Prof. Motti Neiger is a leading scholar in the interdisciplinary field of Israel Studies, specializing in the cultural history of Israeli media, Hebrew publishing, and collective memory. His research explores how Israeli identity and nationalism have been shaped through print and digital media, with a particular focus on literary supplements, the Hebrew book industry, and the mediation of national trauma. His book, Publishers as Culture Mediators (2017), was awarded the Best Academic Book in Media Studies and is considered a landmark in understanding the sociopolitical role of publishing in Israel. Neiger’s scholarship bridges communication, Hebrew literature, and cultural sociology, and his work has been widely published in journals such as Journalism, Kesher, and Media, Culture & Society.
Israel Studies – Main Publications, Grants and Prizes:
Books
Neiger M. (2017). Publishers as Culture Mediators: The Cultural History of Hebrew Publishing in Israel (1910-2010). Jerusalem: MN Publishing (ISBN: 978-965-91977-0-5), 702 pp. [in HEB]. [Link to the full book]
Reviews and distinctions:
- Awarded – Best Academic Book in Media Studies Prize 2019 (Awarded by the Israel Communication Association)
- Prof. Israel Bartal (former Dean of Humanities, Hebrew U.) opening remarks on the book before its presentation at the Hebrew Literature Dep. Colloquium as the respondent and moderator of the presentation.
- Prof. Rafi Mann (Ariel U.) – review of the book (Journal: Media Frames, 2019)
- Prof. Uzi Eliada (Haifa U.) – review of the book
Neiger, M. (2000). The Literary Supplements and the Shaping of Israeli Culture: The Literary Supplements in the Israeli Press (1948-1995), Ph.D. Dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (Advisers: Yitzhak Roeh (Dep. of Communication and Journalism, Hebrew University) and Ruth Karton-Bloom (Dep. of Hebrew Literature, Hebrew University). Awarded: April, 2000. [Library of Congress],
Referred Articles
Neiger, M., (2022). Israel's Media Landscape: Democratic Practice, Constrained Environment. In P.R. Kumaraswamy (Ed.), Palgrave International Handbook on Israel. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. (2015). Regimenting the agenda – An insider perspective from the Israel Broadcasting Authority Ethics Committee in N. Elias, Z. Reich, G. Nimrod & A. Schejter (Eds.). Media in Transition (pp. 294-316). Tel-Aviv: Tsivonim, Ben-Gurion U. [in HEB]. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. (2012). Cultural Oxymora: The Israeli idol negotiates meanings and readings. Television and New Media, 13(6): 535-550. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. & Abdulahib, N (2011). The publishing experience: Examining books and internet literary sites publishing processes from the writers' point-of-view. Kesher, 41: 54-64. [in HEB] [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. & Rimmer-Tsory, K. S (2011). Nationalism and war representations in Israel's newspaper during the Second Lebanon War on 2006. Israel Studies in Language and Society. 3(2): 86-113 [in HEB]. [Link – Full publication]
Neiger, M. (2010). Real love has no boundaries? – Dating reality tv shows between global format and local-cultural conflicts. In A. Hetshroni (Ed.) Reality Television: Merging the Global and the Local. Hauppauge (pp. 123-136). NY: Nova Science Publishers. [Link - Full paper]
Neiger, M. (2010). The trends and the impact of the books’ bestseller list. In: Kasel, L. and Hakak Y. (Eds.). The limits of quantifications: Critical perspectives on measuring and grading people, their behaviors and achievements (pp. 247-263). Beer-Sheva: The Ben-Gurion University and the Israeli Association for Qualitative Research Methods. [in HEB]. [Link - Full paper]
Neiger, M. & Kohn A. (2008). A Three-Dimensional Perspective for Cultural Interpretation of Protest Performances. In Alexander T. (Ed.) Igud – Essays on Jewish Studies and Literature (pp. 227-245). Jerusalem: The World Union of Jewish Studies. [HEB] [Link - Full paper]
Neiger, M. (2008). The Establishment of the publishing industry in the Land of Israel. Kesher, 37: 82-92. [in HEB] [Link - Full publication]
Kohn A. & Neiger, M. (2007). To talk and to talkback: The rhetoric of the Talk-Back in Israeli online newspapers. In T. Altshuler (Ed.). Journalism dot com: online newspapers in Israel (pp. 321-350). Jerusalem: Israel Democracy Institute. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. (2004). When Literature Meets the Press – Trends in the Literary Supplements of Daily Newspapers in Israel, From the 1950s to the 1990s. Hebrew Studies, 45, 119-131. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. and Roeh, I. (2003). The secular holy scriptures: The role of the holiday literary supplements in the Israeli press and culture. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 4(4), 477-489. [Link - Full publication]
Neiger, M. (2000). The origins of literary supplements. Reeh: European journal of Hebrew studies, 4: 55-75. [in HEB] [Link - Full publication]
Neiger M. (1996). The life of the poet and essayist Yeshurun Keshet. In: Yeshurun Keshet – The Lost Treasure (pp. 631-664). Jerusalem: Carmel. [in HEB]. [Link – Full publication]
Entries in Academic Encyclopedias
Neiger, M. (2023). "Book Production in Israel". In Emile Schrijver (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Jewish Book Cultures, Amsterdam: Brill. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2772-4026_EJBO_SIM_031434 [Link - Full publication]
Refereed Monographs and Research Report
- Neiger M., Zandberg, E., & Abu-Raya, I. (2001). Israeli Media or Jewish Media? – The Role of Israeli Media in Covering the Clashes between Israeli-Arab citizens and the police on October 2000. Jerusalem: Keshev – Center for the Democracy. (40 pp.) [in Hebrew].
- Neiger, M. & Josman, A. (2005). The Illusion of Democratic Choice: How Reality Shows Obtain Audience Cooperation. Tel Aviv: Haim Herzog Institute, Tel-Aviv University. (40 pp.). [in HEB]. [Link - Full paper]
- Neiger, M., Zandberg, E. & Meyers M. (2007). The Public Role of Commercial Media: Television and Radio Broadcasts during Israel's Memorial Day for the Holocaust and the Heroism, 1991-2004. (97 pp.). [in HEB]
- Neiger, M., Zandberg, E. & Meyers M. (2008). The Rhetoric of Criticism: Challenging Criticism, Reaffirming Criticism, and Israeli Journalism during the Second Lebanon War. The Media in the Lebanon War series, Tel-Aviv: The Rothschild-Caesarea School of Communication, Tel Aviv University. (52 pp.). [in HEB] [Link - Full publication]
Related Grants and Prizes:
2019 - Best Academic Book in Media Studies Prize: For the book "Book Publishers as Culture Mediators", Awarded by the Israel Communication Association
2006 - The Center for Ethics, Mishkenot Shananim Jerusalem; Project: The books bestseller lists in Israel
2001 - The Mozes Prize for Excellent Dissertation, Dep. of Communication and Journalism, Hebrew U.
2000 - The Avraham Issac Katz Prize for research in Jewish Studies, Institute for Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Literature Dep., Hebrew University.