Politics and Society in Modern Israel: Myths and Realities

352 Pages·1999·14.269 MB·English

by  Adam Garfinkle

POLITICS
AND
SOCIETY
IN
MODERN
ISRAEL
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POLITICS
AND
S O C I E T Y
IN
M O D E R N
ISRAEL
MYTHS AND REALITIES
SECOND EDITION
ADAM GARFINKLE
R
O Routledge
U
T
LE
D Taylor & Francis Group
G
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2000 by M.E. Sharpe
Published 2015 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garfinkle, Adam M., 1951-.
Politics and society in modern Israel : myths and realities I by Adam Garfinkle.-2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7656-0514-7 (c :alk. paper)-ISBN 0-7656-0515-5 (p :alk. paper)
I. Israel--Politics and government. 2. Israel--Social conditions. 3. Israel--Foreign
relations. 4. National characteristics, Israeli-Anecdotes. I. Title.
DS126.5 .G357 1999
956.94--dc21 99-044578
CIP
ISBN 13: 9780765605153 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 9780765605146 (hbk)
This book is dedicated to Seil/a,
my soul- and lifemate
(also my wife and mother of our children),
without whose uplifting love
nothing would get done or make sense.
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Contents
Preface to the Second Editon ix
1. Introduction 3
Israel the Exceptional 4
The Egg that Was a Golf Ball: Political Culture 8
Everyday Life in Israel: A Sketch 10
The Chapters 18
2. In the Beginning 20
Ancient Jewish Commonwealths 21
The Varieties and Significance of Exile 26
The Emancipation and the Birth of Zionism 32
Toward Statehood: War, Mandate, War, and War Again 44
3. Society and Polity at Independence 56
The War for Independence and Its Impact 57
Political Geography and the Zionist Zeitgeist 67
Political Demography and Origins of the Israeli System 75
Legacies: Yishuv to State 81
Immigration, Security, and Settlement 87
Early Foreign Relations 91
4. Society and Political Economy in Contemporary Israel 95
The New Demography and Its Implications 96
Israeli Arabs 105
The Role of External Threat and the IDF 110
The Managed Economy 117
Religion 137
Relations with the Diaspora 145
5. Political Institutions and Issues 154
The Basic Laws 157
Parliamentary Institutions, Cabinet Government, and
the Presidency 159
The Judiciary, the Legal Adviser, and the State Comptroller 171
The Parties and Their Discontents 176
The Media and the Intellectual Elite 187
Municipal Government 190
The Political Class and Challenges to the Mainstream 192
6. Foreign Policy: Sources and Substance 199
Institutions: Prime Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Defense
Ministry, Intelligence Services 203
The Paramountcy of Security: War and Peace 206
Relations with the United States 229
Relations with Europe and Russia 233
Relations with the Third World 239
Israel in the Middle East 242
7. Peace and Normalcy? 245
The Peace Process Since Camp David: A Brief Sketch 247
The Broader Impact of the Peace Process 270
Hopes and Fears: Israel's Internal Peace Process Debate 274
The Future ofU.S.-Israeli Relations 278
Israel and World Jewry into the Future 285
Peace and Israeli Society: The Challenge of Normalcy 289
Reconciling Myth and Reality 295
Epilogue 297
Notes 299
Glossary of Hebrew Terms and Acronyms 315
Suggested Readings 325
Index 331
Preface to
the Second Edition
The purpose of this book is to provide readers with a basic introduction to
the society, politics, and foreign and security policies of the state of Israel.
My aim has been to keep the book as short and clear as possible, as any
introduction should be. 1 So it was when the first edition was published in
early 1997; so it remains with this second edition in late 1999.
Such brevity and simplicity will not please everyone. Israel is a country
that many Americans think they understand well, and some students sound
sure that they do not need a basic introduction. This is partly because Israel
is in the news more than most foreign countries---especially such small
ones--and that, in tum, is because of several special connections between
Israel and the United States. Israel is a Jewish state, and the European Chris
tian origins of American society and political culture dictate that the rees
tablishment of a Jewish state on the soil of ancient Israel will bear historical
and even theological interest to many Americans. Don't forget: the Puritans
of seventeenth-century New England strove to create a "Biblical common
wealth" in America, the "wilderness Zion"--and they called their churches
synagogues, too.
Israel is also a democracy, is important to most Jews who live in America,
and is located in an area of strategic significance for the United States and
its allies. Add to this the sheer drama of Israel's foreign policy and security
predicament over the years, and it is obvious why Israel, despite being a
small country very far away, has such a large news profile in America.
But just because Israel is often in the news does not mean that even rea
sonably attentive students have a comprehensive, balanced, or accurate grasp
of Israeli society, politics, and foreign policy. Some may, but even many
American Jews who visit Israel for the first time find, to their amazement
ix