Oxford University has appointed its first chair of Israel studies to research the economics, society and politics of the Jewish state, following a £3m benefaction by a charitable foundation.

Derek Penslar, professor of Jewish history at Toronto university, will take up the post next year as a fellow of St Anne's College. He said he regarded himself as under an obligation to "strive for political neutrality" and would study Israel "within a global context". "One cannot understand Zionism without studying the history of nationalism, both within Europe and as a reaction against European colonialism.

"One cannot understand Israeli politics, or the relationship between the Israeli state and its military, outside of the framework of Arab-Israeli relations and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Penslar told the Guardian in an email. "Israel's economy is, particularly in recent years, very much a product of trends towards globalization."...