A01=Alan Dowty
Author_Alan Dowty
bible
Category=JBSR
Category=JPFN
Category=JPHC
democracy
eastern europe
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
gaza
history
israel
israeli democracy
israeli history
israeli nationhood
israeli statehood
jewish communities
jewish history
jewish state
jewish tradition
judaica
judaism
knesset
nationhood
nonfiction
palestine
palestinian history
politics
religion
religious democracy
religious government
religious pluralism
religious state
west bank
world zionist organization
zionism
Product details
- ISBN 9780520229112
- Weight: 544g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jun 2001
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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As the fiftieth anniversary of Israeli statehood approaches, along with the commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the World Zionist Organization, the question of what is meant by a 'Jewish' state is particularly timely. Alan Dowty takes on that question in a book that is admirable for its clarity and its comprehensive interpretation of the historical roots and contemporary functioning of Israel. Israeli nationhood, democracy, and politics did not unfold in a social or political vacuum, but developed from power-sharing practices in pre-state Jewish communities in Palestine and in Eastern Europe. Dowty elucidates the broad cluster of cultural, historical, and ideological tenets which came to comprise Israel's contemporary political system. He demonstrates that such tenets were not arbitrary but in fact developed logically from Jewish political habits and the circumstances of time. Dowty illustrates how these traditions are balanced with those of ideology and modernization, and he provides an integrated, sophisticated analysis of the Israeli nation's formation and present state.
Dowty also proposes thoughtful answers to puzzles regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Israeli democracy in responding to the challenges of communal divisions, religious contention, the country's non-Jewish minority, and accommodation with the Palestinians. "The Jewish State" will be invaluable for anyone looking for that one book that gives an intelligent overview of both Israel today and of its origins.
Alan Dowty is Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Fellow at Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. His earlier books include Middle East Crisis (California, 1984) and Closed Borders: The Contemporary Assault on Freedom of Movement (1987).
