Prof. Colonel (Res.) Zeev Drori

The Association’s Second Chairperson

Prof. Drori was born and grew up in Haifa. He earned a doctorate in history from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, a master’s degree in political science from Tel Aviv University, a bachelor’s degree in international relations and general history from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a second bachelor’s degree in Middle East studies from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. He retired from the IDF at the rank of Colonel, and during his military service, among other things, he commanded Sayeret Shaked, the Givati brigade, and the Galei Zahal (IDF) radio station.

In the academia, he was a faculty member and researcher at the history departments in Haifa University, Ben Gurion University, the Hebrew University, and Tel Aviv University. He was also a guest lecturer at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, and at King’s College, London.

Prof. Drori served as CEO of the Kinneret Academic College in the Jordan Valley and is currently Head of the Multi-Disciplinary Department at the College. Over the years, he has published many articles in journals in Israel and abroad, has edited collected volumes and has written 11 books of his own. His books on the subject of military and civil-military history include Utopia in Uniform (2000), Between Faith and the Military (2005), Israel’s Reprisal Policy 1953-1956 (2005), Lines of Fire – The War of Attrition on the Eastern Front, 1967-1970 (2012), and Quiet Leadership – Dan Shomron (October 2016).

He is a founding chair of the Dan Shomron Kinneret Institute for Social Relations, Peace and Security.

Education

• B.A. 1970, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Department of History and the Department of Foreign Relations (cum laude)
• B.A. 1975, Tel Aviv University, the Department of the History of the Jewish People
• M.A. 1984, Tel Aviv University, the Department of Political Science (summa cum laude)
• PhD 1996, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Department of History
• M.A. 2003, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Department of Middle East Studies

Academic appointments and research institutes

• 1984-1985 Research associate, Dayan Institute, Tel Aviv University
• 1992-1993 Research associate, Ben Gurion Institute, Sde Boker
• 2000-2001 Research associate, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University
• 2000-2004 Chair, Military and Security Research Institute, Ben Gurion University
• 2006-2007 Research associate, King’s College, London
• 2006-2007 Research associate, St. Antony’s College, Oxford
• 2000-2011 Research associate, Israel Galilee Association for Research into Defensive Strength
• 2008-2014 Chair, Lieutenant General Dan Shomron Kinneret Institute for Social Relations, Peace and Security, Kinneret Academic College
• 2009-present Member of the IUS Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Department of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
• 2009-present Member, European Research Group of Military and Society (ERGOMAS)
• 2011-2016 Founding member, Association of Civil-Military Studies in Israel
• 2016-present Chair, Association of Civil-Military Studies in Israel
• 2016-present Research associate (rank of senior researcher), Israel Heritage Department, Ariel University
• 2017-present Member of the International Association for Israel Studies (AIS)
• 2016 Associate professor, History of the Land of Israel, Kinneret Academic College
• 2016-present Professor, Head of department, Kinneret Academic College

Military service
Prof. Drori served in Battalion 890 in the Paratroopers Brigade as a platoon commander in the southern front in the Six Days’ War. He served in the War of Attrition as a company commander in Battalion 890 under the leadership of Dan Shomron. In the Yom Kippur War, he was deputy commander of Battalion 890 in the Battle of the Chinese Farm” on the Egyptian front. He commanded Sayeret Shaked (1976-1978) and the Givati brigade during the First Lebanon War, and served as commander of Galei Zahal (IDF Radio) between 1998 and 2001.