Department of General History
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
My life before BGU:
I was born and raised in Beer Sheva. I received my BA and MA from the Department of General History at BGU and my PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the guidance of Prof. Yuval Noah Harari. I completed my Postdoc in UC Berkeley as part of the Fulbright Program. Following several years teaching in the University of Haifa and BGU, and working closely with Yuval Noah Harari, I became a lecturer in the General History Department at BGU.
"I don’t like to be THAT GUY, but even a general survey of the political and military history of humanity will leave a bad taste in your mouth and not too much hope for the present and future of humanity on this planet"
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My research:
From an early stage of my studies in the History Department at BGU, I was fascinated with the lives and experiences of soldiers in early modern Europe (c.1400-1800). As the modern state was coming into being and Europe began to conquer the world, countless professional and mercenary soldiers offered their services to European kings and princes and helped fashion European history as we now know it. Between the romantic images of medieval knights and those of the citizen-soldiers of the American and French Revolutions, I soon realized that these soldiers, and especially the soldiers of the both reputable and infamous Spanish “tercios”, did not receive their deserved scholarly attention. My research attempts to revive the discussion on the military history of medieval and early modern Europe by employing a myriad of sources: from monotonous letters in archives in Spain and Italy, through paintings, carvings and drawings, to chronicles, memoirs and autobiographies of a fraction of the soldiers.
Why BGU:
The lecturers and scholars of the Department of History at BGU are the ones who inspired and supported me throughout my professional journey. Becoming a part of the academic staff of the department is both natural and exciting. On top of that, as a native of Beer-Sheva, whose personal and familial roots are imbedded in the city since the 1940s, it was almost obvious for me to want to return to my familial and professional “homeland”.
An insight from my research:
I don’t like to be THAT GUY, but even a general survey of the political and military history of humanity will leave a bad taste in your mouth and not too much hope for the present and future of humanity on this planet.
Something that doesn’t appear on my resume:
I enjoy sports (running, weights) and reading that is unrelated to my work.
A source of inspiration:
My late father, for curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. I thank him every day.
When I grow up:
As a child, I do not think that I had a clear answer for that question. Today I’m right where I want to be and there’s still a lot to do!
If I was not a researcher, I would:
It is hard to imagine. I don’t have too many tools or abilities to do anything else…
In Brief:
» Facebook or Twitter? Neither and I never will!
» Game of Thrones or the Simpsons? Both! Why choose?!
» Yoga or CrossFit? Neither, but with a gun to my head, CrossFit.
» Hapo’el or Maccabi? Neither.
» Chess or Backgammon? I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t know how to play Backgammon, so chess…
» Steak or Tofu? Tofu, Tofu and only Tofu!
» Trekking or the Spa? Trekking and then the Spa…
» Train or Car? Car. No doubt about it.
» X-Box or PlayStation? I don’t know enough in order to choose. PC.
» Fortis or Sakharof? Fortisakharof.
» Classical Europe or India? Europe, no doubt about it.
» Gal Galatz or Podcast? Apple Music!
» Morning or Night? Night.
» Summer or winter? I think that summer should be cancelled. I’ll address the relevant authorities.
» Movie or Play? Movie.
» Cat or Dog? Dog, but cats are also welcomed.
