Research Interests
Friling's research interest focuses on the Zionist leadership's role in the nation building processes in the pre-state Yishuv and the State of Israel, as well as on David Ben-Gurion's leadership during that period and the ensemble of his decision making and strategic moves before and after the establishment of the State of Israel. In addition, Friling explored the Yishuv leadership's role in rescue attempts during the Holocaust and the impact of these issues on questions pertaining to Israeli identity. His book "Arrows in the Dark—David Ben-Gurion, the Yishuv leadership, and rescue attempts during the Holocaust" (University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2005) analyzes the Yishuv's rescue efforts during the Holocaust and provides a detailed account of the scope and complexities of the activities carried out by David Ben-Gurion and the Yishuv leadership during that period.
Friling also dealt with post-Zionism and the roots of the controversy between so-called new historians and critical sociologists and "establishment" historians and sociologists. His article: The Seventh Million as the Zionist Movement's March of Folly, was published in 1992 and was among the first attempts to grapple with this controversy. Further contributions to this debate were an article he co-authored with Yehuda Bauer, that was published in Iton 77, and a comprehensive book he edited, entitled An Answer to a Post-Zionist Colleague – a compilation of articles by various researchers shedding light on different perspectives of this issue.
Friling also dealt with the historical and ideological roots of the debate about Israel's social and economic policy in recent years, and together with Daniel Gutwein and Avi Bareli edited a two volume publication Society and Economy in Israel: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.
Tuvia Friling was among Israel's pioneers in the development of computerized full-text databases of historical documentation based on modern retrieval systems. The digitalized online archive he created with his partners at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute in Sde Boqer provides scholars with unprecedented research opportunities. Friling also developed teaching methods for teaching history in a research environment and by means of computerized online settings. This program served as the foundation for scores of teacher training courses entitled "The Expedition to the Isle of Story".
Friling is at present engaged in researching the activities of the Yishuv's right-wing circles during the Holocaust in illegal immigration, aid and rescue, as well as their clandestine cooperation with American, British and other intelligence services, and their post World War II involvement in illegal immigration and the building of an armed force.
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