Ethos Clash in Israeli Society
By (author) Eyal Lewin
Not available to order
Publication date:
18 December 2013Length of book:
320 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739184073
The question of whether Israel is capable of coping with long-term warfare has long haunted scholars of Israel studies. This book tackles the question through a thorough analysis of the Israeli national ethos. The national ethos of a people is the integrating element that defines a nation's identity and bonds it into a coherent social group. However, in the Israeli case, two competing forms of national ethos threaten to tear society apart and weaken it: a republican ethos that cherishes the national group and a liberal ethos that puts the individual above all.
In creating an account of Israel's ability to fight possible future wars, this book carefully examines these two competing forms of national ethos that create an ideological dichotomy in Israel. Each ethos has its reasoning, its inherent logic, its historic origins, and theories of social science that can explain the background for its development. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of each ethos that takes account of the environment, setting, and circumstances through which it ought to be understood.
The deep inquiry into the dynamics of Israel's national ethos enables a new comprehension of the wobbliness of Israeli politics, and leads to certain conclusions about the fatal question that this book set out to find—whether Israel will eventually survive its international struggles or perish.
In creating an account of Israel's ability to fight possible future wars, this book carefully examines these two competing forms of national ethos that create an ideological dichotomy in Israel. Each ethos has its reasoning, its inherent logic, its historic origins, and theories of social science that can explain the background for its development. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of each ethos that takes account of the environment, setting, and circumstances through which it ought to be understood.
The deep inquiry into the dynamics of Israel's national ethos enables a new comprehension of the wobbliness of Israeli politics, and leads to certain conclusions about the fatal question that this book set out to find—whether Israel will eventually survive its international struggles or perish.
The topic of Lewin's book is, in a sense, terra incognita. An important value is added by the writer's admission right from page one that he is an Israeli and writes as an insider rather than a neutral third party. Under these circumstances, one would perhaps expect a rather apologetic study, but this is not the case here. Lewin analyzes the good and the bad in the Israeli ethos and does not shy away from confronting generations' old myths. Being part of the turbulent Middle East, a study of the issue at hand is necessary for a better understanding of any position taken by Israel in the regional and international arenas.