Sigal R. Ben-Porath Books

Guy Ben-Porat explores the evolving tensions between the liberal component in Israeli society and the constraints imposed by religious orthodoxy.

Examines the relationship among civic education, the culture of war, and the quest for peace. Drawing on examples from Israel and the United States, this work seeks to understand how ideas about citizenship change when a country is at war, and what educators can do to prevent some of the most harmful of these changes.

If free market advocates had total control over education policy, would the shared public system of education collapse? Would school choice revitalize schooling with its innovative force? With proliferating charters and voucher schemes, would the United States finally make a dramatic break with its past and expand parental choice? Those are not only the wrong questions—they’re the wrong premises, argue philosopher Sigal R. Ben-Porath and historian Michael C. Johanek in Making Up Our Mind. Market-driven school choices aren’t new. They predate the republic, and for generations parents have chosen to educate their children through an evolving mix of publicly supported, private, charitable, and entrepreneurial enterprises. The question is not whether to have school choice. It is how we will regulate who has which choices in our mixed market for schooling—and what we, as a nation, hope to accomplish with that mix of choices. Looking beyond the simplistic divide between those who oppose government intervention and those who support public education, the authors make the case for a structured landscape of choice in schooling, one that protects the interests of children and of society, while also identifying key shared values on which a broadly acceptable policy could rest.

Exploring the tension between individual liberty and collective goals, this book addresses the extent of government intervention in personal choices. It critiques the tendency for society to prioritize personal freedom over meaningful opportunities. By proposing a balanced approach, it advocates for a framework that equalizes opportunities while safeguarding individual choice, aiming to reconcile freedom-oriented anti-interventionism with equality-focused social welfare.

An even-handed exploration of the polarized state of campus politics that suggests ways for schools and universities to encourage discourse across difference. Ben-Porath sets out to demonstrate the role of the university in American society and, specifically, how it can model free speech in ways that promote democratic ideals

This volume examines the gap between agreements and actual peace. It offers different explanations for the successes and failures of the three processes - in South Africa, Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine - and provides historical and comparative perspectives on the failure of the Middle East peace process.