Barry Rubin Has Died at Age 64

Prof. Barry Rubin, head of the GLORIA Center and prolific author on Middle Eastern subjects, has died of cancer at the age of only 64.  Though Barry and I rarely if ever saw eye-to-eye on political issues, I have known him since we were both in grad school at Georgetown in the 1970s, and I respect him as a scholar and as a strong advocate for the issues he believed in, even when I did not share them.

American-born and educated, Barry eventually chose to relocate permanently to Israel (with occasional visiting fellowships in the US), where he made a career as both an academic and political commentator; in more recent years he has developed a following among US conservatives.

My condolences to his family and colleagues. The Jerusalem Post obituary here, JTA's here, and The Washington Institute here.

UPDATE: A nice tribute by Lee Smith at Tablet Magazine.