Gad Barzilai, professor emeritus and a passionate scholar, teacher and colleague at the Jackson School of International Studies and the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, passed away on April 10, 2023. He was also a professor in the Law, Societies & Justice department at the UW.
Gad was an international expert on comparative politics and law who wrote extensively on Israel in the Middle East and comparative political context. Some notable achievements include as Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Israeli Association of Law and Society; Board Member of the Law and Society Association, Board Member of the American Journal of Political Science, Board Member of the Association of Israel Studies, Board Member of Israel Studies Forum, and Board Member of the Journal of Comparative Studies. He was active in international, Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian human rights organizations and advised senior politicians and NGOs on issues of law and politics.
Prior to 2005, he was Professor of Political Science and Law in the Department of Political Science and co-Founder and co-Director of the Law, Politics & Society Graduate Program at Tel Aviv University.
From 1999 to 2002, Gad played a founding role in the newly established international Dan David Prize. The Dan David prize is among the three large Prize foundations in the world, bestowing international prizes and scholarships for academic and scientific international excellence. During Barzilai’s term, two out of three laureates of the prize were awarded the Nobel Prize.
Read the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies memoriam of Gad