Idea of Israel A History of Power & Knowledge

Since Israel's foundation in 1948, one guiding idea has been the cornerstone of its identity, its politics and its actions: Zionism. In this groundbreaking new history, Ilan Pappe looks at the role of ideology in Israel's development, from its inception to the present day. In doing so, he considers the role of the country's universities, education system and media, looking at their production of knowledge and information, and the way such knowledge has been used to provide an ideological scaffolding for the state and to shape realities on the ground. He explores how, in the course of one decade, the Oslo years of the 1990s, this idea came under sustained questioning for the first time--since when, former critics have once more rallied round the national consensus. Was this episode, he asks, a one-off, or does it promise a new direction for Israel?

In exploring the links between academic and media institutions, and the state, The Idea of Israel explores a topic that resonates throughout the western world: the fraught interrelationship between the production of knowledge and the exercise of power.

A major new history of Zionism and Israel, by the renowned author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

Since 1948, the idea of Zionism has been the cornerstone of Israels identity, its politics and its actions. In this groundbreaking new history, Ilan Pappe looks at the role of ideology in Israels development. In doing so, he considers the many methods that the state has used to instill an unswerving belief in nationhood: education, film, literature, media. He also explores how, in the course of one decade—the Oslo years of the 1990s—this idea came under sustained questioning for the first time. Was this an isolated occurrence, he asks, or does it indicate a different future for Israel?

Ilan Pappe is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His many books include The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and Gaza in Crisis (with Noam Chomsky). He writes for, among others, the Guardian and the London Review of Books.