The Rockefeller Boys. Review of Ben-Bassat (ed.) "The Israeli Economy, 1985-1998"

academia censorship economic theory ideology Israel liberalization reformThis review was commissioned in August 2003 by the Journal of Cold War Studies. Following our explicit inquiry, the journal confirmed that our text would be published “as is.” With this assurance, we submitted the paper in January 2004. The paper was longer than the journal’s standard review. We drew attention to the extra length and explained why it was necessary given the subject matter. The journal accepted the review and scheduled its publication to the Fall of 2004. But then the editor, Mark Kramer, had a change of heart. Having read our paper, he must have realized he had made a big mistake. This type of criticism had no place in his respectable journal. He began evasive actions. Without notice, our paper was postponed to the next issue, and then to the following one. We protested the censorship. Kramer assured us there was none. There was simply a long backlog of reviews, he said. Our paper would be published, and without editorial intervention. Finally, in April 2005, the truth came out. We were notified that the paper could not be published as is. It was simply too long. We could, if we wanted to, cut it half. . . . Or, alternatively, we could enlarge it into a review essay and re-submit it to the journal’s referees. . . . Then they would re-consider it. . .