Synopses & Reviews
In the last three decades, Israel has been undergoing a dramatic revolution: the hegemonic secular Zionist ethos that founded it is cracking, and various sub-groups seek to realize their specific identity in the public sphere. Ultra- Orthodox, Arabs, Mizrahim, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and others are rejecting the peripheral status that had ranked them according to their proximity to the principles of this ethos and insist on their own voice. Israeli society has consequently become a seething entanglement of confl icts and identity struggles. This book is one of the first attempts to examine various aspects of the current multicultural transformation of Israeli society. It deals with fundamental questions such as the character of Israel as a Jewish state, the status of minorities and their right to self-realization, and the farreaching influence of the multicultural turn on a variety of legal and social dimensions. Theoretical questions are reconsidered in light of specific case studies in Israel, off ering a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary discussion of multicultural theories and their application.
Synopsis
Delving into Israel's multifaceted society, editors Avi Sagi and Ohad Nachtomy, along with their distinguished contributors, explore the many ethnic and religious communities that comprise modern Israel and the ways in which they interact and often misunderstand each other. Detailing both the tensions between Israelis and Arab minorities, as well as issues involving recent immigrants and the different religious sects within the Jewish community at large, this collection of essays covers diverse subjects such as Holocaust education, language rights, military service, and the balancing of religious with secular systems of law. An essential read for anyone searching for a better understanding of the challenges being faced in contemporary Israel.