The Divided People: Can Israel's Breakup Be Stopped?

by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

Overview

The Divided People describes a fracturing Israel, a deeply divided state whose political system is buckling and whose society is rapidly polarizing into religious and secular camps. Written by a social scientist and drawing upon social science research, the work documents the emergence of separate social networks, residential areas, symbols, and identities—and even a split in the Hebrew language itself. Yet rather than argue for a return to the commonality of the past, Eva Etzioni-Halevy champions Israel's painful transition toward a truly multicultural society prepared to embrace diversity and democracy. This provocative new book carries a supremely important message for a postmodern Israel taking its first painful steps toward pluralism, liberalism, and tolerance, and a wider lesson for western nations grappling with the problems of a devolutionary age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739103258
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	01/23/2002
Pages:	196
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 9.08(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is Professor of Political Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University. Her books include Classes and Elites in Democracy and Democratization (1997) and The Elite Connection (1993).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Divided People Chapter 2 A View From the Top Chapter 3 Who is Special: From Sectors to Communities Chapter 4 The Secular and the Religious: I'll Do It My Way Chapter 5 The Separation in Space and Time Chapter 6 A Tale of Two Cultures Chapter 7 Still One People? The Split in Jewish Identity Chapter 8 No Longer Indivisible: Israeli Identity and Zionist Commitment Chapter 9 Beyond the Rabin Assassination: The Threat to Democracy Chapter 10 Where Do We Go From Here? Chapter 11 Conclusion: Give Hope a Chance

What People are Saying About This

John Higley

Eva Etzioni-Halevy gives a penetrating account of how the no-holds-barred power competition between religious and secular leaders is endangering Israel's democracy. A sweeping but deeply troubling analysis of Israel today and of the funeral pyre its political elites seem intent on building.

Elihu Katz

Even after concluding that Israeli Jews are increasingly divided on religious grounds, Eva Etzioni-Halevy redirects our attention to the erosion of the common ground that used to (ought to/can still) unite them as a nation and as a democracy.

Eliezer Ben-Rafael

While all commentators on Israeli reality focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Eva Etzioni-Halevy points out the crucial significance of the ongoing religious-secular confrontation—which, to no lesser extent, questions the viability of this society. In this masterpiece of sociopolitical analysis, Etzioni-Halevy shows how the essential character of this only sovereign Jewish society is at stake in a battle where divergent camps oppose each other with obstination, willfully ignoring each other's legacy as well as the cultural foundation that holds them together.

Editorial Reviews

The Divided People [is] a fascinating dtudy of the variety of differences in worldview and experiences between secular and religious Jews in Israel.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

Even after concluding that Israeli Jews are increasingly divided on religious grounds, Eva Etzioni-Halevy redirects our attention to the erosion of the common ground that used to (ought to/can still) unite them as a nation and as a democracy.

Elihu Katz

While all commentators on Israeli reality focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Eva Etzioni-Halevy points out the crucial significance of the ongoing religious-secular confrontation—which, to no lesser extent, questions the viability of this society. In this masterpiece of sociopolitical analysis, Etzioni-Halevy shows how the essential character of this only sovereign Jewish society is at stake in a battle where divergent camps oppose each other with obstination, willfully ignoring each other's legacy as well as the cultural foundation that holds them together.

Eliezer Ben-Rafael

Eva Etzioni-Halevy gives a penetrating account of how the no-holds-barred power competition between religious and secular leaders is endangering Israel's democracy. A sweeping but deeply troubling analysis of Israel today and of the funeral pyre its political elites seem intent on building.

John Higley

Even after concluding that Israeli Jews are increasingly divided on religious grounds, Eva Etzioni-Halevy redirects our attention to the erosion of the common ground that used to (ought to/can still) unite them as a nation and as a democracy.--Elihu Katz, University of Pennsylvania and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Eva Etzioni-Halevy gives a penetrating account of how the no-holds-barred power competition between religious and secular leaders is endangering Israel's democracy. A sweeping but deeply troubling analysis of Israel today and of the funeral pyre its political elites seem intent on building.--John Higley, University of Texas at Austin

While all commentators on Israeli reality focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Eva Etzioni-Halevy points out the crucial significance of the ongoing religious-secular confrontation--which, to no lesser extent, questions the viability of this society. In this masterpiece of sociopolitical analysis, Etzioni-Halevy shows how the essential character of this only sovereign Jewish society is at stake in a battle where divergent camps oppose each other with obstination, willfully ignoring each other's legacy as well as the cultural foundation that holds them together.--Eliezer Ben-Rafael, President, International Institute of Sociology, Tel-Aviv University

From the Publisher

The Divided People [is] a fascinating dtudy of the variety of differences in worldview and experiences between secular and religious Jews in Israel.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online