Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic TraditionIra Sharkansky Routledge, 2017 M09 8 - 217 pages Israeli politics and policymaking reflect themes long imbedded in Jewish culture. The concepts of Chosen People and Promised Land, and their meaning in Christian as well as Jewish religious traditions, assure that Israel is perpetually in the international spotlight. They also impose a sense of distinctiveness on the Israeli population. Some Israelis trumpet their country's accomplishments with unrestrained superlatives. Social critics accuse Israel of having the worst of the world's conditions. In this they reflect another trait that seems to have been inherited from the ancients: the prophetic tradition of extreme self-criticism. In reality, much of what occurs in Israel is similar to what occurs in countries that share its characteristics: democracy, western culture, and an advanced level of economic development. Such an idea may seem bizarre alongside headlines about suicide bombings and the country's aggressive defensive posture. This misses what is normal about Israel. In Israel policymakers weigh benefits and costs of various options, and generally choose something moderate, just as they do elsewhere. But this reality does not dim the rhetoric of politics, where hyperbole frequently seems more evident than rational discourse. Sharkansky discusses three central issues in Israeli public affairs: religion, national security, and social policy. He describes how policymakers relate to these issue and themes. Major problems may not be solved, but they are managed in a way that is tolerable. It is in this trait that Israel resembles other western democracies. In sum, biblical themes affect Israel's political rhetoric more than they affect the way officials actually work out their problems. Pragmatic coping with worldly realities generally overcomes emotional expressions that convey ingredients of spirituality. |
Contents
A Politicized Economy a Cumbersome Giant | |
Governing a Country with Unlimited Aspirations | |
Palestinian Terror External Constraints | |
Traffic Deaths and Social | |
Aspirations and Problems | |
A Place with Too Much History | |
Coping Simplicity and NonDecision | |
Index | |
Other editions - View all
Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic Tradition Ira Sharkansky No preview available - 2017 |
Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land, & Prophetic Tradition Ira Sharkansky No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
academic activists administration agenda American Amira Hass ancient Arab Ariel Sharon aspirations assertions Benvenisti Books budget campaign casino central chapter Chosen Christian claims concerned conflict coping countries country's critics demands developed dispute economic ethnic finance God's Ha'aretz Hebrew Bible Hebrew University higher education Holy hyperbole incrementalism individuals inequality Internet edition intifada intifada al-Aqsa Israeli government Israeli Jews Israeli politics Israelites issues Jeremiah Jerusalem Post Jewish Jewish settlements Jews Judaism Knesset Labor Party Land of Israel leaders Likud Luxembourg Income Study major Meron Benvenisti military Ministry modern Israel Muslim neighborhoods non-Orthodox officials Orthodox overseas Palestine National Authority Palestinian violence peace percent political culture politicians population prime minister problems programs Promised Land prophetic tradition public policy rabbis religion religious Jews response Sabbath sector secular social gap Temple Mount terror ultra-Orthodox United West Bank western democracies Yassir Arafat York Zionist