Colin Shindler has been awarded the gold medal in The Washington Institute's 2016 Book Prize competition.

Mr Shindler was acknowledged for his book, The Rise of the Israeli Right: From Odessa to Hebron, and will receive the accompanying $25,000 prize.

The judges said his book “expertly traces the evolution of this stream of the Zionist movement from the work of Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the early 20th century to its role as the dominant force in Israeli politics today.

“This myth-defying book describes the many contradictions that have characterised the Israeli right – its liberalism and militancy, pragmatism and idealism.

“The Rise of the Israeli Right is indispensable to any nuanced understanding of the right today, and why its hold on power now appears unshakable."

Mr Shindler, emeritus professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, told the JC in an interview in 2009: “The best essay on [Zionist revisionist activist] Ze’ev Jabotinsky I’ve ever read was written by a relative of a well-known Palestinian leader.”

He explained:  “People come to this college and to the course from the developing world, and many of them are from Arab and Muslim countries. A lot of them come with their views about Israel pre-determined.

“I teach as objectively as I can and I don’t penalise those who write essays with different conclusions to mine, but I do expect them to justify their views, and to come up with a genuine analysis. I think people want to be informed. They want to explore this complex, tragic conflict.”