Joel Beinin
Encyclopedia
Joel Beinin is Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History at Stanford University
. From 2006 to 2008 he served as Director of Middle East Studies and Professor of History at the American University in Cairo
.
, where he met his future wife. He studied Arabic
at university, and received his B.A.
from Princeton University
in 1970. He spent the summer of 1969 studying Arabic at the American University in Cairo
. Intending to move to Israel
permanently, he joined other members of Hashomer Hatzair
in living and working at Kibbutz Lahav
. There, on encountering attitudes that struck him as being contemptuous of Palestinians, he gradually became disenchanted with his early ideals. He returned to the United States in 1973, and took his M.A. from Harvard University
in 1974, and, after working in auto plants in Detroit, obtained his A.M.L.S. and Ph.D.
from the University of Michigan
in 1978 and 1982, respectively. He has also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
.
. Though initially interested in the rise of an Arab Working class
in Mandatory Palestine, under his thesis supervisor's advice, he changed the topic of his doctoral thesis to a history of the Egyptian labor movement since 1936. That Ph.D. thesis was combined with one covering an earlier period of Egyptian labor history by his friend and colleague Zachary Lockman and resulted in the publication of Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882–1954 (1989). Among his later work is a study of the Jewish communities of modern Egypt which led to his major historical study, The Dispersion Of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, And The Formation Of A Modern Diaspora (1998), which examines the diversity of Egyptian Jewish identities in Egypt and in the diaspora
. He has engaged in fieldwork to collect oral reports among many Egyptian Jewish communities
dispersed throughout the world after the Suez War
of 1956, among them the Karaites of San Francisco.
In 2002 he served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
.
He served as Director of Graduate Studies in the History Department at Stanford University
in 2002-04 and again in 2005-06, but then took a leave of absence from that institution in order to take up a position as Director of Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo. At the time he said that Stanford was institutionally uninterested in the study and teaching of the modern Middle East.
Beinin has written four books and co-edited three others and published many scholarly articles.
He is also active as a commentator on issues regarding Israel
, Palestine
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He has been a contributing editor to Middle East Report http://www.stanford.edu/~beinin/ and has published articles in, among others, The Nation
and Le Monde diplomatique
.
In 2006 Beinin sued conservative writer David Horowitz
for copyright infringement after Horowitz used Beinin's image on the cover of a booklet entitled "Campus Support for Terrorism." In 2008, the case ended in an out of court settlement in which Horowitz donated $27,500 to charity but admitted no liability.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. From 2006 to 2008 he served as Director of Middle East Studies and Professor of History at the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
.
Education
Beinin was raised as a Zionist in an American Jewish family. On graduating from high school, he spent six months working on a kibbutzKibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
, where he met his future wife. He studied Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
at university, and received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1970. He spent the summer of 1969 studying Arabic at the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
. Intending to move to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
permanently, he joined other members of Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
in living and working at Kibbutz Lahav
Lahav
Lahav is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located around 20 km north of Beersheba and covering 33,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 384....
. There, on encountering attitudes that struck him as being contemptuous of Palestinians, he gradually became disenchanted with his early ideals. He returned to the United States in 1973, and took his M.A. from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1974, and, after working in auto plants in Detroit, obtained his A.M.L.S. and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1978 and 1982, respectively. He has also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
Research and Career
Beinin's research and writing focuses on workers, peasants, and minorities in the modern Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Though initially interested in the rise of an Arab Working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
in Mandatory Palestine, under his thesis supervisor's advice, he changed the topic of his doctoral thesis to a history of the Egyptian labor movement since 1936. That Ph.D. thesis was combined with one covering an earlier period of Egyptian labor history by his friend and colleague Zachary Lockman and resulted in the publication of Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882–1954 (1989). Among his later work is a study of the Jewish communities of modern Egypt which led to his major historical study, The Dispersion Of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, And The Formation Of A Modern Diaspora (1998), which examines the diversity of Egyptian Jewish identities in Egypt and in the diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. He has engaged in fieldwork to collect oral reports among many Egyptian Jewish communities
History of the Jews in Egypt
Egyptian Jews constitute both one of the oldest and youngest Jewish communities in the world. While no exact census exists, the Jewish population of Egypt was estimated at fewer than a hundred in 2004, down from between 75,000 and 80,000 in 1922. The historic core of the indigenous community...
dispersed throughout the world after the Suez War
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
of 1956, among them the Karaites of San Francisco.
In 2002 he served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples...
.
He served as Director of Graduate Studies in the History Department at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 2002-04 and again in 2005-06, but then took a leave of absence from that institution in order to take up a position as Director of Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo. At the time he said that Stanford was institutionally uninterested in the study and teaching of the modern Middle East.
Beinin has written four books and co-edited three others and published many scholarly articles.
He is also active as a commentator on issues regarding Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He has been a contributing editor to Middle East Report http://www.stanford.edu/~beinin/ and has published articles in, among others, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
and Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
.
In 2006 Beinin sued conservative writer David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
for copyright infringement after Horowitz used Beinin's image on the cover of a booklet entitled "Campus Support for Terrorism." In 2008, the case ended in an out of court settlement in which Horowitz donated $27,500 to charity but admitted no liability.
External links
- Joel Beinin's web page at Stanford University
- "War Leads To Suit: Beinin Sues Horowitz" on Scholars for Peace in the Middle EastScholars for Peace in the Middle EastScholars for Peace in the Middle East is an independent non-profit international community network of academic scholars, which according to its founder, conducts "pro-Israel advocacy"...
- Video: Joel Beinin - United States Foreign Policy and the Palestine-Israel Conflict (August 17, 2007), interview.
- "Joel Beinin Doesn’t Deserve Tenure" critical article in The Stanford ReviewThe Stanford ReviewThe Stanford Review is a libertarian student-run newspaper that serves Stanford University in Stanford, California. It was founded in 1987 by Peter Thiel and Norman Book. It is published and distributed without charge to the Stanford community periodically during the academic year.-Notable former...
- 2006 radio interview with Dr. Joel Beinin
- A Professor Is Criticized for Saying the U.S. Should Bring Bin Laden Before An International Tribunal Instead of Bombing Afghanistan: A Debate On the Role of the University in Wartime A radio interview on Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
November 26, 2001