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Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber, PhD

Associate Professor, Communication, Journalism & Media

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Program Director, Women's & Gender Studies

Biography

Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber was born and raised in Israel to parents of Yemenite descent. She has a Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a PhD in Communication from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  She has worked as a journalist in Israel for several publications including: Yediot Aharonot, Shishi, Hadashot, and Hapatish newspapers, and did research for the investigative show Uvda on Channel Two. She also worked as a researcher and diversity trainer for Adva Center for Equality of Israeli Society. Shoshana joined the faculty at Suffolk University in 2004, and has been teaching courses in Journalism, Media, and Documentary Film. She is the author of Israeli Media and the Framing of Internal Conflict (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). This book examines bias within the state of Israel and the media at large, through the lens of the news coverage of the Yemenite Babies Affair. 

The Yemenite Babies Affair is the emotionally laden, yet still unresolved, story of the alleged kidnapping of hundreds of Yemenite babies during transit and upon their arrival to Israel during the 1950s.  In analyzing fifty years of public narratives, Shoshana argues that the media played a major role in concurrently framing and silencing this story. This study exposes the clash between the European Zionist ideology of unity, and the reality of Israel’s diverse society, where at least half of the Jewish population is of Arab descent. Shoshana is engaged regularly in giving guest lectures about her research topics in both academic settings and to the community at large in the US and in Israel.  She is also part of the speaker’s bureau of the multicultural organization Bechol Lashon. 

Education

  • PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • MA, Hebrew University
  • BA, Bar-Ilan University

Research Interests

  • Intra Jewish conflict in Israeli society.
  • The role of the media in shaping the sphere of public discourse, especially the representation of minorities and social conflict. 
  • Representation of Mizrahim (Arab-Jews) in popular culture.
  • Intercultural communication. 
  • Activism, social protest, and social media.

Publications

Books

  • Madmoni-Gerber, S. (2019). Their Cry I Cannot Forget: How My Investigation of the Yemenite Babies Affair Disillusioned Me with Zionism. In Carolyn Karcher (Ed.), From Ethnic Loyalty to Human Solidarity: Stories of Jewish Transformation. Olive Branch Press (Interlink).
  • Madmoni-Gerber, S. (2019). דיווח או טיוח? פרשת ילדי תימן בראי התקשורת הישראלית. In Tova Gamliel and Nathan Shifriss (Ed.), The Children of the Heart (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Resling.
  • Israeli Media and the Framing of Internal Conflict: The Yemenite Babies Affair. Palgrave Macmillan (2009); published in paperback (July 2014).

Other

  • Madmoni-Gerber, S. (2019). מחאת התימנים בפרספקטיבה היסטורית. Hakivun Mizrah, 33. (in Hebrew).
  • Book Review: Bureaucratic Torture, Israeli nationalism, and the Question of Palestine; Full text HTML PDF; Cultural Studies; Published online: 17 April 2016
  • Film review: “Arab citizen of Israel, member of the enemy.” (November 16th  2013)
  • “The Yemenite Baby Affair: What if this was your child?” (July 12th 2013)
  • Book Review: Yoel Cohen, God Jews and the Media Religion and Israel’s media, Jewish Studies Series (London and New York: Routledge, May 28th 2012). International Journal of Middle East Studies IJMES 45(3), August 2013.
  • “Whitewashing Narratives: Israeli Media and the Yemenite Babies Affair.” in Arab Jews: Third Interruption? (Ebrei Arabi: Terzo Incomodo?) Edited by Susanna Sinigaglia. Zambon Press (2012) (in Italian)
  • Book Review: Intra Jewish Conflict In Israel: White Jews Black Jews (Rougtledge 2010) by Sami Shalom Chetrit. In the Journal of Holly Land Studies Volume 9, No. 1, May 2010. pp. 121-125.
  • “Kikar Hahalomot: Circle of Dreams” Forthcoming in 24 Frames: North Africa and Middle Eastern Cinema, Colombia University Press (2007).
  • “Ella Shohat: Zichronot Asurom [Forbidden Reminiscences]” A book review in Israel Studies Forum 21 (1) 2006.
  • “Orientalism Reconsidered: Israeli Media and the Articulation of Resistance” Cultural Studies Volume 17 (2), May 2003. 
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Office Hours

    • Tuesday 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (via Zoom, in-person, or by appointment)
    • Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (via Zoom, in-person, or by appointment)
  • Schedule an Appointment

Courses Taught

  • CJN 112 Journalism I
  • CJN 253 Broadcast Journalism
  • CJN 301 Documentary Film and Conflict
  • CJN 315 Conflict, Negotiation, Mediation
  • CJN 482 Cultural Theory and Practice
  • CJN 510 Independent Study
  • CJN H301 Honors Documentary Film & Conflict