ToC: Israel Studies Review 31.2 (2016)

Israel Studies Review 31.2 (2016)

Table of Contents

Articles

• The Puzzle of The University on Air: A Story of Media and Academia in Israel, 1977–2013 / Hagai Boas and Ayelet Baram-Tsabari (1–21)
• Menachem Begin’s World Travels in the 1950s: A Road to Political Legitimacy / Ofira Gruweis-Kovalsky (22–40)
• The New Economic Policy of 1962: How Israeli Economists Almost Changed the Israeli Economy / Ronen Mandelkern (41–60)
• War and Memory: The Israeli Communist Commemoration of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1986 / Amir Locker-Biletzki (61–79)
• Israel Goes to the Polls: The Road to Elections for the Constituent Assembly, 1948–1949 / Meir Chazan (80–100)
• Westernization and Israelization within Israel’s Extreme Orthodox Haredi Society / Menachem Keren-Kratz (101–129)
• Turkish-Israeli Relations during the Cold War: The Myth of a Long ‘Special Relationship’ / Kilic Bugra Kanat (130–149)

Reviews

• Uri Ram, The Return of Martin Buber: National and Social Thought in Israel from Buber to the Neo-Buberians [in Hebrew].
• Christopher L. Schilling, Emotional State Theory: Friendship and Fear in Israeli Foreign Policy.
• Marwan Darweish and Andrew Rigby, Popular Protest in Palestine: The Uncertain Future of Unarmed Resistance.
• Erella Grassiani, Soldiering under Occupation: Processes of Numbing among Israeli Soldiers in the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
• Assaf Meydani, The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel: Constitutional Rhetoric and State Practice.
• Yael Raviv, Falafel Nation: Cuisine and the Making of National Identity in Israel.

New Book: Sasley and Waller, Politics in Israel: Governing a Complex Society

Sasley, Brent E., and Harold M. Waller. Politics in Israel: Governing a Complex Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

 

 

This is the first textbook on Israel to utilize a historical-sociological approach, telling the story of Israeli politics rather than simply presenting a series of dry facts and figures. The book emphasizes six specific dimensions of the conduct of Israeli politics: the weight of historical processes, the struggle between different groups over how to define the country’s identity, changing understandings of Zionism, a changing political culture, the influence of the external threat environment, and the inclusive nature of the democratic process. These themes offer students a framework to use for understanding contemporary political events within the country. Politics in Israel also includes several chapters on topics not previously addressed in competing texts, including historical conditions that led to the emergence of Zionism in Israel, the politics of the Arab minority, and interest groups and political protest.

 

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Preface
Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: Israel in Historical and Comparative Perspective
Studying Israel
Israel in a Comparative Framework
Major Themes of the Book
A Note on Terminology
 
PART I: HISTORICAL PROCESSES
Chronology of Key Events
Chapter 2: Zionism and the Origins of Israel
Jewish History before Zionism
The Jewish Predicament in the 19th Century
The Founding of the Zionist Movement
Implications of Zionism
Herzl’s Path to Zionism
Organizing the Zionist Movement
Zionist Ideologies
The Palestine Mandate
Summary
 
Chapter 3: Yishuv Politics during the Mandate Period
Constructing a Jewish Society
Development of a Party System
Conflict between Arabs and Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Deteriorating Zionist-British Relations
The End of the Mandate
The Mandate Period in Perspective
Summary
 
Chapter 4: State Building After 1948
Mamlachtiut
The Political Arena
Defense
Education
Economy
Personal Status Issues
Other State-Building Efforts
Summary
 
PART II: ISRAELI SOCIETY
Chapter 5: Political Culture and Demography
The Pre-State Period
Foundational Values of the State
Changes since 1967
From Collectivism to Individualism
Political Culture in the Arab Community
Demography
Summary
 
Chapter 6: Religion and Politics
Religion and the Idea of a Jewish State
Setting the Parameters of the Religion-State Relationship
Growing Involvement in Politics
Issues in Religion-State Relations after 2000
Religious Parties and Coalition Politics
Summary
 
Chapter 7: The Politics of the Arab Minority
What’s in a Name?
Changing Politics of the Community
Jewish Attitudes toward the Arab Minority
Arab Leaders and the Arab Public
Voter turnout
Sayed Kashua as Barometer?
Summary
 
PART III: THE POLITICAL PROCESS
Chapter 8: The Electoral System
The Development of an Electoral System
Election Laws
Parties and Lists
Electoral Reforms
Summary
 
Chapter 9: Political Parties and the Party System
Party Clusters
Leftist Parties
Rightist Parties
Religious Parties
Arab Parties
Center or “Third” Parties
Ethnic or Special Issues Parties
Party Organization
Summary
 
Chapter 10: Voting Patterns
Four Main Issues
Demographic Factors
Voter Turnout
Electoral Trends
Summary
 
Chapter 11: Interest Groups and Political Protest
Changing Access in the Israeli Political System
Interest Groups
Political Protest
Summary
 
PART IV: INSTITUTIONS
Chapter 12: The Knesset
Structure of the Knesset
Legal Aspects
Knesset Members
Functions and Powers of the Knesset
Relationship to the Government
Summary
 
Chapter 13: The Government
The Government at the Center of the System
Powers of the Government
Forming a Government
Maintaining and Running a Government
Relations with the Knesset
The President of the State
Summary
 
Chapter 14: The Judiciary and the Development of Constitutional Law
The Judicial System
Structure of the Court System
The Religious Court System
The Attorney General
Basic Laws: A Constitution in the Making?
Interpreting the Constitution
Summary
 

PART V: POLITICS AND POLICYMAKING
Chapter 15: Political Economy
Ideas about Economic Development in the Yishuv
A State(ist) Economy
Likud and the Free Market
Structural Weaknesses
Summary
 
Chapter 16: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Three Levels of Threat Perception
Israel’s Threat Environment
Hawks and Doves in the Political System
The Defense Establishment
Public Opinion
Summary
 
PART VI: THE TRANSFORMATiON OF ISRAELI POLITICS
Chapter 17: The Changing Political Arena
A More Complex Society
An Economic Transformation
Transformation of the Security Situation
The Israeli-Palestinian Relationship
Dampening of Ideology
Political Culture and the Party System
The Passing of a Heroic Generation
A More Consequential Arab Sector
The Transformation of the Judiciary
Change versus Continuity
 
Chapter 18: Confronting the Meaning of a Jewish State
The Political Question: What is Jewish and Democratic?
The Social Question: Who Belongs?
The Academic Question: Whose Historiography?
Conclusion
 
Appendices
Glossary
Bibliography

 

BRENT E. SASLEY is Associate Professor of Political Science at The University of Texas at Arlington.
HAROLD M. WALLER is Professor of Political Science at McGill University.

Workshop: Erez on Greek Popular Music; Rosenhek on Israel’s Political Economy (NYU, Dec 4, 2015)

12/4/15 – Taub Center Graduate Workshop

 

10am – 2pm

The Taub Center organizes regular workshops for graduate students and faculty in the field of Israel Studies at NYU and other universities in the tri-state area. The regional workshops are an opportunity for students and faculty to present and discuss their respective areas of research.  The workshops also serve as an important forum for networking and strengthening the field of Israel Studies.

First Floor, 14A Washington Mews

Coffee is served from 10 – 10:30am, and a kosher lunch served at noon.

 

RSVP here.

 

10:30am

Oded Erez
UCLA

Becoming Mediterranean: Greek Popular Music and the Politics of Ethnicity in Israel

Oded Erez is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Musicology and the Program in Experimental Critical Theory at UCLA. His current research focuses on the politics of ethnicity, diaspora, and vernacular cosmopolitanism in popular music and film. He has presented his work in wide range of disciplinary contexts, including at the annual meetings of the American Musicological Society, the American Comparative Literature Association, and the  Association for Israel Studies. He currently teaches at the Hebrew University’s School of Arts. His paper “The Practice of Quoting Everyday Life: Quotation as Political Praxis in the songs of HaBiluim” will be published in the upcoming issue of Theory and Criticism (Teoria U’vikoret).

 

12:30pm

Ze’ev Rosenhek
The Open University of Israel

The Dynamics of Israel’s Political Economy: Change and Continuity in State-Economy Relations

Zeev Rosenhek is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication at the Open University of Israel. His main research interests lie in the fields of political and economic sociology, with a particular focus on processes of institutional change and continuity in state-economy relations. He has conducted research on the political economy of the welfare state, labor migration, and the politics of institutionalization of the neo-liberal regime in Israel. He is the co-author of The Israeli Central Bank: Political Economy, Global Logics and Local Actors (Routledge, 2011) with Daniel Maman, and has published numerous articles in books and journals. He is currently conducting research on the emergence and dynamics of the institutional field of financial literacy in Israel and its interfaces with transnational knowledge and policy networks.

 

New Book: Krampf, The National Origins of the Market Economy (in Hebrew)

קרמפף, אריה. המקורות הלאומיים של כלכלת השוק. פיתוח כלכלי בתקופת עיצובו של הקפיטליזם הישראלי. ירושלים: מאגנס, 2015.

 

 

URL: http://www.magnespress.co.il/

 

About the Book

During the consolidation of Israeli capitalism, economic policy went through dramatic changes that reflected the key challenges of its society, the power relations between various groups of Israeli political economy, and the changes in worldviews and economic theories in the global arena. This book surveys the shifts in economic worldviews that guided the policymakers of of the State of Israel, and identifies the causes of these changes. The book is based on a variety of historical documents, some of which did not gain scholarly attention so far, and illuminates many issues from a new perspective. It also exposes unknown episodes in the history of political economy of the pre-State years and of Israel. The author presents this economic history in a clear and coherent storyline, readily accessible to readers. This cohesion is achieved through a crystallized and innovative theoretical framework. The book focuses on the period from the 1930s to the year 1967. However, readers will be able to better understand the nature of the relations between the state and the market today and gain insights about Israel’s economic and political future. (Yuval Yonay)

The author presents his readers, both professionals and the general public, with data, analasis and a narrative which will surprise many of them. Many will be surprised to learn that the planners of Israeli economy were far less socialist than they are told to be, and that the process of the formation of Israeli capitalism began long before the era of liberalization and globalization. (Guy Rolnik)

For a full Table of Contents (in Hebrew) click here (PDF).

New Book: Lammfromm, Levi Eshkol: A Political Biography (in Hebrew)

למפרום, ארנון. לוי אשכול: ביוגרפיה פוליטית 1944-1969. תל אביב: רסלינג, 2014.

 

URL: http://www.resling.co.il/book.asp?series_id=&book_id=809

 

Arnon Lammfromm’s book presents the politics of Levi Eshkol (1895-1969), one of the founding figures of modern Israel, who led its economic growth as its Minister of the Treasury (1952-1963). As Prime Minister (1963-1969) he led the country while facing complex challenges, such as overcoming the Arab threat which reached its peak in the Six Day War, as well as adjusting the economy to changing needs through the steps of austerity. Eshkol had to step into the big shoes of Ben-Gurion, confront and overcome him. He also succeeded, for the first time in Israeli history, to sign a formal and secret memorandum with the United States which served as one of the foundations of the military victory in 1967.

Lammfromm’s main argument is that Eshkol built his career as a “bureaucratic” leader who specializes in many areas, but not as a “charismatic” leader (drawing on Max Weber’s terminology), since his rhetorical abilities were limited. As long as he made use of his capabilities as a bureaucratic leader he was able to compensate for his charismatic weaknesses. But since 1966 he diminished his use of his bureaucratic abilities, increasing his political weakness, and eventually costing him the defense ministry on the eve of the Six Day War.

 

 

 

ToC: Israel Affairs 20,4 (2014) – Political Economy in Israel

Israel Affairs, Volume 20, Issue 4, October 2014 is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online.

Special Issue: Political Economy in Israel

Introduction

Introduction: the many faces of Israel’s political economy Gideon Doron & Ofer Arian Pages: 445-451 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955651

Part I The Superstructure

The development of social policy research in Israel John Gal & Roni Holler Pages: 452-469 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955652

Between the quality of the environment and the quality of the performances in Israeli local government Gideon Doron & Fany Yuval Pages: 470-483 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955653

The political economy of human rights: the struggle over the establishment of a human rights commission in Israel Nurit Hashimshony-Yaffe & Assaf Meydani Pages: 484-502 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955654

Part II Structure as details perspective

Political economy and work values: the case of Jews and Arabs in Israel Moshe Sharabi Pages: 503-516 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955655

The impact of electoral reforms on voting preferences: the Israeli 1996 and 1999 cases Hani Zubida & David Nachmias Pages: 517-529 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955656

Is an ‘economic peace’ possible? Israel and globalization since the 1970s Tal Sadeh Pages: 530-565 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955657

The evolution of public colleges in Israel Aliza Shenhar Pages: 566-576 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955658

The Visible Hand: economic censorship in Israeli media Miri Gal-Ezer Pages: 577-612 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955659

What do facts have to do with the summer 2011 protests? – Structuring reality Ofer Arian Pages: 613-631 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.955661

Editorial Board

Editorial Board Pages: ebi-ebi DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2014.961696

 

 

ToC: Israel Affairs 20,1 (2014)

Israel Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 1, 02 Jan 2014 is now available on Taylor & Francis Online. This new issue contains the following articles: Articles Alternative energy in Israel: opportunities and risks Gawdat Bahgat Pages: 1-18 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863078 The success of the Zionist strategy vis-à-vis UNSCOP Elad Ben-Dror Pages: 19-39 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863079 Israel: ‘occupier’ or ‘occupied’? The psycho-political projection of Christian and post-Christian supersessionism Kalman J. Kaplan & Paul Cantz Pages: 40-61 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863082 Misuse of power in Israeli intelligence Ephraim Kahana & Daphna Sharfman Pages: 62-74 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863081 The birth of the core issues: the West Bank and East Jerusalem under Israeli administration, 1967–76 (Part 2) Moshe Elad Pages: 75-86 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863080 One step forward or two steps back? Unilateralism and Israel’s Gaza disengagement in the eyes of the world Geoffrey Levin Pages: 87-103 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863084 Between private property rights and national preferences: the Bank of Israel’s early years Arie Krampf Pages: 104-124 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863083 Bandwagoning for profit and Turkey: alliance formations and volatility in the Middle East Spyridon N. Litsas Pages: 125-139 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863085