Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon

Senior Researcher

Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon is a Senior Researcher at PRIF's Research Department Glocal Junctions. He is the principal investigator of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) project “Jewish Foreign Policy and the Exodus of the Syrian Jews: Zionism, Migration, and the Diaspora (1948–1990)”. Dr. Ben Aharon's areas of interest include security and memory, transnationalism, securitization theory, foreign policy analysis, public and digital diplomacy, and elite interviews.

Eldad Ben Aharon
benaharon(at)prif.org

CV

| since 2024
Senior Researcher at PRIF

| since 2023
Irish Research Council (IRC) Post-Doctoral Fellow in Inter­national Security at Dublin City University

| since 2022
Visiting Fellow at the Inter­national Centre for Policing & Security (ICPS) at the University of South Wales

| 2021–2022
Lecturer, department of Middle Eastern Studies at University of Groningen, the Netherlands

| 2021–2024
Associate Fellow at PRIF

| 2019–2021
Minerva Postdoctoral Fellow at PRIF

| 2019–2021
Lecturer at Leiden University, Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), department of Middle Eastern Studies

| 2018–2019
Visiting Scholar at Leiden University, Institute for Area Studies (LIAS)

| 2015–2019
PhD in History at Royal Holloway, University of London, Holocaust Research Institute and the Depart­ment of History

| 2012–2014
Master of Arts in Modern History, University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies

| 2007–2011
BA in Humanities and Social Science with specialization in Inter­national Relations, Open University of Israel

Publications

  • Political audience and non-linear securitization: Revisiting Israel–Iran relations and the making of the 1979 Islamic Revolution
    | 2023
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2023): Political audience and non-linear securitization: Revisiting Israel–Iran relations and the making of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, European Journal of International Security, 1–25. DOI: 10.1017/eis.2023.26
  • Methodological and epistemological reflections on elite interviews and the study of Israel’s intelligence history: interview with Efraim Halevy
    | 2022
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2022): Methodological and epistemological reflections on elite interviews and the study of Israel’s intelligence history: interview with Efraim Halevy, Intelligence and National Security. DOI: 10.1080/02684527.2022.2095600
  • The “War on Terror” and Public Diplomacy during the Cold War: Israeli–Turkish Relations and the 1980 Military Coup
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): The “War on Terror” and Public Diplomacy during the Cold War: Israeli–Turkish Relations and the 1980 Military Coup, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2021.1997134
  • Recognition of the Armenian Genocide after its Centenary: A Comparative Analysis of Changing Parliamentary Positions
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Recognition of the Armenian Genocide after its Centenary: A Comparative Analysis of Changing Parliamentary Positions, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. DOI: 10.1080/23739770.2019.1737911
  • Doing Oral History with the Israeli Elite and the Question of Methodology in International Relations Research
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Doing Oral History with the Israeli Elite and the Question of Methodology in International Relations Research, The Oral History Review, 47: 1, 1–23. DOI: 10.1080/00940798.2019.1702467
  • Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide
    | 2019
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2019): Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide. (Hebrew), Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, 1–15.
    Publication
  • Review, Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present, and Collective Violence Against the Armenians, 1789-2009, Fatma Müge Göçek
    | 2018
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2018): Review, Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present, and Collective Violence Against the Armenians, 1789-2009, Fatma Müge Göçek, Journal of Social History, 51: 3, 656-659.
    Publication
  • Superpower by Invitation
    | 2018
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2018): Superpower by Invitation. Late Cold War diplomacy and leveraging Armenian terrorism as a means to rapprochement in Israeli-Turkish relations (1980–1987), Cold War History, 19: 2, 275–293. DOI: 10.1080/14682745.2018.1483342
  • Review, Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey, Lerna Ekmekçioğlu
    | 2017
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2017): Review, Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey, Lerna Ekmekçioğlu, Patterns of Prejudice, 51: 2, 211-213.
    Publication
  • Between Ankara and Jerusalem
    | 2017
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2017): Between Ankara and Jerusalem. The Armenian Genocide as a Zero-Sum Game in Israel's Foreign Policy (1980’s -2010’s), Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 20: 5, 459–476. DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2018.1385932
  • Review, Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide, Laura Marchand & Guillaume Perrier
    | 2016
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2016): Review, Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide, Laura Marchand & Guillaume Perrier, Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History, 22: 4.
    Publication
  • Review, They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else: A History of the Armenian Genocide, Ronald Grigor Suny
    | 2016
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2016): Review, They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else: A History of the Armenian Genocide, Ronald Grigor Suny, H-Soz-Kult, 1-3.
    Publication
  • A Unique Denial: Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide
    | 2015
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2015): A Unique Denial: Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 42: 4, 638–654. DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2015.1043514

  • Coalition Politics and Parliamentary Failure: The Armenian Genocide Bill in Israel’s Political Arena
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Coalition Politics and Parliamentary Failure: The Armenian Genocide Bill in Israel’s Political Arena, in: B. Der Matossian (eds), Denial of Genocides in the 21st Century, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, (im Erscheinen).
  • Restorative Justice and the Diplomacy of Closure
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Restorative Justice and the Diplomacy of Closure. The Israeli Policy on the Armenian Genocide and the Geopolitics of Memory (1980s-2010s), in: C. d. Gamboa/B. van Roermund (eds), Just Memories. Remembrance and Restoration in the Aftermath of Political Violence, Cambridge UK: Intersentia Press, 313-336.
    Publication

  • Outlook on German-Israeli Relations
    | 2023
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2023): Outlook on German-Israeli Relations. German Staatsraison and Netanyahu‘s Coalition Contentious ‚Judicial Reform‘, PRIF Spotlight, 6, Frankfurt/M. DOI: 10.48809/prifspot0623
  • Why Israel Backs Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: It’s Not About Armenia
    | 2023
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2023): Why Israel Backs Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: It’s Not About Armenia, PRIF Blog.
    Publication
  • Between Geopolitics and Identity Struggle: Why Israel Took Sides with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
    | 2023
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2023): Between Geopolitics and Identity Struggle: Why Israel Took Sides with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, PRIF Report, 1, Frankfurt/M. DOI: 10.48809/prifrep2301
    ISBN: 978-3-946459-84-2
  • The Capitol Rioters and their Supporters Beyond “Us vs. Them”: A View from outside the US
    | 2021
    Pfeifer, Hanna; Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): The Capitol Rioters and their Supporters Beyond “Us vs. Them”: A View from outside the US, PRIF Blog.
    Publication
  • Review, Israeli Foreign Policy: A People Shall Not Dwell Alone, Uri Bialer, Diplomacy & Statecraft
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Review, Israeli Foreign Policy: A People Shall Not Dwell Alone, Uri Bialer, Diplomacy & Statecraft.
  • Review, Fraternal Enemies: Israel and the Gulf Monarchies, Clive Jones and Yoel Guzansky, Diplomacy & Statecraft
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Review, Fraternal Enemies: Israel and the Gulf Monarchies, Clive Jones and Yoel Guzansky, Diplomacy & Statecraft.
  • Why Won't Israel Recognize the Armenian Genocide? It's Not Just About Turkey
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Why Won't Israel Recognize the Armenian Genocide? It's Not Just About Turkey, Haaretz.
    Publication
  • Carter's Holocaust Commission Should Inspire Biden on Armenian Genocide
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Carter's Holocaust Commission Should Inspire Biden on Armenian Genocide, Newsweek.
    Publication
  • Armenian Genocide: US Recognition of Turkey’s Killing of 1.5 Million Was Tangled up In Decades of Geopolitics
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Armenian Genocide: US Recognition of Turkey’s Killing of 1.5 Million Was Tangled up In Decades of Geopolitics, The Conversation.
    Publication
  • Erdogan’s Take on the Holocaust Is Cynical, Selective and Self-Serving
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): Erdogan’s Take on the Holocaust Is Cynical, Selective and Self-Serving, Haaretz.
    Publication
  • At the Age of the Pandemic: The Global Memory of the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide at a Crossroads
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): At the Age of the Pandemic: The Global Memory of the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide at a Crossroads, PRIF Blog.
    Publication
  • ארדואן מגייס את השואה כדי "להקפיץ" את האירופאים ונכשל
    | 2021
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2021): ארדואן מגייס את השואה כדי "להקפיץ" את האירופאים ונכשל, זמן תל אביב.
    Publication
  • Erdogan’s Comparison of Islamophobia, Antisemitism Doesn't Work
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Erdogan’s Comparison of Islamophobia, Antisemitism Doesn't Work, Jerusalem Post.
    Publication
  • How Do We Remember the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust?
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): How Do We Remember the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust?. A Global View of an Integrated Memory of Perpetrators, Victims and Third–Party Countries, PRIF Report, 6, Frankfurt/M.
  • Disunited by Genocide: How Armenia’s Relations with Israel Have Come to a Dead End
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Disunited by Genocide: How Armenia’s Relations with Israel Have Come to a Dead End, Haaretz.
    Publication
  • 'מדיניות החוץ של טורקיה ושימוש מופרז במושג 'לוחמה בטרור
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): 'מדיניות החוץ של טורקיה ושימוש מופרז במושג 'לוחמה בטרור, זמן ישראל.
    Publication
  • ‘Counter-Terrorism’ in Turkey’s Foreign Policy: Old Wine in a New Bottle?
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): ‘Counter-Terrorism’ in Turkey’s Foreign Policy: Old Wine in a New Bottle?, Jerusalem Post.
    Publication
  • Long-Distance Israeli Nationalism and ‘Crime Minister’ Netanyahu
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Long-Distance Israeli Nationalism and ‘Crime Minister’ Netanyahu, Jerusalem Post.
    Publication
  • ?הפזורה‘ הישראלית: טרנד חולף או כאן כדי להשאר'
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): ?הפזורה‘ הישראלית: טרנד חולף או כאן כדי להשאר', זמן תל אביב.
    Publication
  • Israeli Archives Censorship Regulations and Oral History
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Israeli Archives Censorship Regulations and Oral History, Jerusalem Post.
    Publication
  • Armenian Genocide: Looking Back at the 40 Years It Took for Congress to Acknowledge It
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Armenian Genocide: Looking Back at the 40 Years It Took for Congress to Acknowledge It, The National Interest.
    Publication
  • Author Interview: Eldad Ben Aharon on the Use of Oral History in the Study of International Relations
    | 2020
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2020): Author Interview: Eldad Ben Aharon on the Use of Oral History in the Study of International Relations, the American Oral History Association.
    Publication
  • Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide
    | 2019
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2019): Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide, in: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, [Hebrew] (eds).
    Publication
  • הקונגרס האמריקאי הכיר סוף סוף ברצח העם הארמני. עכשיו תור ישראל
    | 2019
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2019): הקונגרס האמריקאי הכיר סוף סוף ברצח העם הארמני. עכשיו תור ישראל, שיחה מקומית.
    Publication
  • הכרה ברצח העם הארמני היא הכרה באוניברסליות של השואה
    | 2019
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2019): הכרה ברצח העם הארמני היא הכרה באוניברסליות של השואה, שיחה מקומית.
  • Interview with Eldad Ben Aharon about MA programme Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the University of Amsterdam
    | 2013
    Ben Aharon, Eldad (2013): Interview with Eldad Ben Aharon about MA programme Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the University of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam.
    Publication

Further Activities

| 2019–2021
Minerva Postdoctoral Fellow at PRIF

| 2017–2019
Global Excellence Scholar­ship for Armenian Studies, Calouste Gulben­kian Foundation