The Israeli Nation-State - (Israel: Society, Culture, and History) by Fania Oz-Salzberger & Yedidia Stern (Paperback)

About the Book

"This volume of essays follows a series of international conferences convened in 2010-2012 under the auspices of the Leon Liberman Chair in Modern Israel Studies at the Australia Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University."--Page [v].

Book Synopsis

This volume of original essays, by some of Israel's most remarkable public and academic voices, offers a series of state-of-the art, accessible analyses of Israel's ever-evolving theater of statecraft, public debates, and legal and cultural dramas, its deep divisions and--more surprisingly, perhaps---its 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.

Review Quotes

"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."

"The essays in this volume are always illuminating, often passionate, and at times provocative. They enrich our understanding of Israel's 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."

"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 authors-all of them distinguished Israeli scholars-approach the question with tools of political theory, history, law and the philosophy of religion."

About the Author

Yedidia Z. Stern is the Vice President of Research at Israel Democracy Institute, where he heads the projects on "Religion and State" and "Human Rights and Judaism." He is a full professor at Bar-Ilan University Law School, and served as its Dean. His areas of professional interest are religion and state, Jewish law, public law, and corporate law. His awards include the Zeltner Prize for excellence in Legal Research in Israel (2009) and the Gorni Prize for special contribution in public law (2012).