Assaf David

Assaf David (Hebrew: אסף דוד) is an Israeli political scientist, academic, and peace activist known for his work on Israel’s place in the Middle East, civil‑military relations in Jordan, and progressive regional policy discourse.

Personal life Assaf David was born in Ramat Gan and raised from the age of five in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, where he attended a religious school and grew up within the milieu of religious Zionism. He is of Yemeni Jewish descent, and his grandparents spoke a distinctive Judeo-Yemeni dialect of Arabic. His cultural upbringing included traditional Yemeni customs and religious practices.

In the late 1990s, while still serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, David was seriously wounded in a Hamas suicide bombing on a civilian bus in Jerusalem. He lost his left eye and sustained injuries to his chest and arm. The trauma and long recovery led him to reflect on the causes and consequences of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. A pivotal moment in his healing process came when an Arab nurse treating his wounds expressed sorrow, saying, "What are we doing to each other?"—which moved David deeply and helped reframe his understanding of the conflict. He previously taught political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the Departments of Middle East Studies and Politics & Government at Ben‑Gurion University of the Negev. He is also a research fellow at the Truman Institute for Peace at the Hebrew University and an adjunct lecturer there and at Ben‑Gurion University.

Academic research David's doctoral dissertation, supervised by Prof. Avraham Sela at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, focused on civil‑military relations in Jordan under Kings Hussein and Abdullah II. His research interests include Jordanian state‑society relations, Arab public discourse, Israel’s regional identity, and the development of Middle East studies in Israel.

Political activism David is co‑founder and academic director of the Forum for Regional Thinking, a think tank of Israeli Middle East scholars dedicated to re‑framing Israel’s regional discourse.

After the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and Israeli invasion of Gaza, David became a vocal critic of Israeli policy, causing devastation and suffering to the civilian population in Gaza. In February 2025, he co‑edited a major policy document titled “The Present Day: Peacemaking Alternatives for Israeli Policy” advocating for an immediate end to hostilities, Palestinian sovereignty, halt to settlement expansion, and educational and regional de‑escalation initiatives. On April 3, 2025, he and Smadar Ben‑Natan presented the document in a virtual briefing hosted by J Street’s Policy Center.

Selected publications “Presence out, Ideas In: Representation and Socio‑Political Change in Jordan”, Representation, Vol. 48, Issue 3 (2012). Various essays and analyses in outlets like Molad and The Daily Beast on Middle East issues and Jordan. “The Self‑Orientalization of Israeli Politics” (with Arie Dubnov), Public Seminar (February 19 2025).