Yael Shmaryahu-Yeshurun

Dr. Yael Shmaryahu-Yeshurun is a faculty member in the Department of Politics and Government within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, joining the institution as part of the 2024-2025 new faculty roster. Her interdisciplinary research bridges urban studies, political science, and sociology with a focus on marginalized communities in conflict zones.

Her academic background includes:

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Master's degree in the Mandel Program for Social Leadership, Guilford Glazer Faculty of Management, Ben-Gurion University
• Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy, Ben-Gurion University
• Postdoctoral research at Bar-Ilan University and University of California, San Diego (European Union Marie Curie program)

Dr. Shmaryahu-Yeshurun investigates gentrification through a political-sociological lens, challenging conventional economic frameworks by revealing how national logic drives territorial control in conflict contexts like Israel. Her doctoral work analyzed Torah cores settlement policies as institutional ethno-gentrification, while current research examines Latino entrepreneurs in San Diego's Rio Logan neighborhood who simultaneously act as gentrifiers and community resisters through political entrepreneurship, graffiti, and solidarity networks. This work exposes the complex duality where minority groups navigate displacement while leveraging gentrification for political expression and economic agency.

Her research demonstrates how urban renewal processes in contested spaces serve dual functions: displacing vulnerable populations while enabling subaltern communities to reclaim agency through cultural resistance embedded in commercial spaces. No information is available regarding graduate student advising or research grants.

Dr. Shmaryahu-Yeshurun maintains an active research program connecting Israeli urban policies with global gentrification patterns, though specific laboratory affiliations or research teams are not documented in available materials.