Yaacov Yadgar, Oxford University’s new Stanley Lewis Professor of Israel Studies, who officially takes up the post tomorrow, said he will strive to make the university “a global leader” in the field.

The Israeli academic, who has come from Bar-Ilan University, succeeds Derek Penslar, who was the first professor in the subject at Oxford when he started five years ago.

Professor Yadgar, whose most recent book Sovereign Jews: Israel, Zionism and Judaism, was published earlier this year, will be a fellow at St Anne’s College.

He said his intention was to “create a space for tolerant and diverse engagement with Israel-related issues”.

His approach to Israel studies was “ both pluralistic and inclusive,” he said. 

“I am interested in exploring what Israel and Israeli means for all the subgroups in Israeli society. Israeli society is not homogeneous and we must recognise the various histories, identities, cultures, and politics within it.”

He is also keen to “put Israel back” within the broader framework of Middle Eastern studies, examining such questions as “how do Israel's neighbours understand or perceive Israel and Israeli identity? Combining a pluralistic understanding of Israeliness and an inclusive view of Israel in the Middle East is crucial to deepening our understanding.”