The Open University of Israel
Dr. Gal Levy

Dr. Gal Levy

Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication

Updated: March 2010

 

Personal

Tel: 972-9-7781705

Fax: 972-9-7780660

E-mail: galle@openu.ac.il

Born: Israel, 1959

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Education

2002 Ph.D., London School of Economics and Political Science
Dissertation: Ethnicity and Education: Nation-Building, State-Formation, and the Construction of the Israeli Educational System
Supervisors: Prof. Brendan O'Leary and Dr. Erik Ringmar, LSE
1995 M.A. (Magna cum laude), Political Science, Tel Aviv University
Thesis: “And Thanks to the Ashkenazim ...": The Politics of Mizrahi Ethnicity in Israel
Supervisors: Dr. Yoav Peled and Dr. Gad Barzilai
1986 B.A., Political Science and Economics, Tel Aviv University
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Fields of Research
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Academic Positions

Current Course coordinator and Senior Teaching Faculty, MA program in Democracy Studies, The Open University, Israel – Courses taught: “Citizenship: Theory and Politics”; “Democracy in Israel - Selected Issues”; “Political Sociology”
12/2008 - Academic Director, NYU in Tel Aviv
1998-2006 Adjunct Lecturer:
Faculty of Management, Tel-Aviv University
The Lowi School for Overseas Students, Tel-Aviv University
Department of Political Science, Tel-Aviv University
Department of Behavioural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University
Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University
Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University
Lecturer: Alma College
1990-2002 Instructor and Teaching Assistant (select years):
Tel-Aviv University, Department of Political Science
The Open University, Beit Berl College – Courses: “Democracy and Democratisation”; “Politics of Education”; The Study and Theories of Ethnicity in Israel”; “Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology”; “Political Behaviour in Israel”; “Introduction to Politics and Education”; “Politics of Race and Racism”; “Political Socialisation”; “State, Education, and Society”; “Identity in a Multicultural Society: Theoretical and Practical Aspects”; “Ethnicity and Religion in Israel: Between State and Society”; “Ethnicity in Israel: Between State and Society”; “Politics and Government in Israel” [Hebrew and English]
Workshops and Seminars: “Ethnicity, Racism, and Nationalism”; “Race and Racism”; “Ethnicity and Media in Israel” (MA Workshop)
1989-1994 Research Assistant: Jaffee Centre for Strategic Studies (JCSS), Tel-Aviv University
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Other Professional Activities
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Research Grants

2009-11 ISF, "Alternative education: Towards new Arab educational space"
2007 Tami Steinmetz Centre for Peace Research, "Socialization for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a conflict-ridden society: Theoretical and practical aspects"
2006 The Open University, "Education and conflict in Israel: The interplay of discourse and practice in a divided society"
2006 The Open University, "Class voting in the elections to the 17th Knesset"
2005-08 Ministry of Science, Alternative Arab education
2005-06 The Open University, Labour migrant children's education
2003 The Open University, Israel's policy towards Arab education
2001-02 Tel Aviv University, Post doctoral fellowship (Vatat)
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List of Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

  1. G. Levy and M. Massalha, "Yaffa: A School of their Choice?," British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31:2, March 2010, pp. 171-183.
  2. H. Pinson, G. Levy, Z. Gross, Z. Soker, "Peace as a Surprise, Peace as a Disturbance: The Israeli-Arab Conflict in Official Documents," Educational Review Journal, forthcoming.
  3. G. Levy, “The Challenge of Citizenship: Arabs, Foreigners, Israelis,” Alpayim 34, Nov. 2009, pp. 238-260 [Invited, Hebrew].
  4. G. Levy and O. Sasson-Levy, "Militarized Socialization, Military Service and Class Reproduction: the Experiences of Israeli Soldiers," Sociological Perspectives 51:2 2008. pp. 349-374.
  5. G. Levy, “From Subjects to Citizens: On Educational Reforms and the Demarcation of the 'Israeli-Arabs'”, Citizenship Studies, 9:3, July 2005, pp. 271-291.
  6. Y. Dahan and G. Levy, “Multicultural Education in the Zionist State - The Mizrahi Challenge,” Studies in Philosophy and Education, Special Issue: Conflicting Philosophies of Education in Israel/Palestine (guest editor: I. Gur-Ze'ev) 19:5, Nov. 2000, pp. 421-442.
  7. G. Levy and T. Barkay, “How to Commemorate the Holocaust: Ethnicity, Class and Education in Israel,” Politika: The Israeli Journal of Political Science, 1, June 1998, pp. 27-46 [Hebrew].
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Chapters in Books
  1. State and Religion in Israel (Invited chapter, UWS group, Sydney 2009).
  2. G. Levy, “Transgressions: A Mizrahi Perspective,” in Y. Yonah, Y. Naaman, D. Machlev (eds.) Rainbow of Opinions: A Mizrahi Agenda for Israel (Jerusalem: November Books, 2007), pp. 47-54 [Hebrew].
  3. G. Levy, “Education”, in U. Ram & N. Berkovitch (eds.), In/Equality (Beer-Sheva: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2006), pp. 181-188 [Hebrew].
  4. G. Levy and Ishak Saporta, “Social History and Pre-vocational Education in Israel,” in G. Aboutboul et al. (eds.), Mizrahi Voices: Towards a New Discourse on Israeli Society and Culture (Tel-Aviv: Massada, 2005), pp. 282-293 [Hebrew].
  5. O. Sasson-Levy and G. Levy, “‘Combat is Best’ – For whom? Republican Socialisation, Class and Ethnicity in Israel,” in H. Gor (ed.), Militarism in Education (Tel-Aviv: Babel Publishers, 2005), pp. 220-244 [Hebrew].
  6. M. Shalev and G. Levy, “The Winners and Losers of 2003: Ideology, Social Structure and Political Change,” in M. Shamir & A. Arian, (eds.), Elections in Israel, 2003 (Transaction Publishers, 2005) [published in Hebrew by The Israel Democracy Institute, 2004].
  7. G. Levy and Zeev Emmerich, “Shas and the ‘Ethnic Phantom’,” in Y. Peled (ed.), Shas: The Challenge of Israeliness (Tel-Aviv: Yediot Ahronot Books & Chemed Books, 2001), pp. 126-158 [Hebrew].

    8. Accepted for publication

  8. G. Levy and M. Massalha, "Yaffa is Yaffa: Choice, Identity and Place in Yaffa, the Arab Democratic School" (a chapter in the Van Leer Group book on critical education).
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Book Reviews
  1. Review of: Land and Desire in Early Zionism, by Boaz Neumann, The Public Sphere, 2010 (with D. Kaplan) [Hebrew].
  2. Review of: Migrants and Workers: The Political Economy of Labour Migration in Israel, by Adriana Kemp and Rebecca Raijman, International Sociology Review of Books, 24:2, pp. 238-241.
  3. Review of: Imagined Peace, Discourse of War: The Failure of Leadership, Politics and Democracy in Israel, 1992-2006, by Lev Grinberg, The Public Sphere, 2, 2008, pp. 206-210 [Hebrew].
  4. Review of: Is Israel One?: Religion, Nationalism, and Multiculturalism Confounded, by E. Ben Rafael and Y. Peres, Israeli Sociology, 9 (1), 2007, pp. 194-197 [Hebrew].
  5. Review of: The Politics of Ethnicity in Settler Societies, by D. Pearson, Nations and Nationalism, 11, 4 (2005), pp. 647-648.
  6. Review of: Mizrahim in Israel: A Critical Observation into Israel's Ethnicity, edited by H. Hever, Y. Shenhav & P. Motzafi-Haller, Israeli Sociology 5, 2 (2003), pp. 456-461 [Hebrew].
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Other Publications
  1. M. Massalha and G. Levy, “Choosing Yaffa,” Panim, 46, 2009 [Hebrew].
  2. G. Levy, “On Change and Continuity: Shinui and the Lost Secular Revolution,” The Public Sphere: Tel Aviv Journal of Political Science, 1 (Fall, 2007), pp. 135-147 [Hebrew].
  3. I. Jerby and G. Levy, Israel: The Socio-economic Gap (Jerusalem: The Israeli Democracy Institute), 2000 [Hebrew].
  4. G. Levy and I. Saporta, “The Historiography of Education in Israel: Writing from ‘Above’, Writing from ‘Below’,” Proceedings of The Conference on Research in Education and its Implementation in a Changing World, 25-27 October 2000, pp. 539-542 [Hebrew].
  5. T. Barkay and G. Levy, “Kedma School,” in 50 To 48: Critical Moments in the History of the State of Israel (Jerusalem/T-A: Van-Leer and Ha-Kibbutz ha-meuchad), 1999 [Hebrew].
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Academic didactic writing for the Open University
  1. Study Guide for an undergraduate course on Political Sociology
  2. An advanced BA course: Citizenship: Theory and Politics
  3. Study Guide for an undergraduate course on Citizenship: Theory and Politics
  4. Editing of an anthology for the course: Citizenship: Theory and Politics
  5. Approved MA course: Citizenship: Select Issues
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Selected Papers at Scientific Conferences

  1. The Return to Ethnicity: Between Nation-State and Ethnic-Society, The British Sociological Association The University of Reading, 1-4 April 1996.
  2. Kedma: Ethnicity and the Israeli Education System, The Association for Israel Studies, Boston University, 1-3 June 1996 (a joint paper).
  3. Ethnicity for Citizenship: The Politics and Practice of Ethnicity, Brave New World: Political Theory at the Millennium, University of Manchester, 19-20 June 1996.
  4. Ethnicity and Education: Some Historical Reflections, The Association for Israel Studies, Emory University, 21-23 June 1997.
  5. Between Universal Education and Zionist Particularism: The 1953 state education act, The Israeli Association of Political Science, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 4 June 1998.
  6. From Mamlakhtiyut to Excellence in Education: The Invisibility of Mizrahi Jews in the Construction of State Education, The Association for Israel Studies, American University, 23-25 May 1999.
  7. Stretching the Rules and Boundaries of the Democratic Game in Israel: The Case of Shas, The Association for Israel Studies, Tel-Aviv University, 25-27 June 2000 (Joint paper).
  8. Constructing Ethnic Boundaries: The Israeli Educational Policy and the Making of a Nation, The Joint Princeton-Columbia Graduate Student Workshop, Princeton University, 29 Sep-1 Oct, 2000.
  9. The 1970s Reform in Arab Education, The Israeli Sociological Association, Haifa University, 11-12 February 2002.
  10. Between Integration and Privatisation in Education: Some Critical Aspects, The Israeli Association for the Study of the History of Education, Bar-Ilan University, 13 June 2002.
  11. Between Ethnonationalism and Citizenship: The Reform in Arab Education in Israel, The Midwest Political Science Association: Panel 10-5: Comparative Race/Ethnic Conflict, Chicago, 3-6 April 2003.
  12. Labour Migrants in Israel: Re-Defining the Limits and Scope of Education, The 23rd GIF Conference: Labour Migration in the Global Market: The German and the Israeli Experience, Berlin, 17-19 December 2003.
  13. New Israelis? Labour Migrants and the Boundaries of Citizenship, The Israeli Political Science Association, Ben Gurion University, 24 March 2004.
  14. Ethnicity and History in A D Smith’s Theory of Nationalism, 14th ASEN Annual Conference, London School of Economics, 24 April 2004 (with E. Ringmar).
  15. Labour Migrants Education: Re-shaping of the Israeli Ethnospace?, The Association for Israel Studies, The Hebrew University, 14-16 June 2004.
  16. Education for Citizenship among Labour Migrants Children: Does Gender Count?, The Women’s Studies Association: Feminism Contesting Globalization, Dublin, 8-10 July 2004.
  17. Class voting amongst non-Arabs in the 2006 Elections, The Israeli Political Science Association, The Open University, 15 June 2006 (with M. Shalev).
  18. Democracy and Colonialism: or, can a Jewish democracy endure?, The IPSA XX World Conference Fukuoka, Japan 9-14 July 2006.
  19. Labour migrant children in an Israeli school: Between the home and the host countries, The British Sociological Association, University of East London, 12-14 April 2007.
  20. Democracy in an Ethnicised Society, The Israeli Political Science Association, Western Galilee College, 31 May 2007.
  21. Becoming Citizens of Yaffa: Motivations and Agency in the Case of Yaffa School, The Association for Israel Studies, The Open University, 11-13 June 2007 (with M. Massalha).
  22. A Lost Decade, or, where has the Mizrahi Narrative gone since the 1990s?
    The Association for Israel Studies, New York University, 19-21 May 2008
  23. Did the 2006 Elections Normalize Class Voting in Israel?, First ISA Forum of Sociology, Barcelona, Spain 5-8 September 2008 (with M. Shalev).
  24. Ethnicity and the Challenge of Citizenship in Israel, Poster presented at The Research Day, The Open University, Israel, 5 February 2009.
  25. Official Educational Discourses on teaching the Israeli-Arab Conflict, The Association for Israel Studies, Sapir College, 1-3 June 2009 (co-authored).
  26. The Potential for a Political Resurgence of Laborism: Class Voting in Israel 1999-2009, SASE 21 Annual Meeting, Sciences Po Paris, 16-18 July 2009 (with M Shalev).
  27. The 2009 elections and the "death of the left": Class voting in Israel 1999-2009, AIS sponsored panel "The Israeli Elections of 2009: Continuity or Change?" APSA Meeting, Toronto 3-6 September 2009.
  28. The Mizrahi decade: Is it really lost?, The Israeli Sociological Association, Western Galilee College, 15-16 February 2010.
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Colloquium Talks and other Invited Addresses

  1. Judaism, citizenship and the state
    International Conference on Religion & the State, UWS, Sydney, Australia, 18-19 July 2009.
  2. Models of Citizenship
    Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, Open University, 29 Dec 2008.
  3. Ethnicity and the Challenge of Citizenship in Israel
    The Political Science Department, University of Haifa, 19 April 2008.
  4. To be an Israeli-Arab: Educational reforms and Identity Politics
    The Open University, Israel - invited lecture for the "Research Day," 2 February 2006.
  5. Post-Zionism and the (re-)rise of Ethnicity
    Across the Border: A series of talks to Palestinians and Israelis, A yearly lecture (2006-08).
  6. From Minorities to Israeli Arabs
    The Middle East Institute of Columbia University, Chair: Prof. R. Khalidi. 14 April 2005.
  7. Educational Reforms and Social Boundaries
    The School of Education, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 22 December 2004.
  8. From Integration to Identity Politics
    Department of Education, University of Haifa, 25 March 2002.
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Conferences and Panels Organized

  1. A Sociological Perspective on Education and Inequality
    Co-organizer. A mini conference in Memory of Zeev Soker, organized for the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University, March 2010.
  2. Why there is no one to vote for in the 18th Knesset elections?
    Chair and organizer, a mini-conference organized for the Political Science Department, The Open University, 4 February 2009.
  3. Will the elections to the 17th Knesset change the political agenda?
    Chair and organizer, a mini-conference organized for the Political Science Department, The Open University, 8 March 2006.
  4. The Supreme Court in Israel and Social and Collective Rights
    Chair and co-organizer, a mini-conference organized for the Political Science Department, The Open University, 15 June 2005.
  5. Sociology of Education in Israel
    Chair and session organizer, The Annual Meeting of the Israeli Sociological Society, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 25-26 February 2004.
  6. Democracy under examination: The Elections for the 16th Knesset
    Chair and organizer, a mini-conference organized for the Political Science Department, The Open University, 21 January 2003.
  7. Mizrahim in Israel: (re-)posing the problem?
    Chair and session organizer, the 16th annual meeting of the American Association for Israeli Studies, Tel-Aviv University, 25-27 June 2000.
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