Widely recognized as an Israeli feminist and peace activist, Prof. Galia Golan is in fact a Sovietologist, Professor Emerita at the Hebrew University and head of the MA program in Government, Diplomacy and Conflict Studies at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Born in Ohio in the late 30s, Prof. Golan started off as a philosophy student at Brandeis University, but after a memorable trip to Eastern Europe she decided to change her major to East European studies, hoping to somehow get involved in the quest of the East European societies for freedom. She later tried to apply for a job at the UN, and – with the help of her mentor, the renowned Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse – ended up working as an intelligence analyst for the CIA, in which capacity she foresaw the so-called Prague Spring – the anti-Soviet uprising in Czechoslovakia. Golan immigrated to Israel in the mid-60s, and has since managed to successfully combine an illustrious academic career with high-profile activism.