Ruth Kark ( he, רות קרק; born 1941) is an Israeli historical geographer and professor of geography at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

. Professor Kark is a well-known researcher and expert in the field of the historical geography of Palestine and Israel.

Biography

Early life and education

Ruth Kark (née Kleiner) was born in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

in 1941 to Shoshana Moczan and Avraham Kleiner. Kark completed her B.A. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1964, was awarded an MA in 1972 and earned her doctorate in 1977. Kark's PhD thesis was on ''The Development of the Cities

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and Jaffa from 1840 up to the First World War'' (A Study in Historical Geography).

Personal life

Kark was married to Jeremy David Kark, with whom she had three children.

Academic career

Kark has written and edited more than 20 books and over 250 peer-reviewed articles on the history and

historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

and Israel. Kark is noted for her work on settlement in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israel ...

in the 19th-century and Western influences on the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy L ...

. More recently, she has published works about women and land ownership in both traditional and modern cultures across the Middle East. Kark is often brought into court hearings in Israel as an expert on land disputes and as an academic with a reputation in the field of pre-State landownership in Israel.

Published works

Books

* Kark, R., ''Frontier Jewish Settlement in the Negev, 1880–1948.'' Tel Aviv: Ha-Kibbutz Ha-Muchad Publishers, 1974. 204 pp. (in Hebrew). *Kark, R., ''Neighborhoods in Jerusalem—Building in New Jerusalem and Neighborhoods By-Laws.'' Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, 1978. 88 pp. (in Hebrew). *Kark, R., ''Jaffa—A City in Evolution, 1799–1917.'' Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1984. 300 pp. (in Hebrew). *Kark, R., ''Jerusalem Neighborhoods, Planning and By-Laws (1855–1930)''. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1991. 195 pp. *Glass J. B. and Kark, R., ''Sephardi Entrepreneurs in Eretz Israel—The Amzalak Family, 1816–1918.'' Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1991. 202 pp. *Kark, R., ''American Consuls in the Holy Land 1832–1914.'' Detroit: Wayne State University Press; Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1994. 395 pp. *Kark, R. and Oren-Nordheim M., ''Jerusalem and Its Environs—Quarters, Neighborhoods and Villages 1800–1948''. Jerusalem: Academon Publishing House, 1995. 528 pp. (in Hebrew). *Amit, I. and Kark, R., ''Yehoshua Hankin.'' Tel Aviv: Milo, 1996. 334 pp. (in Hebrew). *Dudman, H. and Kark, R., ''The American Colony, Scenes from a Jerusalem Saga.'' Jerusalem: Carta, 1998, 303 pp. *Kark-Kleiner, R. ''The Pioneering Observation Posts in the Negev.'' Jerusalem: Ariel Publishing, Jerusalem, 2002 (Hebrew). *Kark, R. and Glass, J. B., ''Seven Generations in Jerusalem:'' ''The Valero Family, 1800-1948.'' Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem and New York, 2005 (Hebrew), 334 pp. *Perry, N. and Kark, R., ''Ethnographic Museums in Israel,'' Jerusalem: Ariel Publishing, Jerusalem, 2014 (Hebrew) and English, Israel Academic Press (2017). *Galilee, E. and Kark, R., ''The Valley of Yizrael/Marj Ibn Amarat the end of the Ottoman Period,'' Hebrew & English, Israel Academic Press, New York, 2017. *Slae, B. and Kark, R., ''Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter: Heritage and Post War Restoration,'' Israel Academic Press and Amazon, New York, 2018. * Galilee, E. and Kark, R., ''Transformation of the Jezreel Valley: Marj Ibn 'Amer in the late Ottoman Period'' , Israel Academic Press, 2018.

Edited books

* Ben-Arieh, Y. and Kark, R., eds. ''Israel Studies in Historical Geography.'' A Book Series. Jerusalem: Magnes Press (five volumes, 1989–1997; four of the volumes in press). *Kark, R., ed. ''The Land that Became Israel. Studies in Historical Geography.'' Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1989. 362 pp. *Kark, R., ed. ''Redemption of the Land of Eretz-Israel: Ideology and Practice''. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, 1990. 320 pp. (in Hebrew). *Kark, R., ed. ''Land and Settlement in Eretz Israel 1830–1990. Selected Papers by Prof. Ruth Kark.'' Jerusalem: The Land-Use Research Institute, 1995. 200 pp. (in Hebrew and English). *Shilo, M., Kark, R. and Hasan-Rokem, G., eds., ''Jewish Women in the Yishuv and Zionism: A Gender Perspective'', Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Press, 2001, 463 pp. (Hebrew). *Kark, R., Shilo, M. and Hasan-Rokem, G., ''Jewish Women in Pre-State Israel: Life History, Politics and Culture'', Waltham, MA.: Brandeis University Press and Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England (updated English version, 2008).

Awards and recognition

Professor Kark has received numerous scholarships and awards. These include the Jerusalem Bank award, a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

(USA-Israel), and many more. In 2009, Kark and co-author Joseph Glass won an award for their research on the development of banking in Ottoman Palestine. In 2013, Kark was awarded the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim ( he, יַקִּיר יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; en, Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to o ...

prize for her contributions to the city of

.Love at first sight

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. ...

In 2014, she received the Herzl prize for her research on the settlement in Israel, and in 2016 she was awarded a recognition of gratitude award from the Israeli Geographical Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kark, Ruth Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Israeli historians Israeli women historians Jewish historians Historians of the Middle East Historians of Israel Living people 1941 births