The Israeli Nation-State Political, Constitutional, and Cultural Challenges [Hardcover]

This volume of original essays, by some of Israels most remarkable public and academic voices, offers a series of state-of-the art, accessible analyses of Israels ever-evolving theater of statecraft, public debates, and legal and cultural dramas, its deep divisions andmore surprisingly, perhapsits internal affinities and common denominators. Contributors: Fania Oz-Salzberger, Yedidia Z. Stern, Ayman K. Agbaria, Aviad Bakshi, Ariel L. Bendor, Ruth Gavison, Michael M. Karayanni, David Passig, Avi Sagi, Gideon Sapir, Anita Shapira, Daniel Statman, Gadi Taub, Shira Wolosky, Alexander Yakobson, Yaffa Zilbershats.The essays in this volume are always illuminating, often passionate, and at times provocative. They enrich our understanding of Israels political and legal system, and they are particularly useful for providing differing perspectives on the ongoing debate over whether Israel can be both a Jewish and democratic state. Clearly and accessibly written, this volume will be a valuable resource for undergraduates and general readers as well as specialists.An outstanding collection of essays by the leading scholars writing on modern Israel. Anyone who wants to think deeper about the Jewish and democratic character of Israel and the complicated relationship between state and religion should read this book.Fania Oz-Salzberger (PhD Oxford University) is professor of history at the University of Haifa Center for German and European Studies and Faculty of Law, where she directs the Posen Research Forum for Political Thought. Among her books are Translating the Enlightenment (1995), Israelis in Berlin (2001), and Jews and Words, co-authored with Amos Oz (2012). She recently edited, with Thomas Maissen, The Liberal-Republican Quandary in Israel, Europe, and the United States (2012).There can be no more urgent issues facing the contemporary State of Israel than the relationship between democracy and its Jewish identity. In these trenchant and timely essays, the authorsl£$