Georges Elia Sarfati was born in 1957. He is a linguist, philosopher and Franco-israeli poet writing in French. He is a University Professor, a director of research at the Sorbonne-University of Paris IV. A former professor at the University of Tel Aviv (1993-2001), he is a member of the editorial board of the French journal Controverses, and an associate at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He is also a specialist in Jewish Studies and a professor at the Elie Wiesel University of Jewish Studies in Paris.
He introduced into language theory the philosophical and anthropological question of common sense and doxa, that is, commonly accepted beliefs. His research has developed a conception of social reproduction based on a theory of the norms of the practice and institutions of meaning. Following the Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci, he has worked out a critical elite and hegemony theory, linked to a political conception of discourse.
His work in philosophy constitutes a reflection on the Jewish condition profoundly shaped by Israel’s national renaissance. For Georges-Elia Sarfati, the responsibility of contemporary Jewish philosophy consists in reaffirming both the spiritual and the historical dimension of Israel, in the face of various forms of nihilism. This perspective is inseparable from criticism of the hostile discourses that have accompanied this renaissance.
He was awarded the Louise Labé Poetry Prize (2002).
In 2010, he founded the Popular University of Jerusalem, based on the principle of « knowledge for everyone ». Instruction at the PUJ is aimed at responding to the campaigns delegitimizing Israel, by using active pedagogy.