The Colonies of Law: Colonialism, Zionism and Law in Early Mandate Palestine

by Ronen Shamir

Overview

This book traces attempts of Jewish jurists-nationalists to establish a nonreligious system of Hebrew Courts in British-ruled Palestine. The book analyzes the secular, national and anticolonial ideology of the Hebrew Law of Peace and shows that Jewish religious groups, secular lawyers and leading Zionist institutions undermined the Hebrew Law project. The book explores the reluctance of leading Zionists to allow communities, rather than organized quasi-state institutions, to define the trajectory of Jewish nationalism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521631839
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/13/1999
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.33(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

1. Mandatory Palestine: the enigma of the missing colonial state; 2. Whose tradition?: imageries of the past in Hebrew law; 3. State law and communal justice; 4. Celebrating authenticity and practising hybridity; 5. Nationalism as a disciplinary regime; 6. Lawyering the nation; 7. Nation-building and the containment of legality; 8. Dead law and statism: a suggested lesson.

Editorial Reviews

"Shamir's study of the Hebrew Law of Peace is historically informative." S. Bowman, Choice

"In this fascinating study...Ronen Shamir has made a significant contribution to our understanding of both the legal underpinnings of the Israeli state and the history of Zionism." American Historical Review

"Shamir's study provides a model social history of hegemony and counterhegemony of interest to readers with little specialized knowledge or interest in Israel. Lisa Hajjar American Journal Of Sociology

From the Publisher