Eyal Ben-Ari
{{Short description|Israeli anthropologist}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
Eyal Ben-Ari ({{langx|he|אייל בן ארי}}; born 1953) is a former professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI).{{citation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030190902/http://sociology.huji.ac.il/ben-ari.html|archive-date=30 October 2007|url=http://sociology.huji.ac.il/ben-ari.html|title=Eyal Ben-Ari|publisher=Hebrew University of Jerusalem|year=2001}} His research interests include Japan as well as the Israeli Defence Forces. He served as the head of the university's Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace until January 2007, and also taught the Introduction to Anthropology course, making him well known to students.{{citation|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=109635|periodical=The Jerusalem Post|title=Police: HU professor may have preyed on female students for years|date=13 July 2008|access-date=21 April 2010}}
Career
Ben-Ari studied sociology at HUJI, graduating with a B.A. in 1978 and an M.A. in 1980. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1984 in Social Anthropology, after which he returned to HUJI as a lecturer (1985–1990), senior lecturer (1990–1994), associate professor (1994–1998), and full professor. He has also served as a visiting professor or research fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Department of Anthropology and School of Business (1992), the National University of Singapore's Department of Japanese Studies (1992–1994 and 2001–2002), Sophia University's Faculty of Comparative Culture, Waseda University's Asia-Pacific Research Institute, and Kyoto University's Institute for Research in the Humanities (2005–2006).{{citation |url=http://sociology.huji.ac.il/docs/Staff/Eyal-cv.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae |first=Eyal |last=Ben-Ari |date=September 2009 |publisher=Hebrew University of Jerusalem |access-date=18 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203002224/http://sociology.huji.ac.il/docs/Staff/Eyal-cv.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2010 }} In 2008, a master's dissertation which he supervised became an object of public controversy due to its thesis that the refusal of Israeli soldiers to rape Arab women was a form of racism; Ben-Ari, co-supervisor Edna Lomsky-Feder, and Zali Gurevitch defended the thesis in media comments.{{citation|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/28129|periodical=The Jewish Press|title=Guilty by reason of innocence: new insanity from Israel's academic leftists|last=Plaut|first=Steven|date=3 January 2008|access-date=21 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319045707/http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/28129|archive-date=19 March 2011|url-status=dead}}
Ben-Ari is listed as one of its researchers by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS).
Sexual harassment charges
In May 2008, a teaching assistant at Hebrew University published accusations of sexual misconduct regarding one of Ben-Ari's colleagues, which led to closer scrutiny of the department.{{citation |periodical=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5010000 |date=31 July 2008 |title=Professors accused of sexual harassment led 'reign of terror,' says colleague |first1=Jonathan |last1=Lis |first2=Ofri |last2=Ilani |access-date=23 October 2009}} Ben-Ari's troubles with the law began when a number of students sent an anonymous e-mail to university authorities, accusing him of rape and of threatening to withhold their research funding if they refused to have sex with him.{{citation |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5011375 |periodical=Haaretz |last=Lis |first=Jonathan |date=4 August 2008 |title=Three students file harassment complaints against professor |access-date=21 April 2010}} Department chair Zali Gurevitch also said that in 2007, another student had mentioned rumours of Ben-Ari's sexual misconduct to him; Gurevitch took the matter to the university administration, but the student was unwilling to testify formally, and the matter was not further investigated. Ben-Ari was arrested in July 2008, then remanded to house arrest and banned from university premises for 30 days pending further investigation. Ben-Ari denied the charges against him, and when questioned by police would admit only that he had had a consensual affair with a student 12 years prior. In August 2008, three female students filed sexual harassment complaints against Ben-Ari. Police announced that they were also seeking students willing to file sexual assault complaints against him.{{citation |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5013886 |periodical=Haaretz |date=11 August 2008 |last=Lis |first=Jonathan |title=Cops seek students willing to file formal complaints against professor |access-date=21 April 2010}}
However, in September 2008 it was announced that no charges would be filed. An editorial in Haaretz criticised the media for their sensationalistic reporting of the prurient details of the incident, as compared to the lack of fanfare with which they announced that no charges would be filed.{{citation |url= https://www.haaretz.com/1.5035069 |periodical=Haaretz |last=Levy |first=Gideon |title=Page 27, on the side |date=20 September 2008 |access-date=21 April 2010}} In June 2009, the State Attorney formally closed the case against Ben-Ari due to the statute of limitations.{{citation |author=Edit Livne |script-title=he:הפרקליטות סגרה את התיק נגד פרופסור בן ארי |language=he |trans-title=The prosecution closes the case against Professor Ben-Ari |periodical=NRG Maariv |date=5 June 2009 |url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/54/ART1/899/791.html |access-date=3 February 2011}} In the aftermath of the incident, HUJI proposed a rule forbidding intimate relations between students and professors.{{citation |periodical=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5013762 |date=10 August 2008 |title=Women's groups: Lecturer-student sex should be illegal |first1=Yotam |last1=Feldman |first2=Ofri |last2=Ilani |access-date=21 April 2010}}{{citation|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221142469343&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|periodical=The Jerusalem Post|date=14 September 2008 |title=HU approves rule prohibiting intimate student-teacher relations |access-date=21 October 2009}}{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} HUJI responded to media inquiries by stating that Ben-Ari was on sabbatical.{{citation |url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/54/ART1/827/575.html |date=18 December 2008 |periodical=NRG Maariv |script-title=he:אייל בן ארי שוב מחולל מהומה |language=he |trans-title=Eyal Ben-Ari is once again causing a stir |last=Livne |first=Edit |access-date=18 May 2010}} He had been scheduled to teach at the University of Hong Kong in the fall semester of 2008.{{citation |first1=Yotam |last1=Feldman |first2=Ofri |last2=Ilani |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5013823 |title=Women's groups to Tamir: prevent sexual exploitation at universities |periodical=Haaretz |date=11 August 2008 |access-date=3 February 2011}}
Ben-Ari was seen visiting the HUJI campus in December 2008, to the consternation of those who had accused him. He had been scheduled to take up lecturing duties again at HUJI in early 2009, teaching one undergraduate course about family and education in Japan, and one graduate course about anthropology in Israel; however, he volunteered to delay his return while the case against him was still open.{{citation |periodical=NRG Maariv |last=Livne |first=Edit |date=27 February 2009 |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/54/ART1/859/549.html |script-title=he:פרופ' בן ארי החליט שלא לחזור לאוניברסיטה העברית |language=he |trans-title=Prof. Ben-Ari decides not to return to Hebrew University |access-date=3 February 2011}} By September 2010, Ben-Ari still had not taken up lecturing duties again, though he was acting as an advisor for graduate students. Newspaper reports claimed that internal university disciplinary hearings against him were underway.{{citation |periodical=NRG Maariv |url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/54/ART2/159/126.html?hp=54&loc=4&tmp=1084 |date=21 September 2010 |last=Eli |first=Yossi |script-title=he:האונ' העברית מציגה: הסטודנטית, המרצה והעדות המפתיעה |language=he |trans-title=The Hebrew University presents: the student, the lecturer and the surprising testimony |access-date=3 February 2011}} In late February 2011, the university formally announced that Ben-Ari would be suspended for two years without salary or right to use research funding, and requested the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office look into the possibility of reopening the criminal case against him.
{{citation |url=http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/dovrut/dovrut_search.pl?mesge129882123705872560 |publisher=Hebrew University of Jerusalem |script-title=he:בית הדין המשמעתי של האוניברסיטה העברית הרשיע את פרופ' בן-ארי בקיום יחסים אינטימיים תוך ניצול יחסי מרות |language=he |trans-title=The Disciplinary Tribunal of the Hebrew University Convicted Prof. Ben-Ari of Intimate Relationships While Exploiting Relationships |date=27 February 2011 |access-date=28 February 2011}}{{citation |url=http://academic-secretary.huji.ac.il/?cmd=news.366&act=read&id=74 |publisher=Office of the Academic Secretary, Hebrew University of Jerusalem |script-title=he:פסק הדין של בית הדין המשמעתי בעניין פרופ' אייל בן ארי |language=he |trans-title=The ruling of the Disciplinary Tribunal in the matter of Prof. Eyal Ben-Ari |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=28 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721133620/http://academic-secretary.huji.ac.il/?cmd=news.366&act=read&id=74 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}
Selected publications
- {{citation|first1=S. N.|last1=Eisenstadt|first2=Eyal|last2=Ben-Ari|title=Japanese models of conflict resolution|publication-place=London and New York|publisher=Kegan Paul International|year=1990|isbn=978-0-7103-0342-4}}{{citation|first=D. P.|last=Martinez|year=1991|title=Reviews - S. N Eisenstadt and Eyal Ben-Ari: Japanese models of conflict resolution ...|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=54|page=210|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00010259|s2cid=162853404}}
- {{citation|title=Changing Japanese Suburbia: a study of two present day localities|first=Eyal|last=Ben-Ari|publisher=Routledge|year=1991|isbn=978-0-7103-0381-3}}{{citation|first=D. P.|last=Martinez|year=1992|title=Reviews - Eyal Ben-Ari: Changing Japanese suburbia ...|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=55|page=598|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00004213|s2cid=162559367}}{{citation|last=McCallum|first=John|year=1992|title=Book Reviews - Changing Japanese suburbia ...|volume=28|number=2|page=285|url=http://jos.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/2/285.pdf|journal=Journal of Sociology|doi=10.1177/144078339202800230|s2cid=143551990}}
- {{citation|first=Eyal|last=Ben-Ari|title=Japanese Childcare: An Interpretive Study of Culture and Organization|publication-place=London and New York|publisher=Kegan Paul International|year=1997|isbn=978-0-7007-0448-4}}; a study of a Kyoto preschool, intended as a theoretical study of childcare institutions, rather than an ethnographic work. It examines written and verbal communications between staff members in the high-turnover environment to determine their role in achieving the goals of the school.{{citation|journal=The Japan Foundation Newsletter|volume=25|number=6|pages=13–14|last=Benjamin|first=Gail R.|title=Book Reviews – Japanese Childcare ...|url=http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/publish/periodic/jfn/pdf/jfn25_6.pdf|access-date=18 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222071105/http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/publish/periodic/jfn/pdf/jfn25_6.pdf|archive-date=22 February 2012|url-status=dead}}
- {{citation |first1=Edna |last1=Lomsky-Feder |first2=Eyal |last2=Ben-Ari |chapter=The Discourse of 'Psychology' and the 'Normalization' of War in Contemporary Israel |script-title=he:צבא שיש לו מדינה? : מבט מחודש על יחסי התחום הביטחוני והתחום האזרחי בישראל |language=he |trans-title=An Army That Has a State? New Approaches to Civil-Security Relations in Israel |editor-first=Gabriel |editor-last=Sheffer |editor2-first=Oren |editor2-last=Barak |editor3-first=Amiram |editor3-last=Oren |publisher=Carmel Publishing House |year=2009 |isbn=978-965-407-920-4}}; the authors describe how criticism of war is neutered by "taking the war out of its political context and turning military service into a natural stage of development, and particularly as the arena for a rite of passage into manhood"{{citation |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/1.5073104 |title=Military Affairs / State of emergency |periodical=Haaretz |last=Pedatzur |first=Reuven |date=5 July 2009 |access-date=21 April 2010}}
Edited works
- {{citation|title=Unwrapping Japan: society and culture in anthropological perspective|editor-first=Eyal|editor-last=Ben-Ari|editor2-first=Brian|editor2-last=Moeran|editor3-first=James|editor3-last=Valentine|year=1990|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-3060-4}}{{citation|first=Richard L.|last=Wilson|title=Book Reviews: Eyal Ben-Ari, Brian Moeran and James Valentine (eds.), Unwrapping Japan ...|journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies|year=1995|volume=30|pages=217–218|url=http://jas.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/30/3-4/217.pdf|doi=10.1177/002190969503000310|s2cid=145075036}}
- {{citation|editor-first=Eyal|editor-last=Ben-Ari|editor2-first=John|editor2-last=Clammer|title=Japan in Singapore: Cultural Occurrences and Cultural Flows|publication-place=Surrey|publisher=Curzon Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7007-1245-8}}{{citation|last=McVeigh|first=Brian J.|author-link=Brian J. McVeigh|doi=10.1080/10357820308713368|volume=27|number=1|year=2003|title=Book reviews - Eyal Ben-Ari and John Clammer: Japan in Singapore ...|journal=Asian Studies Review|s2cid=218622557}}
- {{citation|title=Military, State, and Society in Israel: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives|editor-first=Daniel|editor-last=Maman|editor2-first=Eyal|editor2-last=Ben-Ari|editor3-first=Zeev|editor3-last=Rosenhek|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7658-0042-8}}{{citation|url=http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/29/2/319|doi=10.1177/0095327X0302900215|pages=319–321|volume=29|number=2|title=Book Reviews - Daniel Maman, Eyal Ben-Ari, Zeev Rosenhek, eds.: Military, State, and Society ...|last=Smokovitis|first=Dimitrios|year=2003|journal=Armed Forces & Society|s2cid=145505218|url-access=subscription}}
- {{citation|editor-first=Smita|editor-last=Tewari Jassal|editor2-first=Eyal|editor2-last=Ben Ari|title=The Partition Motif in Contemporary Conflicts|publisher=Sage Publications|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7619-3547-6}}{{citation|title=The divide and aftermath|first=Himmat|last=Singh Gill|periodical=The Tribune of India|date=3 June 2007 |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070603/spectrum/book1.htm |access-date=21 April 2010}}
References
{{reflist}}
Eyal Ben-Ari Official site: http://www.eyalbenari.com
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Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni
Category:Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Category:Israeli anthropologists
Category:Israeli expatriates in Japan
Category:Israeli expatriates in England