Israel: An Introduction

351 Pages·2012·5.001 MB·English

by  Barry Rubin

ISRAEL
This page intentionally left blank
ISRAEL
AN INTRODUCTION
B A R R Y R U B I N
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of Amasa Stone
Mather of the Class of 1907, Yale College.
Copyright © 2012 by Barry Rubin.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and ex-
cept by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business,
or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. offi ce)
or [email protected] (U.K. offi ce).
Designed by Mary Valencia
Set in Minion and Futura type by Newgen North America.
Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rubin, Barry M.
Israel : an introduction / Barry Rubin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-300-16230-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Israel. I. Title.
ds126.5.r77 2011
956.9405—dc23
2011028927
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
One UNDERSTANDING ISRAEL 1
Two HISTORY 17
Three LAND AND PEOPLE 81
Four SOCIETY 121
Five GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 192
Six ECONOMICS 237
Seven CULTURE 271
Chronology of Israel(cid:2) 325
Glossary 331
Index 337
v
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
The purpose of this book is simple and straightforward: to provide an introductory text about
Israel for both students and the general reader. A huge amount of material could be included
in such a volume, so selections had to be made. A key goal here has been to present a rounded
picture that goes far beyond history and politics. Indeed, materials in English on Israeli cul-
ture, for example, have been particularly limited. This book seeks to fi ll the gap.
A great deal about Israel is controversial. Often, however, the controversies are artifi cially
manufactured myths and rewritings of history that are not borne out by the evidence. We have
striven to be as balanced and as accurate as possible on every point.
This book is a place to begin, not an endpoint. The reader is encouraged to follow up with
other material for a fuller picture. If something is not mentioned or is given what some might
consider too much or too little space, that is a consequence of the need to cover a huge amount
of territory, even though Israel itself is a small country.
Nor is this book meant to be a history of the Middle East or of the Palestinians or of the
Arab-Israeli confl ict or of the peace process. There are enough works on all these subjects.
What there is not, however, is a basic survey of Israel itself.
This book is a project of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, in
the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel. The GLORIA Center focuses on Middle
Eastern issues as well as the relations of other parts of the world with the region. It publishes
the MERIA Journal: The Middle East Review of International Affairs and has produced numer-
ous books and academic studies. Its website is at http://www.gloria-center.org.
Thanks are due to the staff of the GLORIA Center and the many colleagues who contrib-
uted to the chapters in this book and who have read it to offer corrections and suggestions.
Special credit here goes to Yeru Aharoni and Anna Melman for editing and, in some cases,
writing drafts—a time-consuming and labor-intensive job. I have done my best to edit the
collected material into a comprehensive and accurate introductory book on Israel.
A number of individuals produced basic texts used in these chapters, but I am responsible
for the editing and the fi nal text. Among the contributors are the following: Understanding
Israel—Barry Rubin; History—Jonathan Spyer; Land and People—Tanya Sklar and Leigh Lib-
ling; Society and Politics—Anna Melman; Economics—David Rosenberg; Dance, Literature,
Poetry, and Food—Keren Ribo; Theater—Gil Zarbiv; Film—Shmuel Duvdevani; Art—Nissim
Gal; Media—Eytan Gilboa; Sports—Israel Rosenblatt. Gary Natan prepared the index.
vii
PREFACE
The contributors and I wish to thank Brandon Weinstock and Lana Osher for their research
assistance. Finally, let me note that many people not named here contributed as readers and
made suggestions. We are grateful for their assistance and for their additions and corrections.
I would especially like to thank Daniel Bachman, Howard Wachtel, Larry Kohn, Boaz Ganor,
Judith Colp Rubin, Gabriella Rubin, and Daniel Rubin.
viii
ISRAEL
ix