Israeli Visions and Divisions: Cultural Change and Political Conflict - Hardcover

Arnoff, Myron J.

9780887382550: Israeli Visions and Divisions: Cultural Change and Political Conflict

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 088738255X ISBN 13: 9780887382550

Publisher: Routledge, 1989

This finely etched, on-site work examines the relationships between the changing political system and political culture in Israel, with particular focus on the decade of the 1980s. Written by a scholar equally at home in the United States and in Israel, and intellectually equally at home in political science and anthropology, Israeli Visions and Divisions is a fundamental contribution to a literature long on passion and short on reason, which perhaps is an academic reflection of social life in this deeply troubled land.Aronoff starts from the belief that the basic conflicting and even contradictory interpretations over what should be the exact character of Israel as a Jewish state continues to be the source of the most serious division among Jews within contemporary Israel. As a consequence, consensus politics yields to coalition politics; and prospects for a future consensus are dim. Conflict among Jewish political and religious groups, and between Jews and Arabs, is aggravated by the uses of Zionist symbolism in a fragmented political culture.This is a serious critique made from a sympathetic quarter. Aronoff suggests that the Israeli political system is undergoing a crisis of political legitimacy, exemplified by the rise of extraparliamentary movements. The parliamentary system accentuates' these divisions by making every minor tradition and vision part of the legislative and executive processes.Israeli Visions and Divisions is not a pessimistic reading. The author is convinced that the way is open for a move away from particularism and tribalism, and toward a new universalism and humanism. The old policies have proven bankrupt, and th,e old ideologies have lost their salience. The book is rich in detail and profound in outlook. It will be greeted by those interested in new policies as well as by students of the Middle East who hope to piece together what has gone awry in the land of milk and honey.

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Review:

-This book examines recent changes in the politics of Israel from the perspective of political culture and political anthropology. The author focuses on the ideological and psychological factors that marked the decline in support for the center-left Labor party in the 1970s and the concomitant rise of the center-right Likud party under the leadership of Menahem Begin... This is a fascinating examination of an evolving political system from an unusual and insightful perspective. Recommended for college and university libraries.- --F. Tachau, Choice "This book examines recent changes in the politics of Israel from the perspective of political culture and political anthropology. The author focuses on the ideological and psychological factors that marked the decline in support for the center-left Labor party in the 1970s and the concomitant rise of the center-right Likud party under the leadership of Menahem Begin... This is a fascinating examination of an evolving political system from an unusual and insightful perspective. Recommended for college and university libraries." --F. Tachau, Choice "This book examines recent changes in the politics of Israel from the perspective of political culture and political anthropology. The author focuses on the ideological and psychological factors that marked the decline in support for the center-left Labor party in the 1970s and the concomitant rise of the center-right Likud party under the leadership of Menahem Begin... This is a fascinating examination of an evolving political system from an unusual and insightful perspective. Recommended for college and university libraries." --F. Tachau, Choice

About the Author:

Myron J. Aronoff is professor of political science and anthropology at Rutgers University. He is author of Power and Ritual in the Israel Labor Party and has edited Freedom and Constraint: A Memorial Tribute to Max Gluckman.

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