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Benjamin Z. Kedar

Benjamin Z. Kedar is an Israeli historian of the Middle Ages and the Crusades, professor emeritus of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and winner of the 2020 Israel Prize.

born 1938Research on the CrusadesFounding the Hebrew University School of HistoryChairing the Israel Antiquities Authority board

Born: 2 September 1938, Nitra
Occupation: military historian, historian, university teacher
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale University

Benjamin Z. Kedar was born in 1938 in Nitra

Kedar was born in 1938 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia, to a Jewish family. Both of his parents were physicians. From 1944 to 1945 the family escaped deportation to Auschwitz by hiding for 7 months with Slovak peasants.

He came to Israel with Youth Aliyah in 1949 and later lived with his parents in Kfar Netter. He finished high school in Tel Aviv in 1956 and studied history at the Hebrew University. As a student during the Lavon Affair, he was one of the leaders of the Student Movement for Democracy.

He earned his PhD in medieval history at Yale University in 1969 and then joined the Hebrew University faculty. He became a full professor in 1986. He founded the university's School of History and directed its Institute for Advanced Studies from 2001 to 2005.

He chaired the board of the Israel Antiquities Authority from 2000 to 2012. He was vice-president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities from 2010 to 2015. His second wife, art historian Nurith Kenaan-Kedar, died in 2015.

Benjamin Z. Kedar's life in 9 milestones

1938
Born in Nitra, Czechoslovakia.
1949
Immigrated to Israel with Youth Aliyah.
1969
Received his PhD from Yale University.
1986
Became a full professor at the Hebrew University.
1995
Became president of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East.
2000
Became chairman of the Israel Antiquities Authority board.
2001
Founded the journal Crusades.
2019
Won the EMET Prize in history.
2020
Won the Israel Prize in history research.