Emeriti

Office: 5311

Yaacov Vertzberger is Professor Emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Research areas: International Relations Theory, Southeast Asia, Political Economy, Political Psychology

He was a leading figure in political psychology and foreign policy decision-making, particularly in analyzing how cognitive processes—perception, information processing, and risk evaluation—shaped leaders’ choices. He also pioneered the integration of East and South Asian area studies into international relations theory. His research explored historical analogy in decision-making, collective political trauma, and misperception in international conflict. Through his teaching and scholarship, Vertzberger helped establish political psychology as a central field within Israeli international relations.

Selected works:

Misperceptions In Foreign Policymaking: The Sino-indian Conflict 1959-1962 (Westview, 1984)
The World in Their Minds: Information Processing, Cognition, and Perception in Foreign Policy Decision Making (Stanford University Press, 1993)
Risk Taking and Decision Making: Foreign Military Intervention Decisions (Stanford University Press, 1998)

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Prof. Emanuel Adler

msadlere@mscc.huji.ac.il

Emanuel Adler is a political scientist and Prof Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and moved to the University of Toronto, where he held the Andrea & Charles Bronfman Chair in Israel Studies.

He was a foundational figure in the development of constructivist theory in international relations, particularly noted for his work on epistemic communities, social learning, and security communities. Adler earned his PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, after completing BA and MA degrees in history and international relations at the Hebrew University. During his time in Israel, he mentored a generation of scholars, helping to embed Israeli work in wider international-theoretical debates. He also served as editor of International Organization and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Selected works:

Communitarian International Relations: The Epistemic Foundations of International Relations (Routledge, 2005)
Security Communities (Cambridge University Press, 1998, with Michael Barnett)
The Power of Ideology: The Quest for Technological Autonomy in Argentina and Brazil (University of California Press, 1987)

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Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov

Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov (z”l) was Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he held the Giancarlo Elia Valori Chair for the Study of Peace and Regional Cooperation.

A leading scholar of conflict resolution, he founded and directed the Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution, the first academic center of its kind in Israel. His research focused on international conflict management, negotiation, decision-making, and the Arab–Israeli conflict. Bar-Siman-Tov also headed the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and served in senior academic positions at the Hebrew University, including Director of the Leonard Davis Institute of International Relations. He was widely recognized as a pioneer in the study of peace and conflict resolution in Israel and received the Israeli Association for International Studies’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Selected works:

The Israeli-Egyptian War of Attrition 1969-1970: A Case Study of Limited Local War (Columbia, 1980)
Israel and the Peace Process, 1977–1982: In Search of Legitimacy for Peace (SUNY Press, 1994)
Justice and Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Routledge, 2014)

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Prof. Uri Bialer

msbialer@gmail.com

Uri Bialer is an Israeli diplomatic historian and Professor Emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he held the Maurice B. Hexter Chair.

A graduate of the department’s first MA class, he went on to earn his PhD at the London School of Economics. Bialer later served as head of the IR department and as dean of students. His research focused on Israel’s foreign policy, British strategy in the Middle East, the role of religion in international affairs, and energy diplomacy. He also held visiting appointments at Oxford, Harvard, and the University of Chicago, strengthening the international reach of Israeli scholarship.

Selected works:

Cross on the Star of David: The Christian World in Israel’s Foreign Policy, 1948–1967 (Indiana University Press, 2005)
Oil and the Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1948–1963 (Macmillan/St Antony’s, 1999)
Between East and West: Israel’s Foreign Policy Orientation, 1948–1956 (Cambridge University Press, 1990)

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Prof. Reymond Cohen

msrcohen@mscc.huji.ac.il

Raymond Cohen (z"l) was Professor in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1976 until his retirement, serving as department chair and later as director of the Leonard Davis Institute.

A pioneer in the study of diplomacy, he became internationally known for exploring how culture, language, and norms shape negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution. His research ranged from cross-cultural communication to the diplomacy of non-Western societies, and in later years to the role of religion and the management of holy places in Jerusalem. Admired for his intellectual breadth and rigor, Cohen trained generations of students and played a central role in advancing diplomatic studies.
Selected works:

Culture and Conflict in Egyptian–Israeli Relations: A Dialogue of the Deaf (Indiana University Press, 1990)
Negotiating Across Cultures: International Communication in an Interdependent World (USIP, 1997)
Saving the Holy Sepulchre: How Rival Christians Came Together to Rescue Their Holiest Shrine (Oxford University Press, 2008)

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Prof. Yehoshafat Harkabi

Yehoshafat Harkabi (z“l) was Professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he also served as Director of the Leonard Davis Institute of International Relations.

A former Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence, he combined practical experience with academic expertise in Arab politics, Islamic civilization, and the Arab–Israeli conflict. Renowned for his command of Arabic and deep knowledge of the region, he was a leading authority on strategy, intelligence, and regional security. Harkabi also held academic appointments abroad, including at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, and played a major role in shaping the study of international relations in Israel.

Selected works:

Arab Attitudes to Israel (Israel Universities Press, 1972/ Transaction, 1974)
Palestinian Covenant and Its Meaning, (Vallentine Mitchell, 1979)
Israel’s Fateful Hour (Harper & Row, 1988)

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Prof. Joseph Heller

msjh@mscc.huji.ac.il

Joseph (Yosef) Heller is Professor Emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Born in Tel Aviv, he studied general and Jewish history at the Hebrew University, completing his BA and MA with distinction.

He earned his PhD at the London School of Economics and subsequently joined the Hebrew University faculty, becoming senior lecturer by the late 1970s. He held visiting appointments at Yale and the University of London. His research interests included the history of Zionism and the Israeli state, the Arab–Israeli conflict, the great powers and the Middle East, and international relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Selected works:

The Birth of Israel, 1945–1949: Ben-Gurion and His Critics (University of Florida, 2000)
The Stern Gang: Ideology, Politics and Terror, 1940–1949 (Routledge, 1995)
British Policy towards the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1914 (Frank Cass, 1983)

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Prof. Ruth Lapidoth

mslruth@mscc.huji.ac.il

Ruth Lapidoth is Greenblatt Professor Emeritus of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Senior Researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

Born in Germany and immigrating to Palestine in 1938, she studied law at the Hebrew University and later pursued advanced legal studies in Paris. From 1956 to 2001 she taught at Hebrew University, becoming full professor in 1980. She specialized in international law, minority rights, autonomy, Jerusalem, the Arab–Israeli conflict, and the law of the sea. Beyond academia, she served as Legal Advisor to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in international negotiations, and was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. In recognition of her scholarship and public service, Lapidoth received the Israel Prize in Legal Research.

Selected works:

Autonomy: Flexible Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts (USIP Press, 1997)
Israel and the Palestinians: Some Legal Issues (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 2003)
Jerusalem: Some Legal Issues (Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 2011)

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Prof. Nisan Oren

Nisan Oren (z“l) was Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a formative figure in shaping the department’s early identity. A specialist in European history, political theory, and the development of modern diplomacy, he bridged history and political science in his teaching and research.

As chair of the Department of International Relations and later director of the Leonard Davis Institute, Oren played a central role in building Israeli scholarship in the field and positioning it within global debates. Through his leadership and mentorship, he trained generations of students and left a lasting institutional and intellectual legacy.

Selected works:

Bulgarian Communism: The Road to Power 1934-1944 (Columbia, 1971)
Revolution administered : agrarianism and communism in Bulgaria (Johns Hopkins, 1973)
Intellecttuals in Politics (Magnes, 1984, ed) [Hebrew]

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Prof. Michal Pomerance

msmpomer@mscc.huji.ac.il

Michla (Michal) Pomerance is a Prof. emeritus who was the Emilio von Hofmannsthal Professor of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

She completed her PhD at Columbia University and joined the Hebrew University faculty the following year. Internationally recognized for her rigorous work on international adjudication, self-determination, the use of force, and the interaction between international law and U.S. foreign policy, she held fellowships at leading institutions and secured major research grants. She consistently bridged Israeli legal scholarship with global debates in international law and became one of Israel’s foremost authorities in the field.

Selected works:

The Advisory Function of the International Court in the League and U.N. Eras (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973)
Self-Determination in Law and Practice: The New Doctrine in the United Nations (Brill, 1982)
The United States and the World Court as a “Supreme Court of the Nations” (Martinus Nijhoff, 1996)

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Prof. Norman Rose

norman@amitm.com

Norman Rose is a Professor in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he held the Chaim Weizmann Chair.

A historian of modern Britain, Zionism, and the Palestine Mandate, his scholarship combined meticulous archival research with biographical study. Rose authored widely acclaimed works on Winston Churchill, Chaim Weizmann, Harold Nicolson, and the Cliveden Set, situating British and Zionist history within broader international contexts. He was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and was noted for linking individual lives with the political forces of the twentieth century.

Selected works:

Chaim Weizmann: A Biography (Penguin, 1989)
The Cliveden Set: Portrait of an Exclusive Fraternity (Jonathan Cape, 2000)
A Senseless, Squalid War: Voices from Palestine, 1945–1948 (Bodley Head, 2009)

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Prof. Amnon Sela

msamnon@mscc.huji.ac.il

Amnon Sela is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Russian and Slavic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and also taught at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University.

He completed his BA and MA at the Hebrew University and earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh with a dissertation on Soviet responses to German threats before World War II. His research focused on Soviet studies, particularly military strategy, Cold War foreign policy, and the politics of security and ethics. Politically active, he was a founding member of “Circle 77,” a group of academics associated with the Israeli Labor Party, and he served as director of the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations in the early 1990s.

Selected works:

Soviet political and military conduct in the Middle East (Macmillan, 1981)
Israel the peaceful belligerent, 1967-79 (Macmillan 1986ת with Yael Yishai(
The value of human life in Soviet warfare (Routledge, 1992)

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Prof. Avraham Sela

msavse@mscc.huji.ac.il

Avraham Sela is Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and senior research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute.

He studied for his BA, MA, and PhD at the Hebrew University and was recognized as one of Israel’s leading scholars of Arab politics, Palestinian nationalism, inter-Arab relations, and Arab–Israeli dynamics. Before his academic career he worked for many years as an analyst in the IDF’s intelligence research division, participating in peace talks and security negotiations. His work combined a balanced historical approach with analysis of political and social transformations in the Arab world.

Selected works:

The Decline of the Arab–Israeli Conflict: Middle East Politics and the Quest for Regional Order (SUNY Press, 1998)
The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence, and Coexistence (Columbia University Press, 2000, with Shaul Mishal)
Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East (Continuum, 2002, ed.)

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Prof. Sasson Sofer

mssofer@mscc.huji.ac.il

Sasson Sofer is Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His scholarship bridged political thought, diplomatic history, and the sociology of diplomacy, with particular focus on the intellectual and ideological foundations of Israeli foreign policy.

Sofer’s work highlighted the role of ideological currents such as Labour Zionism, Revisionism, and religious nationalism in shaping diplomacy, and he was widely recognized for connecting Israeli diplomatic history to broader theories of international society.

Selected works:

Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy (Cambridge University Press, 1998)
Peacemaking in a Divided Society: Israel After Rabin (Frank Cass, 2001, ed.)
The Courtiers of Civilization: A Study of Diplomacy (SUNY Press, 2013)

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Prof. Alfred Tovias

mstovi@mail.huji.ac.il

Alfred Tovias is Professor Emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He served as head of the department and as director of the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations.

Trained as an economist, he specialized in European integration, trade policy, and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, and held the Jean Monnet Chair on the EU’s external economic relations. He held visiting posts at universities across Europe and advised international organizations such as the World Bank, OECD, and UNCTAD. As co-president of the Israeli Association for the Study of European Integration, Tovias played a central role in linking Israeli research with global debates on political economy.

Selected works:

Foreign Economic Relations of the European Community: The Impact of Spain and Portugal (Lynne Rienner, 1990)
Whither EU–Israeli Relations? (Peter Lang, 1995 ed.)
Mapping European Economic Integration (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, co-edited)

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Department of International Relations

Faculty of Social Sciences

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Emeriti

Prof. Yaacov Vertzberger

Prof. Emanuel Adler

Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov

Prof. Uri Bialer

Prof. Reymond Cohen

Prof. Yehoshafat Harkabi

Prof. Joseph Heller

Prof. Ruth Lapidoth

Prof. Nisan Oren

Prof. Michal Pomerance

Prof. Norman Rose

Prof. Amnon Sela

Prof. Avraham Sela

Prof. Sasson Sofer

Prof. Alfred Tovias