Despite his significant disabilities, which caused Kimmerling to experience motor difficulties and speech problems, his parents raised him as a typical child and encouraged him to strive high.[1] Exempt from conscription into the Israel Defense Forces, Kimmerling enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1963, and obtained his PhD in 1973 as a sociologist.[2] Kimmerling was known for his work analyzing pre-1948 Jewish settlement in Palestine in terms of colonialism.[3] He lectured widely and wrote nine books and hundreds of essays.[3] He also wrote numerous newspaper articles, in venues such as Haaretz and The Nation.[2][3] He held a chair at the University of Toronto.[3]