Yaacov Oved has been a member of Kibbutz Palmachim ever since its establishment in 1949. He is professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University's department of history and a research fellow of Yad Tabenkin. He has engaged in the research of communes throughout the world and has published books and articles on this subject in Hebrew, English, and Spanish. He was one of the founders of the International Communal Studies Association (ICSA) in 1985 and servedas its chairman until 2004.