written dozens of articles and commentaries for The New Yorker
, The New York Review of Books
, Harvard Business Review, Harper’s and many other publications. He is the author of three books on Israel, including the widely read The Tragedy of Zionism, and the recently published The Hebrew Republic.
, Quebec
in 1949. The son of the late Ben Shaicovitch, president of Canada's Zionist Men's Association during the 1950s, he volunteered for farm work on an Israeli collective during the Six Day War, an experience that affected many of his generation. He and his first wife, the artist Susan Avishai, moved to Israel in 1972 while he was still working on a doctorate in political economy for the University of Toronto, and began writing about Israel, the history of Zionism
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. After the October War of 1973, he published a series of searching political essays in The New York Review of Books, to which he contributed regularly until the mid-1980s. His reports anticipated the 1977 election that brought Menachem Begin
and the Israeli right to power for a generation.
Avishai earned his doctorate in 1978, writing mainly on the work of Hobbes and Marx under C. B. Macpherson
. He moved to Boston in 1980, where he taught humanities at MIT, and joined Dissent magazine’s editorial board. His first book, The Tragedy of Zionism, was published in 1985 to considerable controversy, since it suggested that Israel’s occupation was a symptom of a democracy plagued by anachronistic Zionist institutions and ideas. The controversy led to his being denied tenure at MIT, which he left for the Harvard Business School in 1986, where he took up a position as an editor of Harvard Business Review. He was by then the father of three children, Ben, Elisheva, and Tamar. In 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
for continuing work on the writer Arthur Koestler, which led to eventual articles in the New Yorker, Partisan Review
, and Salmagundi. His second book, "A New Israel", was published in 1990.
and Senior Fellow at the Sanford School of Public Policy
at Duke University
, where he taught courses of the new economy and public policy . He remains active as a consultant associated with Monitor Group, and has taught entrepreneurial business planning in Libya and other venues under their auspices. He divides his time between homes in Jerusalem and Wilmot, NH.
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
, splits his time between Jerusalem and Wilmot, New Hampshire
Wilmot, New Hampshire
Wilmot is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,358 at the 2010 census. Wilmot is home to Winslow State Park and a small part of Gile State Forest.-History:...
. He has taught at Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
, MIT, and was director of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the Interdisciplinary Center
Interdisciplinary Center
The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya is a private Israeli college located in Herzliya, Israel.The languages of instruction in the Interdisciplinary Center are Hebrew and English.-History:...
, Herzliya, Israel. From 1998 to 2001 he was International Director of Intellectual Capital at KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
LLP. Before this he headed product development at Monitor Group
Monitor Group
Monitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...
, with which he is still associated. From 1986 to 1991 he was technology editor of Harvard Business Review. A Guggenheim Fellow, Avishai holds a doctorate in political economy from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Before turning to management, he covered the Middle East as a journalist. He's written dozens of articles and commentaries for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
, Harvard Business Review, Harper’s and many other publications. He is the author of three books on Israel, including the widely read The Tragedy of Zionism, and the recently published The Hebrew Republic.
Early career
Bernard Avishai was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in 1949. The son of the late Ben Shaicovitch, president of Canada's Zionist Men's Association during the 1950s, he volunteered for farm work on an Israeli collective during the Six Day War, an experience that affected many of his generation. He and his first wife, the artist Susan Avishai, moved to Israel in 1972 while he was still working on a doctorate in political economy for the University of Toronto, and began writing about Israel, the history of Zionism
History of Zionism
Zionism as an organized movement is generally considered to have been fathered by Theodor Herzl in 1897; however the history of Zionism began earlier and related to Judaism and Jewish history...
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. After the October War of 1973, he published a series of searching political essays in The New York Review of Books, to which he contributed regularly until the mid-1980s. His reports anticipated the 1977 election that brought Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
and the Israeli right to power for a generation.
Avishai earned his doctorate in 1978, writing mainly on the work of Hobbes and Marx under C. B. Macpherson
C. B. Macpherson
Crawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
. He moved to Boston in 1980, where he taught humanities at MIT, and joined Dissent magazine’s editorial board. His first book, The Tragedy of Zionism, was published in 1985 to considerable controversy, since it suggested that Israel’s occupation was a symptom of a democracy plagued by anachronistic Zionist institutions and ideas. The controversy led to his being denied tenure at MIT, which he left for the Harvard Business School in 1986, where he took up a position as an editor of Harvard Business Review. He was by then the father of three children, Ben, Elisheva, and Tamar. In 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
for continuing work on the writer Arthur Koestler, which led to eventual articles in the New Yorker, Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
, and Salmagundi. His second book, "A New Israel", was published in 1990.
Business career
His years at HBR—where he became the magazine’s technology and strategy editor—changed the direction of his work considerably. He brought to publication dozens of articles on computer based manufacturing, the implications of burgeoning information networks, and globalization. While preparing to branch off into knowledge management consulting, he began to consider the implications of high technology for Israel’s economy and society. In 1991, his last at HBR, he published “Israel’s Future: Brainpower, High tech—and Peace” in the magazine, the first to predict Israel’s economic opportunity. Then he joined Monitor Group as its head of product development, and became International Director of Intellectual Capital at KPMG LLP in 1998. During these years in management consulting, he continued to contribute articles, mainly on Israeli politics and economy, to The New Yorker, The New York Times, The American Prospect, Fortune, and many other magazines.The Hebrew Republic
In 2002, he married Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, a professor of literature at the Hebrew University, and returned to Israel and teaching, becoming director of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program, at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. In 2005, he wrote the widely cited article “Saving Israel from Itself” in Harper’s Magazine, which led to his latest book, The Hebrew Republic. This book argues that Israel’s professional elites have made a success of globalization, and have become a natural constituency for a successful peace process; but that Israeli democracy’s continuing neglect of its Arab minority, now 1/5 of the country, and the special privileges accorded to Israel’s ultra Orthodox, also 1/5 of the country, is sowing the seeds of a disaster which only a settlement with the Palestinians can prevent. As he puts it in his book, “Israel cannot have an economy like Singapore’s through a nationalities war like Serbia’s.”Later life
Recently, Avishai was Visiting Professor at the Fuqua School of BusinessFuqua School of Business
The Fuqua School of Business is the business school of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It currently enrolls 1,340 students in degree-seeking programs...
and Senior Fellow at the Sanford School of Public Policy
Sanford School of Public Policy
The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, who established the university's Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs in 1971 as an interdisciplinary program geared toward training future leaders...
at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he taught courses of the new economy and public policy . He remains active as a consultant associated with Monitor Group, and has taught entrepreneurial business planning in Libya and other venues under their auspices. He divides his time between homes in Jerusalem and Wilmot, NH.
External links
- Getting to the promised land
- Bernard Avishai Dot Com Responses, mainly to rash opinions about Israel and its conflicts
- Video (with mp3 available) discussion on the Middle East with Avishai and Sam BahourSam BahourSam Bahour is a Palestinian-American businessman and entrepreneur who moved with his family to the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the 1990s following the signing of Oslo Accords to become involved in developing the economy of the future Palestinian state....
on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...