Benji

Davis

Assistant Professor

Email:

benjamin.davis@yu.edu

Education:

BA, Middle East Studies & History (Summa Cum Laude & Phi Beta Kappa), George Washington University, 2009

MA, Jewish Education, Hebrew University, 2017

PhD, Education, Haifa University, 2024

Biography:

Dr. Benji Davis is Assistant Professor of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. His research focuses on the philosophy, teaching, and learning of Israel in experiential Jewish education, with a focus on Jewish identity development. He has been published in leading academic and Jewish scholarly publications. At Azrieli he teaches graduate courses in research methods, academic writing, teaching Israel, and experiential Jewish education, and advises EdD candidates on their dissertation research.

Honors and Awards:

Israel Institute Post Doctoral Fellowship in Israel Studies, George Mason University (2024-2025)
Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) Harold Wechlser Award for Emerging Scholars (2024), board member, and national conference chair (2026)

Publications:

Peer Reviewed Research

(2026) The Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Ethical Identity Education. Oxford Review of Education, 1–19. With Hanan Alexander.
(2025) Liberal Jewish Identity and the Pedagogy of Israel Education. Journal of Religious Education, 73, 207–230. With Hanan Alexander.
(2025) Teaching Palestinian Perspectives and the Pedagogy of "Historical Empathy". In M. Reingold (Ed.), Education after October 7: Essays about Teaching and Learning in the Jewish Diaspora (pp. 112–130). Academic Studies Press.
(2024) "You Never Told Me": The Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Israel Education. Contemporary Jewry, 44, 369–395. With Hanan Alexander.
(2023) Israel Education: A Philosophical Analysis. Journal of Jewish Education, 89(1), 6–33. With Hanan Alexander.

Jewish Scholarly Publications

(2026) The DMC at Camp: Turning a Phenomenon into a Peoplehood Pedagogy. The Peoplehood Papers, special edition on Jewish camping (Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education and Foundation for Jewish Camp).
(2026) Complicating Complexity: Israel Education after October 7. Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, Shalom Hartman Institute. With Hanan Alexander.
(2026) From Immersion to Deliberation: A Model for Hebrew Identity Education. Jewish Educational Leadership, The Lookstein Center.
(2026) What We Know about Israel in Jewish Education: A Literature Review. Reimagining Israel Education, The Jewish Education Project. With Ezra Kopelowitz.
(2026) A Klal Yisrael Orientation for the Judaic Studies Curriculum. HaYidion, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools.
(2026) Am Yisrael Chai: Education for Belonging to a "Living Jewish People". Reimagining Israel Education, The Jewish Education Project.
(2025) Foundational Story Pedagogy in Israel Education. HaYidion, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. With Matt Reingold and Ezra Kopelowitz.
(2024) Israel Education in a Post-October 7th World. Jewish Educational Leadership 22(2), The Lookstein Center. With Michael Unterberg and Alan Goldman.
(2023) Jewish Peoplehood, Israel Education, and Liberal Religious Jewish Identity. The Peoplehood Papers 33, 22–25, Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.

Book Reviews

(2024) Review of Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field, edited by Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold (Brandeis University Press, 2024). Journal of Jewish Education, 90(2), 175–178.