Cheryl A. Rubenberg (January 3, 1946 – 16 June 2017)[1] was a writer and researcher specializing in the Middle East, formerly an associate professor in the department of political science at Florida International University.

Life

Born in Pennsylvania, Rubenberg specialized in political science and obtained her B.A. at Hunter College, and then earned an M.A. in international relations at Johns Hopkins University. The latter topic was the object of her Ph.D.(1979) at the University of Miami. Soon after, she joined the political science faculty at Florida International University. Her initial research focus was on Latin America[1] where her attention was drawn to Israel's foreign policy outreach and military assistance in Latin America, particularly in Guatemala.[2][3][4] Her interest in the Israeli Palestinian conflict arose out of a visit she made to a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Beirut. In 1989 she moved to the Gaza Strip for a year, together with her husband, Dr. Martin Rubenberg, she teaching English, while her husband volunteered to work as an oncologist at a nearby hospital. They raised funds to enable four students to study at the University of Calgary, and adopted another, Ayman Wishah, after hosting him while he studied forensic and clinical psychology at Florida Atlantic University.[1]

Rubenberg was denied full professorship because of her position regarding Palestinians and Israel, and resigned to become an independent scholar. Her lectures were boycotted, her husband's medical practice suffered and both she and her husband were shunned at their local synagogue, according to her obituary, for the same reason.[1]

Her husband Marty predeceased her, dying in June 2016.

Works

She was the author of several books about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including Israel and the American National Interest (1989), Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank (2001), and The Palestinians in Search of a Just Peace (2003). She was also the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict (2007).[5]

Rubenberg formerly served on the board of advisors of "Deir Yassin Remembered," an organization founded to commemorate the 1948 Deir Yassin Massacre.[6]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b c d Valerie J. Hoffman, Cheryl A. Rubenberg 1946–2017 Review of Middle East Studies, Volume 52, Issue 1 April 2018 , pp. 170-172
  2. ^ Cheryl Rubenberg, 'Israel and Guatemala: Arms, Advice and Counterinsurgency,' Middle East Report 140 (May/June 1986).
  3. ^ Cheryl A. Rubenberg , 'Israeli Foreign Policy in Central America,' Third World Quarterly Vol. 8, No. 3 (July 1986), pp.896-915.
  4. ^ Raphael Ahren, 'Why a small Central American nation became a trailblazer on Jerusalem,' The Times of Israel, 26 December 20 17.
  5. ^ Cheryl A. Rubenberg Archived January 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Middle East Policy Council, accessed August 13, 2009.
  6. ^ McGowan, Daniel. U.S.-Based Group Planning Memorial at Site of Deir Yassin Massacre, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1995

External links

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