Kineret Sadeh

A sociologist of culture and liberalism who studies Israeli society, Dr. Kineret Sadeh examines social actors at the crossroads of liberal culture and non-liberal worlds of meaning and how they cope with the challenge of living together with others. In her doctoral dissertation (Tel Aviv University), she explored how ultra-Orthodox Mizrahi educators who belong to a new civic elite – currently emerging in ultra-Orthodox society in Israel – deal with the challenge of educating their students, and even themselves, about living with those who are different from them: non-Jews, secular Jews, LGBTs, etc. Her findings revealed how they developed forms of tolerance that surpass the contentious notions of liberal toleration. As The Ray D. Wolfe Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies, Sadeh's research focuses on NGOs promoting a new democratic culture that mediates between liberal and non-liberal groups in Israel. She depicts the cultural toolkits (i.e., symbols, stories, rituals, and world-views) used by activists to develop solidarity and civic friendship across the divides and traces the role of Jewish traditions and culture in this effort.