The Others Within Us: Constructing Jewish-Israeli Identity

by Dan Bar-On

Overview

Dan Bar-On’s psychosocial approach sees identity as dynamic, constructed in contra-distinction to various “Others.” Drawing parallels to other societies, he looks most closely at identity formation among Israelis, or more precisely, among the largely secular Jews from European lands who formed the hegemonic backbone of Israeli society. The Others in question, Diaspora Jews, Jews from Muslim countries, and Arabs, represent repressed aspects of the collective self. Case studies and analysis depict various stages in identity formation, as do “personal windows” onto the author as he experienced these stages. Monolithic identity construction characterized Israel’s early years but this began to disintegrate with the passing of time, in ways that were often painful and confusing, though necessary in the view of Bar-On and others. A neo-monolithic backlash has been the response to the disintegration stage in recent years. Yet the book holds out the possibility of a constructive dialogue, internal and among groups in society, that will give rise to a better-integrated and more inclusive identity construction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521881876
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/07/2008
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Dan Bar-On is a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Ben-Gurion University. He is also the co-director of PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East) near Beit Jala in the West Bank. He is the author of several books, among them Legacy of Silence: Encounters with Children of the Third Reich, Fear and Hope: Three Generations of Holocaust Survivors' Families, The Indescribable and the Undiscussable, and Tell Your Life Story. In 1996 he was awarded the David Lopatie Chair for Post-Holocaust Psychological Studies. In 2001 he received the BundesverdienstKreutz First Class, from German President Dr Johannes Rau. In 2003 he received the Eric Maria Remarque Peace Prize in Osnabruck, Germany. In 2005 he and Professor Sami Adwan, with whom he co-directs PRIME, received the Victor J. Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace in the Middle East and the EAEA 3rd Out-of-Europe Grundtvig Award on Active Citizenship in a Democratic Society. In 2007 they received a Fulbright scholarship at Monmouth University in New Jersey, USA.

Table of Contents

1. The past: monolithic identity construction; 2. The present I: Disintegration of the monolithic construction; 3. The present II: the neo-monolithic construction; 4. The future: a dialogue between disintegrated aspects of identity; Postscript.

Editorial Reviews

"...The Others Within Us gives the reader meaningful insights into Israeli society..."
—MKL, Jewish Book World, Spring 5769/2009


"Bar-On delivers a very interesting if not entirely original critique of Ashkenazi Jewish identity formation while also promoting a hopeful agenda for the future...I found the book to be entirely accessible...Those who are curious but know little about Israel will find this an engaging study..."
—-Jasmin Habib, PsycCRITIQUES

From the Publisher