Democracy and Israel

Israel is the only new state among the twenty-one countries in the world today that have maintained democracy without interruption since the end of the Second World War. Israel's case is all the more notable because its democracy was established under extremely adverse conditions: massive immigration; severe social dislocation; the introduction of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious, and national differences; rapid economic growth; a permanent security threat that led to five major wars in thirty-five years; and a population that, in the main, had little or no experience of a democratic order. In this insightful study of Israel's founding period from 1948 to 1967, Peter Medding addresses this puzzle, providing a lucid account of the political and historical conditions that gave rise to this distinctive period, as well as the changes which brought it to an end. The result is an eminently readable account of the state-building process and of the role played by David Ben-Gurion and other politicians in moving from consensus politics to a majoritarian-like democracy. Medding's analysis is further enriched by his comparisons of the development of Israeli democracy with that of other countries.

Often regarded as the only true manifestation of political pluralism in the contemporary Middle East, the state of Israel has dominated the history and politics of the region for over fifty years. Yet despite its position as a regional superpower, Israel continues to struggle with the whole issue of its own identity, the complexities of which have exposed deep clefts throughout Israeli society that threaten to undermine the collective ideal of a viable Jewish polity in the Middle East. This book explores the complex challenges facing Israel, and the extent to which its present state structures and institutions can adapt and accommodate themselves to the diversity of security threats that it now faces. This book will be of interest to those who wish to understand the dynamics that have shaped and continue to shape the state of Israel, and the extent to which these have influenced its search for security in the modern Middle East.

Israeli government and politics have undergone significant changes since 1983. This latest edition takes account of these changes and now offers a comprehensive and up to date overview of the dynamics of Israeli government.

With full coverage of recent dramatic events in Israeli politics from the Rabin assassination through the prime ministership of Benyamin Netanyahu to the electoral victory of Ehud Barak, this is the most current introduction to Israeli politics and society available today. It is also an enormously readable and engaging book. It conveys a strong sense of everyday life in Israel, the ethnic composition and institutional structure of Israeli society, the nuances and contradictions of Israeli identity, Israeli political culture, and the issues that dominate Israeli domestic and foreign policy debates. Enlivened with anecdotes and supplied with maps, a glossary, and suggested readings, this book is accessible to anyone interested. It has been especially popular with students, tourists, and travelers.

This text looks at policy change in political parties, through an examination of the British and French left's policy towards Israel in the post-war period. It illuminates how the left dealt with the Israel/Arab hostilities.

During the past decade many dramatic changes have influenced the basic characteristics of the Israeli democracy, including the environmental and existential circumstances that dictate the country's future. This book examines the challenges and circumstances this country has faced and addresses both the public's and leadership's singular goal of peace and security.

In all aspects of life, Israel continues to evolve from the country it was in 1948. These essays address issues of foreign policy as well as some of the most heated domestic topics in Israel today - the peace process, the changing role of women, the role of less religious Jews, the decline of Zionist ideology, the identity of Indian Jews, and the allocation of economic resources.

TO MANY, Jews and Arabs stand in permanent opposition, representing two clashing cultures, mentalities, and temperaments. In this book, Nissim Rejwan maintains that this perception is historically inaccurate. From the standpoint of culture, ethnicity, and religion, he says, Israel is an integral part of the Middle East.

As a nation Israel consists largely of Middle Eastern and North African Jews, native-born Israelis of European origin, and Arabs. Rejwan shows that peaceful and neighborly relations among these groups have always prevailed and that the lot of the Jews has been better in the realm of Islam than in the West.

Using Arabic, Hebrew, and English sources, the book traces the course of Arab-Jewish relations from their beginnings in pre-Islamic times to the present, and it offers a survey of Judeo-Arabic culture and literature. It also describes the ideological and cultural origins of Israel and demonstrates the way these roots shape the country's attitudes toward its surrounding.

This volume examines civil-military relations in general and nonmilitary functions in the service of society and democracy in particular in six different nations, against the backdrop of the Israeli experience with a dual-role military. Since its inception, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has functioned as a very effective fighting force while also fulfilling many core nonmilitary roles as a powerful, educational, and remedial agent engaged in strengthening the fabric of Israeli society. The inner workings of the IDF in this area--the subject and dynamics of its broad social agenda, including the dilemmas inherent in education toward broad intellectual autonomy within a regimented system such as the military--are presented, for the first time before a non-Israeli audience, in detail (and with much candor) by both high echelon IDF personnel and junior officers in conscript service directly responsible for carrying out these missions.