Scienceאבנר בן-עמוס

Avner Ben-Amos

Avner Ben-Amos is an Israeli historian of education and emeritus professor at the Tel Aviv University School of Education, who studies political rituals and national memory in France and Israel.

born 1951History of political ritualsStudy of French state funeralsHistory and civics education research

Born: 21 August 1951, Jaffa
Occupation: historian, activist, opinion journalist, journalist
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of California, Berkeley

Avner Ben-Amos was born in 1951 in Jaffa

Avner Ben-Amos was born in Jaffa in 1951 and grew up in Tel Aviv. His father, Emanuel Ben-Amos, served in the Palmach and acted at the Cameri Theatre. His mother, Michal, came to Palestine from Magdeburg, Germany, in 1939 and studied nursing.

He attended Ironi Heh high school in Tel Aviv and served in the Intelligence Corps. He earned a bachelor's degree in theater studies and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He then completed a master's degree and a doctorate in history at the University of California, Berkeley, writing on state funerals in the French Third Republic.

In 1990 he joined the Tel Aviv University School of Education, where he worked until he retired. He was a visiting scholar at institutions in Israel, France, Britain and the United States. His research covers political rituals, national memory and the teaching of history and civics.

His dissertation became a book on state funerals in France from 1789 to 1996. He served on the boards of several journals and on councils of museums such as the Ghetto Fighters' House. He also wrote opinion pieces on education for Haaretz and Ha'okets.