PAGE 2 p Spring 2015 PRESIDENT'S MEMO Zionism: The Unfinished Task PAGE 15 ELECTION SEASON, AGAIN Israel’s electoral structure helps explain frequent returns ISRAEL to the voting booth PAGE 21 INSTITUTE ECHOES OF REVISIONISM MAGAZINE The history and legacy of Menachem Begin

IN THIS ISSUE: Israel’s Basic Questions Revisited Experts discuss Zionism and Jewish statehood KOLDIRECTOR'SSPOTLIGHT: HAMACHON LETTER ACADEMIA

It is a great pleasure to be able to offer this second issue of Israel Institute Magazine. We are very excited to be able to share with you insights from the work of the Institute over the last several months. In this issue of the magazine, you will be able to read about our ongo- ing discussion on Zionism, a topic that has been the focus of many of the Institute’s recent activities and the research of many of its affiliated scholars. The subject of our annual conference, held this past fall, was the continuing relevance of Zionism as an organizing concept. It is no secret that Israel is undergoing a period of signif- icant change. The founding generation is dwindling and the second generation of state lead- ers – those who were children when the state was created but who turned Zionism from a revolution into an established, enduring and functioning state – are themselves passing on the reins to a generation that was born after the state was created. The Zionism that powered the transformation of the Jewish people from a diaspora nation into a sovereign nation-state must, naturally, evolve. In this issue of Israel Insti- tute Magazine, we report on our annual conference and the ideas that it raised in relation to the meaning of modern Zionism for today’s Israelis and for diaspora Jews. In addition to coverage of theoretical debates, you will also find insights from people who are putting modern Zionism into action on the ground, for instance by founding new urban com- munities or strengthening traditional Zion- ist projects such as kibbutzim. In these pages, we include not only our Kol HaMachon observations on Zionism but also those of THE VOICE OF THE ISRAEL INSTITUTE some of our grantees. Institute post-doc, Dr. Reut Itzkovitch-Malka, working this year at Stanford, shares her thoughts on the primary system in Israel while James Eastwood, a doc- toral candidate at the University of London, writes about ethical training for IDF soldiers. Dr. Avi Shilon, who will be an Institute post-doc next year at NYU, shares his observations about Menachem Begin, the subject of a biography that he has written. Additionally, Pro- gram Director Michael Koplow reviews a book on the early Arab-Zionist encounter written by Prof. Jonathan Gribetz, a recipient of an Israel Institute grant. This issue of the magazine contains profiles of Prof. Anita Shapira, an Israel Prize-win- ning historian and member of our advisory board, and of Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom, who is serving this year as an Israel Institute fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Wash- ington D.C. think tank. It also has insights from the Institute’s president, Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich, who writes about the challenges and changes in modern Zionism. Finally, we have several articles about the ongoing activities of the Israel Institute and its grantees, including our “News & Notes” section, where you can get updates about what we and the scholars, artists and practitioners in the Institute network have been up to. Putting this issue together has been fun for us both because of the joy we get from shar- ing great ideas but also because of the pride we feel in the work that members of our affili- ated community are doing to enrich the conversation about Israel across such a broad range of areas. I hope you enjoy reading the magazine as much as we do bringing it to you!

Dr. Ariel Ilan Roth Executive Director, Israel Institute

ISRAEL2 INSTITUTE MAGAZINE CONTENTS FEATURES

p SPRING 2015 7 THE WAY FORWARD What Israel and the U.S. can do in the face of Middle East turmoil BY JILL WYLER

10 STATE OF ISRAEL Experts examine Zionism, Jewish statehood and other basic questions BY NOA LEVANON KLEIN

15 ELECTION SEASON, AGAIN Basic Israel’s electoral structure helps explain frequent returns to the voting booth Questions BY DR. REUT ITZKOVITCH-MALKA 18 MILITARY ETHICS What's Next?Revisted How and why the IDF teaches morality BY JAMES EASTWOOD PAGE 6 PAGE 10 21 ECHOES OF REVISIONISM The history and legacy of Menachem Begin DEPARTMENTS BY DR. AVI SHILON

2 PRESIDENT'S MEMO 24 Zionism: The Unfinished Task A DIFFERENT LENS BY AMB. ITAMAR RABINOVICH Young Israeli authors bring new perspec- tives to the classroom 4 SPOTLIGHT: THINK TANK BY MARGE GOLDWATER Brigadier General (ret.) Shlomo On the cover: Illustration by Dan Bejar Brom talks about Zionism, national security and his experiences work- ISRAEL INSTITUTE STAFF ing at an American think tank President: Amb. Itamar Rabinovich Executive Director: Dr. Ariel Ilan Roth 26 SPOTLIGHT: ACADEMIA Program Director: Dr. Michael Koplow Director of Arts and Cultural Programs: 29 BOOK REVIEW Marge Goldwater Program Officer: Noa Levanon Klein Program Officer: Dr. Ned Lazarus 31 NEWS & NOTES Program Coordinator: Jill Wyler Read more about author Prof. Anita Shapira Office Manager: Kerren Marcus in Spotlight: Academia on Page 26 36 PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS Design: Spark Design, www.sparkdesign.net © 2015 Israel Institute PRESIDENT'S MEMO Zionism: The Unfinished Task Zionism has undergone changes as an ideology and a movement since its emergence in the 19th century, particularly following Israeli statehood. The geopolitical realities in Israel and the Middle East in the 21st century present new challenges

Amb. Itamar Rabinovich, Israel Institute President for the Zionist project.

BY AMBASSADOR ITAMAR RABINOVICH

ionism emerged in the late 19th gripping mass movement of the Jewish century as the ideology and population in Eastern and Central Europe. movement of Jewish national- A massive immigration to Palestine in Zism. The Jews, it argued, were a the 1920s, when it was possible, failed to people and a nation and as such were enti- happen. The Jews chose either to stay put tled, like all other nations, to self-determi- or immigrate to America and other attrac- nation and statehood. A Jewish national tive destinations. Zionism’s dark prophecy state would resolve the anomalies caused – that the anomaly of Jewish life would end by exile and dispersion and normalize in a catastrophe – materialized during the Jewish life. The quest for normalization has Holocaust. Zionism failed to move the bulk been a key component of Zionist ideology. of the Jewish population out of Europe In the final years of the 19th century and was quite helpless when its leadership and during the first half of the 20th century found out that the Holocaust was being Zionism registered a long list of impres- perpetrated. sive achievements. From a small group of The Holocaust played a major role in visionaries it developed into a mass move- the establishment of Israel as a Jewish state ment. It transformed and expanded the in 1948. A sense of guilt and a recogni- small Jewish community in Palestine. It tion that Jewish life had to be normalized obtained from Great Britain the Balfour underlay the U.N. partition resolution in Declaration and embedded it in the British November 1947. Israel had yet to fight Mandate in Palestine. Under British pro- a difficult and costly war from which tection it built an embryonic state, and by it emerged victorious. But victory and 1948 it achieved statehood in part of Pal- statehood did not lead to the normaliza- estine, west of the Jordan. tion sought by Zionism. The Arab world, But there were limits to this suc- defeated in the battlefield, refused to cess story. Zionism failed to become the accept Israel and has conducted a political

2 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE Zionism: The Unfinished Task

campaign, rejecting Israel’s legitimacy and a portion of the historic homeland. The boycotting it directly and indirectly. It ongoing second wave, made possible by took thirty years for the first Arab state, the 1967 war, is led by Orthodox Zion- Egypt, to make peace with Israel and ists whose mission is to add “the land of establish “normal peaceful relations” with the Bible” to the Jewish state.) It should the Jewish State. Egypt has since been be emphasized that the settlement proj- joined by other Arab states that made full ect is not the sole obstacle to Israeli-Pal- or partial peace with Israel, but large parts estinian reconciliation. Powerful forces of the Arab and Muslim worlds continue among the Palestinians and in the Arab to deny Israel’s very legitimacy and, when and Muslim worlds continue to reject the they accept the reality of Israel, refuse to very idea of Israel and assume that time accept Zionism as a legitimate national- and numbers are on their side. If Israel is ist ideology. to preserve its legitimacy, it must define Dealing with this hostility remains the nature of its polity and its boundar- an important challenge for Israel and the ies. It must redefine Zionism in a fashion Zionist movement, but it is only one of that turns it once again into an ideology several challenges. In an entirely different attractive to its own population and to context, Israel has to define its relation- the Jewish diaspora, defendable against ship with the major Jewish communities regional and international foes who are living in Western countries. These com- not going to go away. ▲ munities are integrated in free and thriv- ing democracies, have a special bond with Israel and have no intention of making aliyah. The mantra used by Israel’s lead- ership that all Jews should move to Israel is meaningless. Israel’s political and intel- lectual elite, in league with their Jewish counterparts abroad, should redefine Itamar Rabinovich Zionist ideology and make it meaning- ful to diaspora Jews, the young genera- tion in particular. • Founding President of the Israel • Non-Resident Distinguished Senior This is important but not as urgent Institute Fellow at the Center for Middle East as the need to deal with the new wave of • Former Ambassador of Israel to the Policy at the Brookings Institution efforts to delegitimize Israel and Zionism. United States and chief negotiator • Recent books include The Linger- To some extent it is a new incarnation of with Syria ing Conflict: Israel, the Arabs and the older attitudes, however it also feeds on • Former President of Tel Aviv University Middle East (2011) and The View from the failure to deal with the lingering Pales- • Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern Damascus (2009) tinian issue. The core of the settler move- History at Tel Aviv University • Ph.D. from the University of California, ment in Israel argues that it represents • Distinguished Global Professor at New Los Angeles Zionism’s second wave. (The first wave, York University so the argument goes, was led by secu- lar Zionists who achieved statehood in

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 3 SPOTLIGHT: THINK TANK A Far-Reaching Impact The Israel Institute speaks to Brigadier General (ret.) Shlomo Brom about Zionism, national security and his experiences working at an American think tank

as Altneuland. Theodor Herzl depicts a camps recognize the importance of both IIM: Early Zionist discourse included country that is based on certain values, sets of values. key ideological concepts on the impor- such as democracy and equality. Equal- Moreover, while there are points of ten- tance of security, land and social equal- ity does not just refer to income equality sion at times between these two concepts, ity. How relevant are such ideological as established by the kibbutz system, but there needn’t always be tension between pillars to modern Zionism? also political equality. David Ben-Gurion them. For instance, if a society promotes spoke a lot about the fact that Israel must be and preserves social equality, then it BROM: The central idea of Zionism was a model nation. Whether he succeeded in becomes much easier to mobilize citizens for Jews to have a haven, and specifically to that vision or not is up for debate but that in pursuit of common goals. Of course, the have a country that could serve as a haven was the vision, and I think that the fact that ability to mobilize citizens toward common for diaspora Jews who had been persecuted this was the aspirational discussion during goals is a crucial factor in national secu- throughout the years for being strangers the creation of Israel is salient. I think that rity. So there are cases where security and in different lands. A country is defined as people who are willing to relinquish these socioeconomic or other domestic concerns an autonomous territory for a particular original values, or choose to focus only on are complementary and mutually reinforc- population and, in the case of Israel, it was some at the expense of others, damage a ing rather than conflictual. The debate that meant to provide autonomy for the Jews. very substantive part of Zionism. you see on television derives from the fact As far as the concepts of land and security that, during elections, people focus on the go, the goal was to guarantee the fate of the tension between these values instead of the Jewish people. I want to emphasize that IIM: The recent political debates in Israel points of overlap. this concept went beyond physical secu- seemed to emphasize a choice between rity. It was about the protection of Jewish values. Specifically, there seemed to sovereignty as a value. This distinction is be two camps that emphasized secu- IIM: Does the fact that there was very important given the debate about land rity and socioeconomic issues, respec- recently such intense focus on socio- underway in Israel today. The strongest tively. Do you think this distinction was economic issues indicate a greater reason in favor of keeping or relinquish- overemphasized as part of the elections confidence among Israelis about Isra- ing land must be Israel’s ability to attain cycle or is there a deeper rift in Israel el’s security situation and its ability to physical security for the Jews living on this about these two issues? ward off threats? land while retaining the vision of a national state for the Jewish people. Land without BROM: Given limited resources in a coun- BROM: I think the opposite is true, actu- Jewish sovereignty is meaningless. try, sometimes there is tension between ally. I would argue that our problem is that As for the concept of social equality, security and domestic issues and it too many Israelis don’t understand that I think this is actually a representation of becomes necessary to find a compromise we’re already an established nation. They something greater – the concept of Zion- between the two. People are not advo- don’t understand that our physical sur- ism as a set of values. Beyond the phys- cating one rather than the other. It’s not vival is not our biggest concern. When I ical elements of land and population, a as if people who prioritize security dis- look back on the current situation with the country must be based on a set of values. I count domestic concerns or vice versa. wisdom of age, I have the benefit of observ- think that this concept is clearly expressed The essence of the debate is only about the ing larger trends. Thirty or forty years ago, when you look at Zionist literature such nature and degree of compromise. Both the security situation was much worse than

4 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE it is today. There was truly a threat to Isra- el’s physical survival and future as a nation. Nowadays, I’m certainly not saying that the situation is perfect or denying that we still face significant challenges, but we’re not really confronting a threat to Israel’s existence as an established country. Today, I would refer to many security issues as security discomforts rather than security threats. We would like to live without being uncomfortable and, certainly, it’s unpleas- ant to run to the bomb shelter. But it’s a little disingenuous to speak of last summer’s war as if “the entire country was under threat.” Arguably, with the exception of the south, most of the country was not really under threat. Israelis today are not accustomed to the type of low-level security discomfort that, in the past, was taken for granted as a fact of life in the region.

IIM: Many current policymakers in BRIGADIER GENERAL (RET.) SHLOMO BROM is currently an Israel Institute Visiting Israel are viewed as heirs of Labor Fellow with the National Security and International Policy team at the Center for Zionism versus heirs of Revisionist American Progress. Since 1998, Brom has been a senior research associate at the Zionism. Where are the tensions and Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, where he specializes in Israe- the overlaps between these two camps li-Palestinian relations and national security doctrine. His work at the INSS came on when it comes to security strategy? the heels of a long and respected military career in the Israel Defense Forces, includ- ing a post as the director of the IDF’s Strategic Planning Division. Brom participated BROM: The problem with using this type in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, Jordan and Syria and in Middle Eastern of dichotomy is that you need to generalize regional security talks during the 1990s and he continued to be involved in Track II a lot. If we split people into these broad cat- dialogues on these subjects after his retirement from the IDF. He was named deputy egories, then there’s not really a big differ- to the National Security Advisor in 2000. In 2005-2006, Brom served as a member ence between their worldviews on security, of the Meridor committee established by the Minister of Defense to reexamine the certainly not in the mainstream of these two security strategy and doctrine of the state of Israel. camps. In the Labor Zionist camp, thoughts Brom is the author of Israel and South Lebanon: In the Absence of a Peace Treaty of territorial concessions are still balanced with Syria. He has edited The Middle East Military Balance 1999–2000; The Middle with the reality of security needs. On the East Military Balance 2001–2002 and In the Aftermath of Operation Pillar of Defense: other hand, in the Revisionist camp, which The Gaza Strip, and co-edited The Second Lebanon War: Strategic Perspectives (with is more maximalist about territory, security Meir Elran) and the Strategic Survey for Israel series (with Anat Kurz). strategy is still driven by pragmatism rather than some sort of divine motivation. So I think there’s generally more overlap than Labor Zionism today could more prop- Comparing the camps using this metric, difference on the security issue. erly be called heirs of the modern liberal there is a difference between the right- However, when we examine these two or progressive worldview. And that worl- wing and the left-wing, and the modern camps more closely, beyond the issue of dview highlights a new debate about the left-wing tends to be more focused on indi- traditional security, we see that certain sig- role of the individual in relation to the state vidual rights, both in the form of human nificant differences have emerged. What and, specifically, an increased focus on the rights and in general. Ironically, though, I mean is, many of the so-called heirs of rights of the individual relative to the state. this is actually a huge deviation from the

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 5 SPOTLIGHT: THINK TANK

traditional Labor Zionism, which was far countries. I certainly wouldn’t say it trumps specifically, it helps you educate yourself more collectivist than any mainstream Israel’s relationship with a country like the about a country’s challenges and subse- party today and, ideologically, prioritized United States, but I’d be tempted to say it’s quent policies, because delving into these state interests over individual interests. more important than Israel’s relationship issues is exactly the nature of work at a think with a country such as Belgium. So, Israel tank. This experience has been extremely and Israelis are currently building relation- valuable, because when I return to Israel IIM: What is the role of the interna- ships at several levels, from countries to I will have a better grasp of the United tional community in Israeli security? organizations and individuals. States, what the rationale may be behind Granted, one can argue that relation- its policies, which forces or mechanisms BROM: Let me start by saying that the ships between corporations and orga- are driving certain policies and so forth. role of the international community is far nizations are merely a reflection of the As part of my work at a think tank back in greater in the 21st century than ever before. relationship between their host states, but Israel, I write papers that recommend cer- No country, not even a superpower, can I think that’s not true. Take the United tain informed policy prescriptions. If I am undertake its security alone. For instance, Nations, for example. The U.N. is more able to understand Israel’s environment in the United States today, even after emerg- than just a collection of its member states a better or broader sense through my time ing as the dominant world power after the – it’s a very complex organization with its in the United States, this will allow me to Soviet Union’s collapse at the end of the own internal mechanisms. So you need to generate better policy papers. This type of Cold War, relies on other countries in the have a specific relationship with this orga- effect can be amplified if ties are created security sector. The United States could nization that goes beyond just a relation- between Israeli and American think tanks not effectively tackle security issues such ship with the countries that are part of it. I that serve as the basis for ongoing collab- as terror without collaborating with other think you can see the role of organizational oration. Such collaboration, usually in the countries. For this structural reason, the mechanisms by looking at the vastly differ- form of annual or semi-annual meetings, international community is very import- ent type of relationship that Israel has with is obviously not as intensive as spending ant in the arena of modern security. different councils and sub-organizations the year in the United States, but it can be Having said that, we now need to take within the United Nations. illuminating, especially when combined a step back and ask: how are we defining Even on a state-to-state level, it depends with the year abroad. security and power? Power can be defined on the type of state Israel is dealing with. The second benefit to being at a U.S. as a country’s ability to utilize its force as Who has a role in decision-making in a par- think tank is the influence in the other it would like to. And in this capacity, the ticular state? When Israel is dealing with a direction. Just as I am learning more about international community has much more democracy, then there is an important role Americans by being here, my colleagues are influence than it did in the past. Individ- not just for collaboration between govern- learning more about Israel and its policies ual countries are more constrained in their ments but, perhaps even more so, for col- through their dialogues and interactions use of force. laborations on the ground at the individual with me. I can tell you that, after several level. But even here, certain groups of indi- months of being here, my colleagues regu- viduals have more of an influence on deci- larly ask for my take on news that they see IIM: In this context of increased inter- sion-making. Intellectuals, for instance, coming out of Israel. This type of connec- national involvement, what are the can frequently have a great deal of influ- tion has a broader impact, particularly in chief areas for collaboration? ence on policymakers and on public opin- the United States. In the U.S., policy schol- ion. So collaboration with these groups is ars at think tanks tend to be closely linked BROM: The world today is more complex extremely important. to actual policymakers in government. than it used to be. In the past, international There’s a great deal of consultation with relationships took place primarily between think tank professionals by government states and representatives of states. Today, IIM: Can you speak about your own officials. And there’s often a revolving door, as a result of globalization, there are many experiences this year at a think tank? where senior scholars from think tanks more actors in the field. Collaboration with will later be appointed to certain expert international corporations, for instance, is BROM: Working in a U.S. think tank positions in government. So being able to huge. Israel’s relationship with Intel, for has two primary benefits. First of all, it engage think tank colleagues in informed example, is far greater and arguably more is a learning experience about a particu- dialogue on Israel has the potential to have significant than its relationship with some lar country and a particular society. More a very far-reaching impact. ▲

6 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE From left to right: Mr. David Ignatius, Dr. Richard Haass and Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror at the Israel Institute's Annual Forum.

by the Israel Institute’s president, Ambas- sador Itamar Rabinovich. There was wide agreement among the The Way Forward panelists that the Middle East has been in tumult over the past several years to what The Israel Institute’s third Annual Forum may be an unprecedented degree. The tackles the challenges and opportunities region has undergone a complete disin- tegration of the old order, as evidenced by in a turbulent region the increase of sectarian violence in Iraq, civil war in Syria, chaos and political vio- BY JILL WYLER lence in Yemen and an unstable security situation in Libya. Islamic extremism, onths of news about the turmoil in the Middle East, its impact on Israel and most prominently embodied by ISIS, is questions over the future of American hegemony in the region made the on the rise across borders. The increas- MIsrael Institute’s third Annual Forum, titled “The United States, Israel and the ingly precarious situation has forced the Middle East: The Way Forward,” particularly timely. The forum, held in New York City Obama administration to constantly be on October 26, 2014, gave audience members a better understanding of the current playing defense in an attempt to mitigate security challenges facing Israel and the broader Middle East, as well as America’s role regional turmoil. in shaping the future of the region. According to Yaakov Amidror, three The event featured Dr. Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Rela- major factors triggered the escalat- tions, Mr. David Ignatius, an editor and columnist for the Washington Post and Major ing changes in the region, some begin- General Yaakov Amidror, former National Security Advisor of Israel. It was moderated ning decades ago. The first was Ayatollah

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 7 Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich introduces panelists at the Israel Institute's third Annual Forum

Khomeini’s success in taking power in Iran situation as analogous to the decades-long order to the region, America’s full disen- in 1979, which served as an inspiration political and religious struggle that trans- gagement would be severely destabilizing, for Islamists elsewhere in the region as an formed Europe in the early 17th century. In with catastrophic consequences for Amer- example of a sharia-ruled state. The second short, the region is experiencing a political ican allies such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia factor was Afghanistan’s success in fighting sea-change whose end and ultimate reso- and Israel. Amidror concurred, noting against the Soviet Union, which symbolized lution are nowhere in sight. Moreover, as that there is currently no alternative to the ability to fight and win against a super- Ignatius put it, “the problem is we cannot American involvement, given the limited power. The third factor was the outbreak of speak with any clarity about the new order.” capabilities of the U.N., E.U. countries or the “Arab Spring.” The combination of these In the face of such turmoil and uncer- even Russia to intervene substantively in three factors has created a combustible and tainty, the big question for the panel the region. volatile Middle East where the old assump- experts was, how shall the U.S. deal with Nevertheless, while Ignatius and tions about stability no longer apply. the current complex situation in the Amidror agreed that U.S. involvement According to Amidror, “what is cur- Middle East? was critical, they were not optimistic that rently happening in the Middle East is a A number of panelists suggested that it was forthcoming. Ignatius noted that historic trend and it is impossible to put the United States must be a leader of neces- American involvement in Syria has been a stop to historic trends.” David Ignatius sity. Ignatius noted that in all his years of minimal and is unlikely to substantially strengthened the feeling of inevitability, experience in the region he cannot remem- increase, lamenting that “a stronger Amer- asserting that, “the neighborhood was hit ber a time when there was such a strong ican policy in Syria might have prevented by something it has not yet understood, outcry for American help and interven- the catastrophic situation that we are absorbed or figured out a clear response to.” tion. He emphasized that, while the U.S. facing now.” Amidror also emphasized the Richard Haass described this geopolitical does not have a magic formula to bring challenge of garnering American political

8 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE will for extensive continued involvement support, and work with regional govern- particular, in a scenario that he described in the Middle East. As he put it, “the Amer- ments that it can trust, such as Jordan. as “a nightmare for everyone,” Amidror icans are fed up after 100 years in which Haass, while stressing caution, men- said that Iran’s development of nuclear they saved the world.” tioned that America should not be bound weapons would trigger nuclear aspirations In contrast to Amidror and Ignatius’s at this point in time by a focus on pre- among many other countries, in particular views on the efficacy of American power serving existing borders for their own Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. in tamping down regional turmoil, Haass sake. He emphasized that “the map [of In this state of threat and uncertainty, was skeptical that a stronger and more the current Middle East] is not sacred,” the panelists were cautiously optimis- involved U.S. would have been able to and pointed to support for an indepen- tic about U.S.-Israel operations. Igna- change the face of things. According to dent Kurdistan as a potential policy. tius conceded that there was currently Haass, “there are developments taking Turning to Israel, Amidror acknowl- a high level of mutual mistrust between place in the Middle East that transcend edged that the regional turmoil created the countries, but emphasized that Israel the ability of any outside actor, no matter more challenges, but added that it also remained a “bright spot” in an increas- how competent, to control.” As an exam- created opportunities. He was hope- ingly troubled and tragic region. Haass ple, he pointed to ISIS and the difficulty ful that Israel would be clever enough strengthened that point by adding states have in successfully confronting to understand those opportunities and that, despite a contentious relationship violent non-state actors and insurgents. identify any common basis for creat- between President Barack Obama and Haass further cautioned against look- ing and enhancing better relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a ing to American involvement as a cure, its neighboring countries. The panelists strong and deep relationship between the noting that the U.S. “bears a great deal of largely agreed that solving the Palestin- two countries has persisted. He noted, responsibility” for the current situation ian issue was an important element of for instance, that most of the day-to- and, to a degree, has actually contributed improving relations with other countries day strategic cooperation between to regional instability. Therefore, Haass in the region, due to the enormous pres- Israel and the United States has con- argued for a middle ground of “some- sure on Arab leaders by their people on tinued unhindered. Ultimately, as Igna- thing between washing our hands and that matter. Haass granted that ending tius emphasized, “a stronger U.S.-Israeli thinking [the U.S.] can remake or reorder this part of the world.” He emphasized that America must be much more cau- “A strong U.S.-Israeli understanding about tious today than it was in the past, par- ticularly given that the old order in the the future and an ability to work together Middle East was better for U.S. interests with a dynamic strategic understanding is than the current chaos. This drew broad agreement from the other panelists, with important during turbulent times.” Haass neatly summarizing his view that “it ought to become a rule that you don’t — DAVID IGNATIUS use military force, or other tools to foster political change in countries, unless you the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would understanding about the future and an have a pretty good sense of what is going likely not affect other significant prob- ability to work together with a dynamic to come afterwards, or what you are pre- lems in the Middle East, such as ISIS’s strategic understanding is important,” pared to do to see that the consequence growing power or the Syrian civil war, but particularly during turbulent times. is better.” emphasized that the stalemate with the The ongoing regional changes and In light of this, panelists offered Palestinians has caused a harmful dip- challenges to Israel and its neighborhood potential concrete paths toward this lomatic vacuum for Israel. He believed make expert dialogues more important type of more cautious policy. In analyz- it could be ameliorated by finding a way than ever. The Israel Institute was pleased ing the situation in Syria and noting that to restart efforts toward a permanent and to have brought together this panel for Syrian President Bashar Assad was losing lasting solution for the Palestinian issue. its annual forum to tackle pressing ques- ground to extremist rebel groups, Igna- Also among Israel’s key challenges, the tions about the region, and it hopes to tius argued that America should focus panelists pointed to the Iranian nuclear facilitate many such conversations in on finding local national groups it can threat as a main issue going forward. In the future. ▲

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 9 ILLUSTRATION BY DAN BEJAR DAN BY ILLUSTRATION

borders and the feasibility of a two-state solution. Even within the right-wing bloc Basic Questions that was included in or courted for the coalition, different emphases on welfare, NGOs, settlements and other issues illus- trated additional division over values. In Revisited short, from the nation-state bill to argu- ments about the appropriateness of buses An exploration of Zionism, Jewish statehood and on Shabbat, political issues in Israeli news point to an increasingly divided society Israel's identity challenges in the 21st century debating over the meaning and impor- tance of democracy, equality and religious BY NOA LEVANON KLEIN identity in a Zionist context. These argu- ments are not, however, new or a function n March of this year, Israel’s government called for early elections, a move largely trig- of the current Israeli government. They gered by political disagreements within the governing coalition over nationality and rather hearken back to the very begin- Inational service that cut to the very nature of the state itself. Campaign slogans leading nings of the Jewish nationalist movement up to the latest election, as well as the coalition discussions that followed it, highlighted that came to be known as Zionism and the divisions between factions in Israel over the role of different national values. Debates raged challenging interplay between preserving between the parties about the relative importance of socioeconomic concerns and secu- and strengthening a nation and building rity concerns. In the days prior to the election, controversy erupted over Prime Minis- a state. The questions over what Zion- ter Benjamin Netanyahu’s articulated position on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Israeli ism entails, how Israel’s Jewish identity

10 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE STATE OF ISRAEL

informs the institutions of the state and Judaism and Israel Studies at Oxford who and ideologies. These included action- how Israeli Jews and diaspora Jews engage called Zionism a keyword, “a term that has based philanthropic Zionism in the with these issues in different ways are not a specific special and chronological origin, diaspora, premised on “building and sus- new phenomena or abstract questions. but then takes on multiple meanings in taining the Jewish State;” so-called Hebraic They are ones that Israel has constantly time and space.” Zionism “can mean all nationalism, which focuses on Hebrew wrestled with to varying degrees through- sorts of things: It’s a theory, it’s a practice, language and literature as a source of a out its history, and they are more relevant it’s an international movement and devel- cultural emotional attachment to the land to the real world than ever. opmental project. It’s an effect, it’s an ide- of Israel; and even catastrophic Zionism, At a conference this past October, enti- ology. And outside of the Jewish world, which originated in the “existential fear” tled “Israel: Basic Questions Revisited,” the Zionism has also had many meanings that resulting from the mass persecutions of Israel Institute hosted a day of debates to diverge, or can diverge considerably, from Jews in the first half of the twentieth cen- tackle these questions and place them in the meanings attached to it within the Jewish tury and culminating in the Holocaust. proper historical and political context. In communities of the world, including Israel.” Penslar emphasized that the varieties of introductory remarks, the Institute’s Exec- Penslar identified at least eight catego- Zionism in his typology were just the ones utive Director, Ari Roth, explained that ries of Zionism, ranging across behaviors associated with the Jewish world and that Zionism remains “a core feature of iden- tity for those within Israel, and those who identify with Israel [in the 21st century, yet] its precise meanings have changed.” To explore the evolution of this concept and The Kibbutz in the 21st Century examine modern manifestations of Zion- ism, expert panels discussed the meaning Kibbutzim – socialist collectives established by Labor Zionists in the pre-inde- of modern Zionism, the meaning and place pendence Yishuv – blossomed in the early and mid-20th century as the most of Judaism in a ‘Jewish State’ and Israel’s efficient way to develop the land and ensure security for Jewish communities role relative to diaspora Jewry and other in the absence of national infrastructure. As the state of Israel became more nations. The event featured a wide array established and less agrarian, kibbutzim became less dominant in Israeli soci- of prominent scholars and policy experts ety, yet modern-day kibbutz residents say they are still going strong. including renowned historians Anita Sha- Anat Heffetz of Kibbutz Nirim, a doctoral candidate who researches the intersection between local and national identity in Israel, conceded that kib- pira, Derek Penslar and Noam Stillman; butzim are very different than they used to be. When Nirim was founded, the legal scholar Ruth Gavison; political scien- nationalist ideas of agrarian settlement and protection of borders were cen- tists Kenneth Stein and Yoram Peri; think tral to the concept of its identity. The kibbutz, located on the Gaza periph- tankers Elliott Abrams of the Council on ery, was particularly proud of its role as a bulwark in the War of Independence, Foreign Relations and Tamara Cofman when a handful of residents managed to repel the Egyptian 6th Battalion. Wittes of Brookings; former Israeli gov- More recently, however, Heffetz said, younger generations’ identification with ernment ministers Dan Meridor and Yuli the kibbutz has become more localized. “The significance of life here is now Tamir; former National Security Advisor more focused on the fact that this is our home and we’ve built a community Yaakov Amidror; Israel’s former Supreme over multiple generations,” she explained. “When you ask yourself what makes Court President Dorit Beinisch; and jour- people stay, it is a connection to the specific land rather than a more national- nalist Jeffrey Goldberg. ist ideology. It’s personal and visceral, a deep and authentic connection to this In seeking to define Zionism, Prof. place, this view, this land." Yoram Peri, who heads the Israel Stud- Greater localization is not the same as a loss of collective spirit or national ies Center at the University of Maryland, commitment, emphasized Tamar Gal-Sarai, the granddaughter of two of the quoted the renowned Israeli author Amos founders of Degania, Israel’s oldest kibbutz. Gal-Sarai noted that kibbutzim are Oz when considering these fundamental still known for their community service and are at the forefront of immigrant questions. Zionism, Oz says, is a “family absorption in Israel. Moreover, despite representing barely 3% of Israel’s cur- name” that can pair with many first names rent population, they maintain one of the nation’s highest rates of enlistment – national, religious, secular and so forth. in both pre-army volunteer programs and elite military units. Also grappling with definitions was Prof. Derek Penslar, a historian of modern

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he had not delved into connotations of Ruth Gavison, a law professor who spe- categories of Zionism that have developed Zionism in the non-Jewish world, which cializes in legal frameworks surrounding since the term’s conception in the 1800s are often negative. Israel’s vision as a Jewish and democratic are rooted in religion. For instance, prior The most well-known version of the state, emphasized that the meaning of to the development of political Zionism, term Zionism, upon which the institutions Judaism from a legal and legislative per- there was the phenomenon of messian- of the state are based, is political Zionism spective is “very thin.” Rather than artic- ic-restorationist Zionism, a Judeo-Chris- as articulated by Jewish thinkers and lead- ulating a set of ideological tenets about tian tradition rooted in the belief that ers such as Theodor Herzl, Leo Pinsker, Judaism, Zionism merely affords Jews a Jewish presence in the holy land would and Ze'ev Jabotinsky. In its early days, the platform – in the form of a state – in which hasten the arrival of the messiah. Addi- term described the effort to bring about a their majority within a territorial base per- tionally, there is Halachic Zionism, which sovereign state for the Jewish people, one mits them to determine the meaning of sees Jewish religious fulfillment through of many nationalist movements aspiring their Jewishness and the way that Jewish the act of dwelling in the land of Israel; it to such a goal in the late 1800s and early culture is transmitted nationally. “It’s not has been historically more important to 1900s. Following the establishment of only about existence, it’s about the culture, religious Zionists than the messianic ele- the state of Israel, Prime Minister David about the possibility [to have a state where] ment of Zionism and continues to be a Ben-Gurion declared that, post-statehood, Hebrew is the language, the Jewish cal- powerful force behind religious Zionism. Israeli patriotism could and would replace endar is the calendar and Jewishness and Such Zionism is the driving force of the Zionism. Yet today, more than 67 years Judaism are not totally privatized,” Gavison settler movement, which views the ele- after the establishment of the state, Zion- explained. Zionism, and the ultimate cre- ments of Zionism and traditional Juda- ism remains a term with relevance and ation of the state of Israel, brought about a ism as inseparable. resonance for Jews and non-Jews, both in unique new reality for Jews, in which they In stark contrast, another major stream Israel and abroad. As politics have evolved finally had agency over religious and cul- of Zionism is fervently secular. Labor over the 67 years of Israel’s statehood, the tural practices in the public sphere. But the Zionism, most prominently evoked by the term has taken on new meanings for dif- freedom of choice that comes with being kibbutz movement, was critical in the lead ferent groups, making Zionism a hot-but- a majority Jewish culture has inherently up to and early days of the state through ton topic in a way that is reminiscent of the engendered an ongoing debate about reli- its promotion of industry, trade union- movement’s early days. gious practice. ism and collective agricultural settlement. This diffusion is starkly exemplified by Former government minister Dan Territorial control in this particular tra- the ongoing debate over a proposed nation- Meridor, in explaining the ambiguity about dition was strategic, rather than ideolog- state bill that, according to its language, Jewish practice in the country’s founding ical, meaning that borders were drawn seeks to “[define] the identity of the state documents, argued that it was a deliber- with an eye to promoting security and of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish ate innovation of Zionist thinkers such as sovereignty, regardless of biblical signifi- People, and [anchor] the values of the state Herzl and Ben-Gurion: “Centuries ago, the cance. In practice, Labor Zionism helped of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.” Jewish nation was defined by a religion. build up the state’s military institutions Proponents claim that such a bill will merely What Zionism did was define Judaism dif- and promoted immigration and immi- solidify the national principles articulated ferently. In the past, if you left religion, you grant absorption, as part of the notion that in other founding Israeli documents. To wit, left the Jewish people. Zionism emphasized Zionism is “a project for personal and col- they note that the “Jewish and democratic” that Jews are a nation, not just a religion. lective transformation.” formulation appears in previous basic laws, That national identity, not the religious Both Halachic and Labor Zionism such as Israel’s basic law on human dignity identity, is the basis for self-determina- retain active and ardent constituencies and liberty. Meanwhile, critics say that this tion.” This distinction between Jews as a in Israel, unsurprisingly heightening the bill prioritizes the Jewish identity of the state nation and Jews as a religion, said Meri- debate over religion in Israel and the reli- over democratic consensus. Arguably, this dor, is what enabled the pursuit of Jewish gious identity of the state. The prominence debate glosses over an important preexist- sovereignty in the pre-independence era. of this debate, however, can sometimes ing issue: the term ‘Jewish State’ is not an Therefore, in discussing Israel as a Jewish obscure two key intervening variables: not explicit one. As several conference partic- State, he noted that it is important to speak all of Israel’s citizens are Jewish and, con- ipants noted, the precise Jewish identity of “in national terms, not in religious terms.” versely, not all Jews are Israeli citizens. Israel is, in and of itself, unarticulated and Yet, as Derek Penslar noted in his Critically, Israel’s current Jewish identity left deliberately ambiguous. classifications of Zionism, a number of manifests itself not because of theocratic

12 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE rule but rather because of a substantial a far-reaching impact, well beyond the issue the diaspora are more varied. According to Jewish majority in Israel. In this capac- of Jewish practice within Israel’s borders. Stein, the importance of Israel to Ameri- ity, Dan Meridor emphasized the import- Notably, it affects Israel’s relations with the can Jews has diverse foundations, ranging ant role of non-Jewish citizens in Israel, international Jewish population as well as from a historical reminder of the need for noting that they had more of a say about its policies and relationships in the inter- Jewish strength to a platform to preserve the Jewish nature of Israel than did Jews national community more broadly. U.S.-based Jewish identity. Indeed, Derek in the diaspora. “Decisions regarding the Prof. Kenneth Stein, a professor of Penslar identified this as an entire cate- state of Israel – language, war, peace – are Middle Eastern history and political sci- gory, noting that Zionism for Jews in the made by me, and by an Arab living in Naz- ence at Emory University, contended that diaspora could be an expression of ethnic areth. They’re not made by anybody who’s the citizenship distinction between Jews identity, with Israeli symbols such as the not a citizen of Israel,” he explained. “The in Israel and Jews in the diaspora meant flag used as a way of displaying Jewish shareholders of the state of Israel are the that the question of “what does it mean identity and solidarity and not necessar- citizens of Israel. What is the role of Jews to be Jewish in a Jewish state” is vastly ily as a coherent ideology. But beyond this, in diaspora? I would say that in our basic different from “what does it mean to be as Stein mentioned, a critical number of belief, vision, ideology, Jews in the dias- an American Jew and support the Jewish American Jews simply do not identify with pora are option-holders, not sharehold- state.” Likewise, because Jews in America Israel at all as part of their Jewish identity. ers. They cannot vote.” were not as well-versed as Israeli Jews in This ambivalence on Israel and Zion- This important distinction between citi- much of Zionism’s political and intellec- ism among diaspora Jews is reflected in zen voting rights and diaspora opinions has tual history, manifestations of Zionism in the lack of international consensus on

Pioneering in the City

While kibbutz residents remain proud of their heritage, a grow- Rachel Rembrandt is a member of Tene Yerushalmi, a ing number of Israelis believe that their traditional collectivist non-profit grassroots organization that includes eight such vision needs to be applied beyond the traditional communes. communities of 120 members who are collaborating in the James Grant-Rosenhead, a founding member of the biggest Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood of Jerusalem. Starting with just urban kibbutz in Israel, explained: “The original kibbutz res- a dozen young adults, these small groups have grown into idents pioneered Israel’s frontiers. They did that by develop- hundreds of young families who have moved to underpriv- ing and defending the geographic periphery of the state. We ileged neighborhoods. They engage in significant commu- are pioneering the frontiers of Israeli society today, namely the nity work, totaling approximately 30,000 hours each year socioeconomic periphery.” According to Grant-Rosenhead, as through formal and informal education frameworks and Israel has become more established and secure, education and community initiatives that have become traditions over the social justice rather than agriculture and defense are the key years. “The success of this type of social entrepreneurship needs of Israeli society today. “We are recapturing the kibbutz is clear. Kiryat Hayovel is the only neighborhood in Jerusa- ethos and combining it with new methods to make the Labor lem with an influx of young pluralistic families. This is pos- Zionist ideals relevant to Israel today. Kibbutzim were founded sible because there was a long-term choice to integrate into to use collective approaches to address the national interest the neighborhood and commit to its well-being, rather than and that is what we’re doing now, in an urban setting.” launching a pinpoint social project,” Rembrandt said. In Such social activism in urban settings is not limited to what she referred to as “Jewish renewal,” she also noted the urban kibbutzim. In a unique recent phenomenon, groups of efforts of many intentional communities to celebrate Jewish young adults have moved collectively into marginalized or traditions, albeit in a secular pluralist way, similar to the underserved towns and neighborhoods across Israel. These idea of a Jewish community center in the United States. “For groups, often referred to as intentional communities, strive example, our group celebrates Pesach together with our own to narrow social and educational gaps by developing and siddur that was developed over time,” she explained. participating in an active community life.

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Israeli policy, both within the Jewish and more sarcastically: “China can create its own policies, such as settlement building, should non-Jewish spheres. One might ask why weather. It’s 1.5 billion people. Israel is 9 mil- be approached through a lens of practical- such ambivalence matters, given that no lion people. It doesn’t have the opportunity ity rather than merely a lens of perceived one in the international community, not or the capability of creating its own reality.” morality, given the international interest in even the Jewish diaspora, gets an actual In terms of outside pressure, the dom- the Israeli-Palestinian issue. “Some officials vote. Yet, as Stein cautioned, Jews remain inant issue related to Israel and Zionist get morally exercised by the question, ‘Why a decisive minority in the world at large, as identity in the diaspora community is the shouldn’t Jews be allowed to live in the West well as a minority in democratic countries Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In raising ques- Bank?’” Goldberg recounted, before answer- other than Israel. As a result, “we will have tions about the role of the two-state solution ing the hypothetical question: “Sure, Jews to make agreements, understandings, be in the evolution of modern Zionism, experts should be allowed to buy [anywhere] but accepted by those throughout the world, addressed the hypothetical future reality of just because you have a right to do some- because we are tiny… so we have to behave a forced bi-national state, again highlight- thing doesn’t mean you have to do it when- in a way that we think will be acceptable, ing the key issue of Jewish majority in Israel ever you feel like it, when everybody is telling or at least understandable, to those who are and the important balance between demo- you not to.” making decisions that affect our future,” he cratic procedures and Jewish identity. In this Discussing the intersection of policy argued. Or, as writer Jeffrey Goldberg put it capacity, Goldberg mentioned that certain and identity, Goldberg believed the key to overcoming diaspora ambivalence about Zionism was to help Jewish Amer- icans understand Israel and like Israel in a non-political sense. “It’s not right-wing Life in Israel as a Project or left-wing but [rather] an affinity for the idea of the necessity of a Jewish State… The early waves of Zionist immigration to Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine If Israel is seen as a just cause, then Israel saw idealistic youths leaving their homes and families to build a state in harsh will be popular in an idealistic society like and uncharted land. These days, those making aliyah (immigration to Israel) the United States.” He deliberately echoed land in an established and technologically connected nation, yet American a statement from earlier in the day by Dan immigrants to Israel still seem to feel stirrings of the original Zionist vision. Meridor, who had averred the inherent jus- According to Teddy Fischer, the co-founder of an egalitarian minyan in tice in the formation of Israel: “Part of the Tel Aviv who moved to Israel from Massachusetts, immigrants, in contrast to Zionist project is bringing justice to the native-born Israelis, are making a choice about engaging in the Zionist project Jewish people… based on general norms through the act of moving. “You don’t need to found a kibbutz or a community, of justice. The fact that the Jews had no you can just participate: be there, pay taxes, take part.” Because such action is place of their own, no sovereign state, was voluntary, “it's a huge expression of Zionism,” he explained. This notion was an injustice, and we corrected it” with the especially poignant to Fischer at his job as a structural engineer. “I’ve worked establishment of the state of Israel. in infrastructure in America and when you build something there, it’s great. But Ultimately, as Derek Penslar noted, in Israel, it has meaning," he said. “You're literally building the land, putting Zionism “is so deeply cemented into the something there that wasn’t there before. There’s a song we sang in the first Israeli Jewish body politic, it will not fade grade, Eretz Israel Sheli, with the line, [‘Who built this? Who made this? All of us away, any more than the words ‘liberty’ together.’] No one sings songs about paving roads in the United States.” or ‘republic’ could ever disappear from Benji Lovitt, a comedian and educator from Texas, concurred. “I made American political discourse.” That said, aliyah from the US in 2006 after several years of working for Young Judaea as several rounds of discussions proved, Israel Programs. After managing a summer teen tour during the Second Leb- consensus about the future of Zionism in anon War, I never thought I could do more for Israel than then. How wrong I Israel and abroad remains elusive and ques- was... Living in Israel is the most meaningful thing I have ever done – help- tions about the meaning of the state’s Jewish ing to raise morale of my fellow olim and friends abroad when times are tough, identity are still unresolved. The one thing trying to do my little part to make the country a better place and just being a part of the lucky few to live in the place our people yearned to return to for that can be said with certainty is that schol- 2000 years.” ars of Israel Studies will undoubtedly con- tinue grappling with these topics in their research going forward. ▲

14 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE © AMIR COHEN/REUTERS/CORBIS AMIR ©

An Israeli soldier chooses a ballot from behind a voting booth at an army base near the Election Season, Again southern city of Ofakim March 15, 2015. Israelis went to the polls in March, for the fourth time in less than ten years. Examining how Israelis elect their leaders helps explain their frequent returns to the voting booth.

BY DR. REUT ITZKOVITCH-MALKA

he Israeli political system is an enigma, dysfunctional, broken and corrupt. The unique and presenting us with a clear dichotomy. On obscure electoral system, combined with the social the one hand, it is a clear success. Israel is diversity of Israeli society, results in a large, fragmented T the only democracy in the Middle East – party system, making it hard for governments to form, a region dominated by repressive and authoritarian survive and enact policy. Political trust in democratic regimes – and a developed, Western, OECD-member institutions is dropping sharply and public dissatisfac- state. The political system can certainly claim (some tion with the system and its leaders is growing. of) the credit for this: it largely manages to channel Many of the problems of the Israeli political system societal inputs, to handle the country’s pressing secu- are attributed to its electoral system. This system is rity issues and to preserve an effective rule of law. On unique from a comparative perspective and is often the other hand, the system is often characterized as characterized as an “extreme” electoral system. When

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 15 Israeli voters go to the polls they vote for a party, not voter turnout and party fragmentation. Even in Isra- for a candidate. In fact, on Election Day, Israeli voters el’s most recent election, which saw a rise in votes for have no ability to influence the makeup of party lists the traditional mainstream parties of Likud and Labor (which are therefore referred to as closed lists). Once (in a union with the centrist Hatnua party) relative to votes are cast, the seats are divided among the par- more extreme parties on the right and left, the victo- ties based on a proportional electoral formula. This rious Likud party was ultimately only able to garner means that there is a strong correlation between the a quarter of Israeli votes. Among the contributing number of votes a party won in the elections and the factors to this phenomenon, aside from the electoral number of seats it will hold in the Knesset. The rela- system, are the growing personalization of politics tively low electoral threshold and the fact that Israel and the candidate-selection methods that parties use has no electoral districts also contribute to the pro- in order to formulate their electoral lists. portional outcome of the elections, as they make it As a researcher of Israeli politics, focusing on fairly easy for small parties to win seats in the house. various aspects of political representation, I find the These characteristics result in a highly fragmented unique institutional arrangements in Israel fascinat- multi-party system, oversized coalitions and substan- ing. I believe that studying these arrangements using tial governance challenges. a comparative perspective can benefit our under- Political scientists have long identified the strong standing of both Israel and other countries. The links between electoral design and the health of polit- events surrounding Israel’s most recent elections, ical parties, and this linkage is certainly evident in on March 17th, 2015, illustrate the trends and chal- Israel. Recent research has shown a sharp decline lenges that I study. in large mainstream parties in Israel compared to Analyzing the political scene in the months and their counterparts in other consolidated democra- weeks surrounding Election Day reveals a number of cies, based on parameters such as electoral volatility, interesting discoveries. First, let’s recall how it is that Israel faced elections again, only two years after the previous ones. By doing so, we can get some insight Dr. Reut Itzkovitch-Malka into the difficulties of sustaining a stable coalition in Israel. In early December 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two of his senior cabinet r. Reut Itzkovitch-Malka is an Israel ministers – Yair Lapid, who served as the Minister of Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Finance, and Tzipi Livni, who served as the Minister Center on Democracy, Development D of Justice. The two also happened to be the leaders and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. of two main coalition partners in Netanyahu’s coali- Her research interest centers on political tion – Yesh Atid and Hatnua, respectively. By doing representation from a comparative politics this, Netanyahu broke his own coalition, forcing new perspective, in particular legislative studies and gender and political representation. elections upon the system. Netanyahu claimed that She has conducted large-scale, cross- the two were disloyal to him, frequently publicly crit- national comparative research focusing on icizing him and the government’s policy. This was an legislators’ perceptions of representation and on the link between such unsurprising finale for Netanyahu’s 26-month-old perceptions and party unity. This research provides a first-time inside coalition, which was characterized by constant inner look into the dynamics surrounding party unity and the drivers behind disagreements and tensions. It is also a prime exam- legislators’ behavior. She also researches a broad range of issues related ple of the difficulties of governance given oversized, to gender and politics, including women’s substantive and descriptive ideologically dispersed coalitions. representation, the adoption of gender quotas for women and the gender Second, as stated, no single party represents a gap in voting. Itzkovitch-Malka received a Ph.D. in political science from large constituency of voters. Going forward, the Likud the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2014, where she won the Presi- party, which claimed the largest voter block, holds dent Fellowship for outstanding doctoral students. She holds an M.A. with only 25 percent of the Knesset’s 120 seats. This has honors in political science and a B.A. with honors in political science and a number of important consequences. One is that a history, both from the Hebrew University. coalition government is a given in the Israeli politi- cal reality. Granted, coalitions are a feature of most

16 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE parliamentary democracies. However, unlike most Given these problems, the Israeli political system Israel's Knesset Building. coalition governments in Western democracies, the is constantly debating a reform. This election it was Israeli coalition has to include a large number of par- Netanyahu who launched his campaign by prom- ties to reach a majority and therefore combines parties ising Israeli voters to change the system of govern- from a wide ideological spectrum, leading to the gov- ment by offering a new law, according to which the ernance issues we are accustomed to see. This is not a head of the largest party will automatically serve as new phenomenon: a recent study showed that in the Prime Minister and enjoy a fixed term. While most year 2010 Israel had the largest number of parties in a reform initiatives fail, this past term the Knesset did ruling coalition, compared to more than a dozen other pass a minor reform, raising the electoral threshold Western democracies, including Germany, Sweden, from 2.5 to 3.25 percent. This was done in order to Japan, Ireland, the Netherlands and even Belgium. deal with some of the problems of Israeli politics: to The other consequence is that, based purely on math, reduce the number of parties in the Knesset and in the Prime Minister’s party – the senior partner in the government, to strengthen large parties and to ease coalition – is not able to constitute a majority in its governance. However, many claimed at the time own coalition. This forces it to give big “payoffs” to (myself included) that this minor reform consists its other coalition partners, such as important min- of a mere cosmetic change that would not be able to isterial and committee positions. This too is not an solve the inherent problems of Israeli politics. And unusual scenario in Israeli politics. It has been two indeed, even with the increased electoral thresh- decades since the Prime Minister’s party had a major- old, the leading party has been faced with the same ity in its own coalition, which again brings us back to challenge of piecing together a patchwork coalition. issues of governance and stability. As it appears now, the 2015 election was no dif- Third, the constant emergence of new parties, ferent than the ones preceding it. Unless a seri- which is yet another reason for the weakening of large ous reform is undertaken, Israel will continue to parties and the growing fragmentation of the party suffer from a hyper-fragmented party system, coa- system, is very much still present in Israeli politics. litions will continue to include (too) many par- This election it is the Kulanu party, headed by former ties and governance and stability will be constantly Likud MK, Moshe Kahlon. In the previous elections it challenged. Yes, the consensual elements in Isra- was the Yesh Atid party, headed by the popular jour- el’s institutional design – the proportional repre- nalist and publicist, Yair Lapid. In 2006 it was Gil, the sentation electoral system, the multi-party system pensioners’ party; in 1999 it was Shinui, the ultra-sec- and the oversized coalitions – are suitable to the ular party. Such parties often become the “elections’ state’s diverse and multi-faceted nature. Nonethe- surprise,” winning a relatively large number of seats, less, moderating some of the more extreme features but they usually only survive one or two terms and would certainly benefit the system. Here, I believe, vanish as quickly as they appear. Nevertheless, they the comparative perspective might come in handy, contribute to the continuous shrinkage of large parties as we can learn from the experience of others. As and to the extremely large number of parties, both in far as institutional design goes, being special is not the parliament and in the government. necessarily an advantage. ▲

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 17 ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES /MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE UNDER PUBLIC LICENSE WWW.FLICKR.COM LICENSE PUBLIC UNDER AVAILABLE IS /MATERIAL FORCES DEFENSE ISRAEL

Armored vehicles from the 460 Brigade operating near the Gaza border Military Ethics Examining military pedagogy provides insight into the role of ethics and morality in the IDF

BY JAMES EASTWOOD

n what has now become a familiar pattern, the to recover captured soldiers, even at the risk of their events in Gaza last summer generated an inter- death) also put Netanyahu’s claim under scrutiny. national debate about the morality of the conduct My doctoral research does not aim to prove or dis- Iof the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prime Min- prove either of these sets of claims. Rather, it investi- ister Benjamin Netanyahu restated the oft-repeated gates why and how arguments about the morality of claim that the IDF is “the most moral army in the the IDF have acquired such importance in Israel in world,” while a host of critics and non-governmen- recent years. Where has this intense interest in mil- tal organizations pointed to a number of transgres- itary ethics come from? How does it manifest itself sions of international humanitarian law. Inside Israel inside the IDF? What purposes does it serve, and itself, controversy over the so-called “Hannibal Proce- what are its consequences for Israeli politics and soci- dure” (according to which massive force can be used ety more broadly?

18 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE “A major concern of IDF ethical pedagogy is helping soldiers to maintain their humanity or, literally, ‘keep a human image.’”

A common argument is that the scale and inten- improving combat motivation ahead of reducing the sity of Israel’s counterinsurgency operations since level of violence used. One example of such educa- the collapse of the Oslo Process in 2001, combined tional techniques was the use of drama workshops with international attention, have necessitated this to explore moral issues that soldiers had encoun- concern with ethics. Military ethics, in this view, are tered or might encounter at checkpoints. Rather seen to provide external legitimacy to Israel’s wars. than acting as a method of disciplinary accountabil- There is truth to this argument, but my research indi- ity, these sessions were aimed at turning the soldier cates that it does not tell the whole story. For one into an empathetic subject who remained morally thing, existing scholarship indicates that this role pure. By contrast, the discussion of ethics during of external legitimation has tended to be taken up operational debriefings, where disciplinary and legal by the growing military-legal apparatus – including procedures may have followed, was rare. humanitarian lawyers inserted into the operational Further evidence for the importance of ethics decision-making process – rather than ethics train- can be seen at Israeli pre-military academies, where ing. Another consideration is that the IDF’s interest I carried out fieldwork and conducted interviews. in military ethics pre-dates more recent interna- These academies now attract over 3,300 students tional controversies. per year, making them the largest pre-army educa- A more convincing account of the importance tion program. Although these academies began in of ethics to the IDF relates to internal factors, and the national religious movement, they represent an specifically to the patterns of military mobilization increasingly diverse student body, with a growing and organization that have taken shape in Israeli number of secular students and students from the society. In this internal context, it is necessary to social periphery. These academies propagate a cul- understand the importance of ethics in the IDF as ture of self-improvement, in which personal, moral a practice that helps to secure the military partici- and religious education is seen as a vital constituent of pation and motivation of soldiers. military preparation. They bind a project of individual To explore this issue, I began by looking at the ethical self-cultivation with the pursuit of “meaning- history of ethics in the IDF, examining the develop- ful service” in the IDF. Academies have succeeded in ment of the IDF ethical code and the related phil- significantly increasing graduates’ rates of enlistment osophical debates over IDF ethical doctrine. My findings suggest that the IDF code of ethics, first authored in the 1990s, did not originate from a con- James Eastwood cern by military leadership about the level of vio- lence used against civilians in military operations. Instead, it was drafted (and later redrafted) in order ames Eastwood is a Ph.D. student at to find new ways to motivate soldiers to serve in the the School for Oriental and African military, initially to cultivate their sense of profes- J Studies (SOAS) at the University of sional identity and later to strengthen a sense of cul- London, working under the supervision of tural, national and moral identification with the IDF. Prof. Laleh Khalil and Dr. Yair Wallach. His From this starting point, I examined the current research concentrates on the intersections methods of ethical pedagogy used in the IDF, both between ethics and militarism in Israeli for officers and for regular soldiers. A major con- society, with a particular emphasis on the cern of IDF ethical pedagogy is helping soldiers to role of soldiers’ testimony. He is an Israel maintain their humanity or, literally, “keep a human Institute Doctoral Fellow. image.” Operationally, I noticed a prioritization of

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 19 to combat units and officer courses. Their success and very active). However, this focus has also constrained rapid expansion is a clear sign of the central role that the organization, limiting its political critique to a ethics play in military motivation in Israel. moral denunciation of the actions of the military and This strong emphasis on ethics in Israeli military state. Very often, as I witnessed in observing its edu- service has also had interesting consequences for the cational activities, soldier testimonies are perceived character of political contestation in Israel. The final as evidence of the need for purely moral improve- part of my research explored the work of the veter- ment within the framework of the status quo rather ans’ political organization, Breaking the Silence, an than for the transformative political response (ter- organization founded to articulate a moral critique ritorial withdrawal) that the organization calls for. of Israeli occupation through the collection of sol- Taken together, these various contributions of ethics diers’ testimonies. Examining the process of testi- to the Israeli military suggest its profound importance mony collection and the public educational activities in sustaining combat motivation, but also in shielding of this group, I noticed the continued importance of the military from public criticism. In my view, this moral language in the discourse of this organization. explains the central role of morality in debates about By focusing on the ethics of IDF action, this con- operations such as those recently undertaken in Gaza. troversial organization has been able to insulate itself The arena of military ethics has proven operatively and somewhat from criticism and consequently gain ideologically useful to the IDF and that is the primary access to audiences who might be otherwise unwill- reason for its prominence. Assessments of whether ing to listen to its arguments (including pre-military and how far this has, in practice, protected civilians academies, where Breaking the Silence manages to be in times of war will have to be debated separately. ▲

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20 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE ASSOCIATED PRESS PRESS ASSOCIATED

Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Washington, D.C., Echoes of Revisionism April 16, 1980 Ideological Struggles of Early Zionism and Their Impact on Modern Israel

BY DR. AVI SHILON

n the summer of 2004, Prime Minister Ariel 1976. The book was named after the so-called “season,” Sharon surprised the world with the announce- a series of operations undertaken by Hagana and Pal- ment of a plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip mach men in 1944 and 1945 against the dissident fac- Iand a few settlements in northern Samaria. From tions of the Etzel (or Irgun), led by Menachem Begin. the moment his plan was made public, Israeli society The national institutions of the Yishuv (the Jewish pop- was set abuzz. The idea of evacuating Jewish settle- ulation in Palestine) had decided to pursue the dissi- ments was contentious and led to disturbing pre- dent factions as a response to the latter’s violent actions dictions of the future. Many were apprehensive of against the British, which were undertaken without the a civil war. Yishuv’s approval and were considered by its leadership At that time, as I was completing my M.A. in to be dangerous and counterproductive to the Zionist Jewish history at Tel Aviv University, I came across cause. During the “season,” members of the dissident Open Season, a book by Yaakov Shavit published in factions were extradited, imprisoned and even severely

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 21 “The importance of Begin is immense as regards broader trends in Israeli society. Many elements of Israeli society were greatly influenced by Begin’s years in power.”

beaten. With the preparations for the Disengagement in order to avoid a civil war, was more complicated. in the background, I thought that it would be inter- Indeed, Begin ordered restraint during actual events esting to explore how the broader Yishuv had coped of direct conflict, but was not necessarily as calm in with the stress of intra-Jewish conflict. response to the intra-Jewish tension during this time. I wanted to examine the events of the “season” When many of the men of the Irgun were jailed, and from the side of the victimized group because, at this Etzel members increased pressure on Begin to retali- point, the academic research on the Zionist Right was ate, he suggested a rather extreme solution – in protest relatively meager. This original academic project on of the Hagana’s behavior, Etzel men would converge the “season” sparked over a decade of research on in Jerusalem and commit suicide en masse, evoking the pre-independence Revisionist Zionists and one Masada. His deputies perceived this as a momentary of their most prominent figures, Menachem Begin. mental collapse due to the pressure weighing on him My research on Begin and his Etzel organization and did not relate seriously to the suggestion. uncovered a picture that was more complex and inter- Begin’s suicide proposal seems to suggest a tem- esting than the conventional myths. For instance, one pestuous character, as well as a worldview framed of the best-known independence-era stories involves by the traditional pattern of Jewish persecution and the “season” itself. I found that the well-known narra- redemption, both of which would have echoes in his tive, according to which Hagana men had persecuted later behavior. Reading early stories of Begin led me to Etzel men and Begin ordered his men not to respond believe that this Israeli leader, who is mainly known to the public by his years as prime minister (1977-1983), could not be fully understood without examining his Dr. Avi Shilon leadership of Israel in the context of his prior moves in the Etzel and in the opposition. For this reason, I was inspired to research and write a comprehensive r. Avi Shilon was born in Israel to Begin biography. Iraqi-Jewish immigrant parents and SULTAN ERIC The importance of Begin is immense as regards D lives in Tel Aviv. He holds a Ph.D. in broader trends in Israeli society. Many elements of political science. His dissertation focused Israeli society – such as the growing tie between reli- on The Revisionist Movement Leaders’ Atti- gion and nationalism, the tendency toward privat- tudes toward Jewish Religion, 1925-2005. ization, the relation to the Holocaust, the tensions His first book, Menachem Begin: A Life between Mizrahim and Ashkenazim – were greatly (2012, Yale University Press) was a finalist influenced by Begin’s years in power. He was a com- for the Jewish Book Council prize in 2013. plex man of many contradictions, appealing and His second book, Ben-Gurion, Epilogue, repelling at once. It’s no wonder that when the book explores Ben-Gurion’s worldview after his retirement; it was published came out – first in Hebrew in 2008 and then in English by Am-Oved in 2013 and is currently being translated to English. in 2012 – it was criticized by Begin adherents. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Ben-Gurion Research Insti- My research on Begin’s biography inspired my tute for the Study of Israel and Zionism (Ben-Gurion University of the subsequent work on my doctorate. Building off of Negev), and a research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Minerva Human- the knowledge I had gathered on Begin, I sought to ities Center, and will be an Israel Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow at New investigate the attitude of the leaders of the Revision- York University this upcoming academic year. Shilon also writes for the ist movement toward the Jewish religion, from the op-ed section of Ha’aretz newspaper. establishment of the movement in 1925 until 2005. My aim was to understand how the Likud, the political

22 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE incarnation of the Revisionist party, has come to be Ze'ev Jabotinsky was a Revisionist Zionist seen by most Israelis as pro-traditional although the leader, author, orator and founder of Revisionism, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, was a well- soldier. He founded or helped establish multiple known and avowed secularist. Jewish and Zionist I arrived at some interesting and unexpected con- organizations, including the Jewish Legion of the clusions. Firstly, Jabotinsky’s disposition toward reli- British Army in WWI, gion was more complex than generally depicted. He Beitar and the Irgun. indeed began his political journey in hostility to Rab- binical Judaism. He was inspired by the liberal outlook of central Europe and desired to create the character of a new Jew. But from the 1930s and on, he devel- oped an attitude that may be defined as religiosity. He emphasized the importance of the spiritual dimension in modern life in regards to the need of man, secu- lar and rational as he may be. But he did not have in mind the manner in which his heir, Begin, tightened the bond between religion, in its Orthodox version, and the nation. This is the crucial difference between Begin and Jabotinsky. It is also a significant difference between Begin and Ben-Gurion – who wanted to draw a direct line from the Palmach to the bible and estab- lish modern Jewish nationalism in Israel upon the basic principles of the biblical era rather than rabbinic principles that had been developed by Jews in exile. Begin endeavored to impart traditional Jewish values to Israeli society, and his attitude to religion is the foundation upon which the bond between the Mizrahim and the Likud was woven, since the Miz- book, Ben-Gurion, Epilogue, is due to appear in English rahim also understood Zionism as the expression and is now in the process of being translated. of the national dimension of the traditional liturgi- Ben-Gurion was a fascinating figure also in his cal writings, rather than as a new occurrence. Fur- later years. From my perspective, his greatness stems thermore I found that Begin’s heirs are in fact close from his dynamic way of thinking and his ability to to the early Jabotinsky secular outlook on religion. change his positions and practices throughout his life. However, the identity of the movement that Begin This was not because he was drifting with every new brought about – both the political alliance between trend; on the contrary, he always anchored his posi- the Right and the religious faction, and an affinity for tions in a well-explained worldview, based on history Greater Israel that, since 1967, became a substitute and his philosophical values. Rather, he was willing to for the affinity for tradition – have contributed to the change because he believed that unexpected turns and Likud being perceived as pro-traditionalist, contrary twists are history’s bread and butter and they require to its original mode. the will to adapt. Most recently, I have switched my focus slightly In fact, this way of thinking is also one of the main from the Revisionist movement to a different stream differences between Begin and Ben-Gurion. While of Zionism. My latest research has dealt with the later Begin was preoccupied by the need to preserve Jewish years of David Ben-Gurion, a period that has been tradition also in the modern era, Ben-Gurion had scantly researched. By digging in his archive and con- always strived to adjust it to the needs of the future. ducting new interviews with his compatriots late in life, This difference between them has affected many of I wanted to shed light on a rare perspective: how the their deeds and thoughts and, jointly, has shaped founding father viewed his handiwork after he created the main streams of political thought and activity in the establishment and broke away from it. The resulting Israel today. ▲

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 23 A Different Lens

Young Israeli Writers Introduce Other Young Israeli Writers in the U.S.

BY MARGE GOLDWATER

merican readers have long been famil- books have been translated into English – Kin, and iar with such Israeli writers as Amos Oz, most recently, Netanya. As a program participant, he David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, but taught “Israeli Culture in Literature since the Seven- A Israel has a new crop of writers who are ties” at Clark University in Worcester, MA, in Fall beginning to grab some of the headlines. Among them 2013. His students read modern works by Sami Ber- is Assaf Gavron, whose most recent novel, The Hill- dugo, Etgar Keret and Assaf Schur, in addition to the top, explores Zionism and its manifestations in Israel writings of Israeli literary patriarchs. (He also taught today. The Hilltop, which has been hailed as “one of a course on “The Book of Genesis in Art and Litera- the most important and interesting books of recent ture” nearby at the College of the Holy Cross, while years” by the prestigious Bernstein Prize jury in Israel, he was in residence at Clark.) was awarded its top honor in 2013. Noted scholar Another program participant, Shimon Adaf, Robert Alter observes in the Jewish Review of Books: offered a series on film to fiction at the University “The effect in this novel is a probing representation of Vermont in 2011. In an era of declining human- of the settler movement and the ambiguous relation ities enrollments, film/fiction courses are particularly to it of the Israeli government and of the consumer- effective at drawing students. A year later Adaf won ist world of secular Israel.” Bringing the perspective the prestigious Sapir Prize, Israel's most prestigious of someone born and bred in Israel in the 1970s and literary award, for his book, Mox Nox. Coming from early ‘80s, Gavron uses the surrounding conflict as a a Moroccan family, Adaf was able to offer an unusual thread woven into all his work. He has delved into the Israeli perspective to students through his exploration dilemmas of Israeli life in his previous books, includ- of Mizrahi identity. Adaf gave his personal perspective ing Almost Dead (2010), which featured a Palestinian on the role of ethnicity and minority in Israel during narrator and a Jewish Israeli protagonist. an interview in Strange Horizons in 2013: “Growing Gavron is an alumnus of the Israel Institute’s up, in Sderot, a small town in the south of Israel, and Schusterman Visiting Artist program. In its efforts to coming from a religious Moroccan family, that is, a introduce contemporary Israeli writers to American minority in local terms, I couldn't be further off the audiences, and, in particular, to college students, the conventions of the national story. I felt alienated from program has brought writers and other artists from Israeli fiction—it was hard for me to identify with the Gavron's generation to American campuses to teach narrative being told and retold in Hebrew books, the over the past several years. And they, in turn, have characters, the major themes. For me, speculative fic- introduced the work of their peers to their students. tion, both SF and fantasy, offered a different model This enables the program to highlight contemporary of identification, and a way to deal critically with the Israel through a unique cultural lens. ones found in local literature.” Gavron, for example, while teaching in the United Like Burstein and Adaf, program participant Sami States, introduced students to a younger generation Berdugo also taught a class in Hebrew literature - at of Israeli writers including Matan Hermoni, Alex Wesleyan University in 2013. Berdugo, like Adaf, is Epstein, Dror Burstein and Dror Mishani. of Moroccan heritage and is another member of the Dror Burstein later became a Schusterman vis- group of younger writers from the periphery who iting artist himself. In addition to his career as a suc- are now gaining prominence in Israel. In his work, cessful novelist, Burstein holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew he chronicles some of the struggles of growing up as literature and also writes on art and music. Two of his an outsider. The short film, Shouk, entitled Trade in

24 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE English, based on one of Berdugo’s stories, won the For Behar, the challenge in the classroom was SCHUSTERMAN Van Leer Award for Best Animation Film last year; teaching students coming from different academic VISITING ARTIST he is currently working on other film projects evolv- backgrounds. Some came from Arab Studies and PROGRAM ALUMNI ing from his writing. others from Hebrew Studies and they were unfamil- Berdugo, who incorporated the works of many iar with the connections between the two languages, 1. Assaf Gavron modern Israeli writers into his course, said that the literatures and cultures in modern times. The Hilltop 2013 Bernstein Prize biggest challenge in teaching Hebrew literature on Bringing younger and fresher writers to teach in for Literature an American campus was overcoming the students’ the United States helps provide in-depth and con- lack of knowledge about history. While he focused textual knowledge on Israel for Americans who are 2. Dror Burstein on style and text, he also spent a great deal of time increasingly curious about the country and its cul- Netanya providing context. ture. The arts in Israel are thriving at the moment and Kin Almog Behar, another writer-scholar who partic- increasingly accessible abroad, with dance companies 3. Shimon Adaf ipated in the visiting artist program, also noted the touring worldwide and films being screened at festi- Mox Nox importance of context. While he was in residence at vals and commercial theaters in countries around the Sapir Prize Cornell University, Behar gave a course on the liter- world. But among these, literature remains the easiest ature of Jews from the Arab-Islamic world. He also to export and continues to offer a wide range of view- 4. Sami Berdugo lectured on the use of Arabic in new Hebrew poetry points on modern Israel. By bringing Israeli writers Shouk by writers from the Middle East and North Africa and to the United States, the Israel Institute’s Schuster- 2014 Van Leer Award for Best Animation Film gave readings of his poetry at Cornell, Harvard, the man Visiting Artist Program helps broaden Ameri- University of Colorado and other campuses during can exposure to Israeli literature and, in this way, to 5. Almog Behar his semester in the United States. Israel itself. ▲ 2010 Bernstein Prize for Poetry

The Hilltop, a depiction of life in a West Bank Netanya seeks to transform human history into settlement, has been hailed as the "Great Israeli an intimate family story, and demonstrates how Novel" (Time Out Tel Aviv) and is the winner of the mind at play can bring a little warmth into a the prestigious Bernstein Prize cold universe.

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 25 SPOTLIGHT: ACADEMIA Perspectives on the Past Anita Shapira, noted historian and biographer, speaks to the Israel Institute about Zionism and Israel as topics of contemporary history

his thoughts on the French Revolution. IIM: What are the challenges of study- He answered, “It is too early to tell.” The IIM: What is the role of biographies in ing contemporary history, particularly same is true about contemporary history historical research as an academic tool? social processes that may still be in a as a whole. On the other hand, the fact transformative stage? that we are near to the recent past, and SHAPIRA: Biographies are one genre of thus we share some of the same convic- historical work. The fact that we focus, first SHAPIRA: Studying contemporary his- tions or relate to the same problems as the and foremost, on a certain figure gives us a tory is always open to two types of prob- heroes of that period, gives our writing an unique opportunity to present the broader lems. The first problem is that it requires immediacy and authenticity that is some- background as we wish. This is something writing without perspective. We don’t times lacking in the dispassionate discus- that is not available to us when we write know the results of the processes that we’re sions of earlier periods of history. about a small, specific period of time, in researching. In many cases, within fifty which case we have to go into detail about years, people will look at our accounts as all of the events of the period. In this way, something obsolete and unsupported by IIM: What are the unique challenges of writing a biography is very rewarding documentation. studying Zionism as a historian? because you feel that you can present the The second problem is that, when we historical vista in the way that you find write about the heroes of the recent past, SHAPIRA: We have the challenge of exam- most satisfactory. we are judged by those who knew these ining a process that is still in the making heroes personally and were familiar with because we are talking about a process that their way of thinking. This is something is not yet completed. As long as the con- IIM: In particular, what is the role of that’s very specific to contemporary his- flict between Jews and Arabs continues, new biographies of well-known lead- tory. If I write about Napoleon or Julius we remain part of the period of the estab- ers, about whom plenty of biographies Caesar, I will not have their family mem- lishment of statehood and of Zionism that already exist? bers, friends or adherents criticizing me has not reached completion. As a result, for not understanding them as I would we face the challenge of being too close to SHAPIRA: This question is not only rel- when writing about David Ben-Gurion ongoing events and not having perspec- evant to biographies but also to history or Yigal Allon. Contemporary history is tive. We are involved in what is happening in general. For instance, historical books too recent for people to be capable of dis- around us. We cannot be neutral. Although about the Second World War number in regarding their personal involvement in we try to be objective and unbiased, we can the hundreds, if not the thousands. How- the drama of history, and the result is that only say with certainty that, to the best of ever, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the people who disagree with the historian our knowledge, we are portraying the his- books are repetitious. First of all, there are will justify their criticism by saying, “I tory of Zionism in the most honest way new documents that get declassified and know this fact personally – I was there.” we can. Is the result a true depiction of the can be given prominence in new research. Direct testimony is very powerful, but it’s way things are? Yes, from our perspective, But it’s more than that. As time goes by, we not always accurate. but not from the perspective of the Pales- get a new perspective about facts that, fifty When thinking of contemporary his- tinians. Therefore, I presume that when years earlier, we may have taken for granted. tory, I always remember what Zhou Enlai the conflict ends, it will be time to rethink Changing perspectives are sometimes due [the first Premier of the People’s Repub- and rewrite the history of Zionism, from a to the changing of weltanschauung, of the lic of China] said when he was asked for more dispassionate perspective. social climate, of culture, not necessarily

26 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE connected to the discovery of new facts or documentation. History is in a state of con- stant flux because each new generation of scholars rewrites history. The same is true of biographies. Biographies of George Washington writ- ten two hundred years ago are not similar to biographies written recently. There is still room for new biographies to be written, and this is true about every subject. Take, for example, Theodor Herzl, whose first biogra- phies were published sixty or seventy years ago. There is now room for a new, updated biography that would not only take into account our traditional knowledge of Her- zl’s family or of Vienna and the Hapsburg Empire at that time, but would also include a psychological perspective that was lacking in the early biographies. Our present atti- tude to the heroes of history is less reveren- tial than in the past. Therefore, even if we don’t have new materials, the biography is nonetheless different. If you read my biog- raphy of Ben-Gurion and compare it to the biographies that came out earlier, you will see that, although it includes many of the PROF. ANITA SHAPIRA is the founder of the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies same facts that were mentioned in the previ- and Professor Emerita in Jewish History at Tel Aviv University. An eminent historian and ous biographies, the portrayal of the subject biographer, she is the 2008 Israel Prize for Jewish History laureate. She specializes in matter is different. For this reason, as I said, the history of Zionism, the Jewish community in Palestine and the state of Israel, with history is always in flux. That is the beauty of an emphasis on cultural, social and intellectual history, and has published numerous it. Historians are not simply repeating what books and articles, most recently Israel – A History (2013, Brandeis University Press) the documents say. New scholars bring their and Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel (2014, Yale University Press). Other seminal own understanding to the old documents, works include Berl Katznelson: The Biography of a Socialist Zionist (1984, Cambridge and as a result, the conclusions are always University Press), Land and Power: The Zionist Resort to Force, 1881-1948 (1999, Stan- new and challenging. ford University Press) and Yigal Allon, Native Son (2008, University of Pennsylvania Press). Shapira has received several academic and professional awards and fellowships from Israeli and foreign universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford IIM: How can historians relate to the and Columbia. She serves on the Israel Institute’s Advisory Board. abundance of biographies on a certain topic, and differentiate between author- itative and non-authoritative ones? conclusions based on the gathered mate- Older accounts might remain relevant SHAPIRA: Scholars have to use their intu- rials. The conclusions of various scholars despite new perspectives or materials. New ition and their experience. Historical writ- throughout time will not always be the biographies are not necessarily better; some ing is never something objective. The more same, nor should they be. recent works have advanced bizarre conclu- sensitive the biographer or historian is, the Scholars reading a collection of biog- sions that should not be accepted simply better the work is. The product depends raphies need to use their judgment about because they are new. The assessment of on the character of the historian or biog- both new and old works to determine the biographies relies on the wisdom of the rapher and his or her ability to arrive at which they find more or less convincing. scholar reading them.

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 27 SPOTLIGHT: ACADEMIA

establishment of Israel without referencing came to power, social and economic devel- IIM: Why was Ben-Gurion of particular him. So now that I was older, more expe- opments became a major theme. Academic interest to you as a subject of study? rienced and, I would say, more forgiving, writing about the history of Zionism actually I was willing to write about him directly. I did not start before the 1960s, which means SHAPIRA: The fact is that Ben-Gurion was came to understand, through writing about that it’s a very, very young field of study. I was not my first choice as a topic of a biogra- him, that no great leader can escape tragedy. among the first generation of writers on this phy. He was my last choice. I wrote about Even Ben-Gurion, with his great success, topic and it was like discovering an unknown Berl Katznelson, Yigal Allon and Yosef Haim was deserted by his friends and by the Israeli continent. Whatever topic we wrote about, Brenner, and only afterward did I write public in the end, and he died lonely and we were the first ones to touch it, and it was a about Ben-Gurion. In a way, I was reticent neglected. The tragic end made me under- very gratifying feeling to be able to discover to write about him because Ben-Gurion was stand Ben-Gurion in a way that for me was this unknown land of Zionism. In the ‘60s a success story and I like heroes who have new and rewarding. He had an interesting and ‘70s, there was still an ongoing collision some tragic elements and whose life story is and moving human side that somehow pre- between academics and political writers who not all light. Nevertheless, in all of my books, vious writers had overlooked. presented history as representatives of a cer- Ben-Gurion was an eminent figure – the tain political movement. So at that time, aca- hero behind the scenes, the hero behind the demics were the first to try to bring objectivity heroes. In the biography of Berl Katznelson, IIM: What would you characterize as to writings on Zionism. Later on, in the late he was his best friend and his adherent. In the major trends in the historiography 1980s, we saw the emergence of the New His- the biography of Yigal Allon, he was the evil of Zionism in the past century? torians, who challenged not only the doings hero who ruined the career of the ‘golden and misdeeds of the Zionist movement but sabra’ Allon. I also wrote at least two his- SHAPIRA: When Zionism started, it was also challenged the basic idea of Jews having tory books in which Ben-Gurion was a hero. mainly a cultural movement. It was only the right to establish a state of their own in Pal- I wrote about his attitude toward the bible after the appearance of Herzl that it became estine. This was a big conflict in the late ‘80s and I wrote about his clash with the military a political movement. So the first accounts of and early ‘90s and, as a result of this fight, as command during the War of Independence. the history of Zionism were actually accounts always tends to occur when we have a clash Although these books were not biographies, of the ideology of Zionism. Only at a later of schools of thought, both sides benefitted. Ben-Gurion played a major role in both. stage did we start to get accounts of the polit- Today, we see a more sophisticated account Lately I felt that the time was ripe to ical development of Zionism. These covered of Zionism that takes into consideration the write about Ben-Gurion. He was the cen- not only the Zionist idea but also the Zion- other side’s opinion, but on the other hand, tral figure in the establishment of Israel, ist political organization. In the third stage does not give up the idea of a Jewish State and and you cannot write constantly about the of writing, at the time when Labor Zionism the basic justice of Zionism. ▲

Books by Prof. Anita Shapira

Israel – A History Ben-Gurion Berl: The Biography of a Land and Power Yigal Allon, Native Son Socialist Zionist

28 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE Jonathan Gribetz’s Defining Neighbors: Reli- gon, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter

Princeton professor Jonathan Gribetz

primarily along religious and ethnic lines without inevitable conflict. According to Gri- Defining betz, Jews and Arabs in pre-WWI Ottoman Palestine did not automatically relate to each other as political actors under the frame of a nationalist territorial struggle, but primarily Neighbors along religious and racial lines. The primary – although not sole – categories for identify- A Search for the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter ing the other side were not Zionist and Pal- estinian, which are both terms born out of BY DR. MICHAEL KOPLOW competing nationalisms, but Jew, Christian, and Muslim. The overarching effect was that he 21st century has seen a vigorous assertion of religion’s role in the Israeli-Palestin- today’s antagonists viewed each other not in ian conflict. Long viewed as a nationalist struggle over territory, the last fifteen years ways that were automatically zero sum and T have been marked by the strengthening of Islamist groups such as Hamas and the hostile, but in ways that allowed for mutual resulting decline of the Palestinian Authority; the rise of national religious political parties respect and shared heritage if the parties so in the Knesset; and a new emphasis on the explicitly Jewish character of Israel. Furthermore, chose. While the relevance of this history a prominent flashpoint of conflict has often been the Temple Mount – an explicitly religious lesson to today’s situation is unclear, it does site – whether it be the 2000 visit by Ariel Sharon that is viewed as the starting point of the serve as a useful demonstration of history’s second intifada or the riots that broke out last fall over Jewish prayer at the site. Many view fluidity, as well as a specific reminder that the this emphasis on religion as a new and dangerous development that threatens to turn an seemingly path determinant violence that intractable but often low-grade conflict into one in which violence is constant and inevita- currently plagues interactions between Israe- ble. To the extent that a conventional wisdom on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exists, it is lis and Palestinians was not preordained. that introducing more religion into a nationalist confrontation will only make things worse. Gribetz maintains that the Israeli-Pales- In Defining Neighbors: Religion, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter, Jonathan Gri- tinian dispute is not merely a contest over betz does an impressive task of forcing readers to rethink this narrative by depicting a late land, but a contest over identity and history. 19th century and early 20th century Palestine in which Arabs and Jews related to each other That the earliest encounters between Zionists

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 29 BOOK REVIEW

and Arabs in Palestine took place against a chapter is a fascinating vignette into a mode Zionists who themselves often had dual backdrop of feelings of shared commonali- of thinking that confounds most modern identities as Arab Jews were more apt to ties and history was, in Gribetz’s words, “not perceptions of Arabs’ approach to Jews in make this religious distinction than to view incidental but in fact crucial to how all par- early 20th century Palestine. all non-Jews in Palestine as Arabs. ties experienced the encounter.” Jews and In looking at other Arab intellectuals Gribetz’s facility with languages and archi- Arabs related to each other along religious by delving into the pages of Arab journals, val materials is evident in Defining Neighbors, and sometimes racial lines, and these feel- Gribetz’s findings are similar; Arab writers making it a notable work of pure history. ings of shared heritage oftentimes led to a approached Zionism by examining Judaism However, the use of sources does raise meth- desire to understand, rather than demean, as a religion, with a particular focus on the odological problems of how much one can the other, in ways both simple and complex. bible and biblical history. Many Arab intel- generate convincing theories from such a Gribetz lays out a number of instances in lectuals also saw Jews and Arabs as belong- narrow foundation. While Gribetz does note which this occurred, examining a variety of ing to the same racial category and thus that the texts on which he has focused do not primary sources such as the writings of prom- created a link that used Jews as proof that constitute a representative sample, it makes inent intellectuals, early Zionist newspapers, Europeans (thought of as a racial category) generalizations about how Jews and Arabs and Arab literary journals, with a common were not inherently superior to Easterners. defined each other difficult absent evidence thread of using textual encounters to eluci- Jews provided hope that, just as they had that the views illuminated in the book were date how each side’s perceptions of the other succeeded in the West despite being Semitic widespread or particularly influential. As fas- side were formed and what variables were key foreigners, Arabs could do the same. Sim- cinating as al-Khalidi’s views may be, they are to forming these perceptions. ilarly, the tolerance historically shown to gleaned from the unpublished manuscript The most fascinating chapter is Gri- Jews under Arab and Muslim rule relative to of a political and intellectual elite; similarly, betz’s dissection of Zionism or the Zion- what they found under European rule bol- there is no evidence of how wide a readership ist Question, a manuscript written by the stered these authors’ pride in their own Arab Jewish newspapers like Ha-Herut or Ha-Zevi prominent Muslim diplomat and intellec- and Muslim identities, providing another enjoyed, and in fact Gribetz makes the case tual Muhammad Ruhi al-Khalidi whose aim data point for Gribetz’s thesis that compet- that many articles may have been written by was to explain both Zionism and Judaism ing nationalisms did not always dominate the same person or a small handful of people. to Muslim readers. The manuscript is one the Jewish-Arab encounter. The argument in Defining Neighbors is a tan- that treats Jews respectfully, but ultimately Gribetz’s chapter examining Zionist talizing one and is certainly plausible based concludes that Zionism cannot be allowed newspapers looks at the other end of this on the evidence presented, but plausible is to succeed. Unlike what one might expect, equation, and similarly finds Jews view- not the same thing as probable. however, al-Khalidi’s argument is not based ing their Arab neighbors not as Palestin- Despite these unanswered questions, there on political rejection of Jewish nationalism ians or even always as merely Arabs, but in is no question that Defining Neighbors is an or the Jewish connection to the land of Pal- many instances as Muslims or Christians. imposing work of scholarship and an import- estine. In fact, al-Khalidi devotes multiple This religious angle led Ottoman Zionists ant historical and historiographical contribu- chapters to Jews’ historical connection to and First Aliyah Zionists to view Muslims tion to the field. It demonstrates Ecclesiastes’ the land of Israel, which he entirely accepts. as cousins but to view Christians as antag- precept that there is nothing new under the Al-Khalidi’s rejection of Zionism was a reli- onists, which is a position that would be sun as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict possibly gious one that saw Zionism as being contrary unfamiliar to modern Israeli Jews. Unsur- moves back to the future in terms of having to the precepts of Judaism itself. Al-Khal- prisingly, the more socialist and national- a noticeable religious dimension. More opti- idi seized upon an erroneous interpretation ist Second Aliyah Zionists did not define mistically, it reminds us that categories that of the philosophy of Moses Mendelssohn to their Arab neighbors as falling into religious we think of as conflictual have been used assert that Jewish nationalism in the form of categories but rather viewed them along in the past to bridge rather than exacerbate Zionism and Jewish religion were incompat- nationalist and class lines. An important divides. Finally, Gribetz reminds us through ible. That is, al-Khalidi related to Zionism component to defining one’s neighbors is his work of the importance of understand- and Jews on a religious plane and based his self-identity, and Gribetz elegantly estab- ing the other side, but even more so of how argument on internal Jewish dynamics inter- lishes the way in which different groups vital it is to talk to the other side and persuade preted through a Muslim religious prism. His of Zionists’ view of themselves influenced through words rather than resort to violence. rejection of Zionism relied on viewing Zion- how they viewed others. Thus, more reli- Perhaps everyone would be better off if Israe- ists as having a primarily religious identity gious Zionists naturally separated Arabs lis and Palestinians tried to learn new lessons that precluded their political identity. The into Muslims and Christians, and Sephardic from the history of their early encounters. ▲

30 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE NEWS & NOTES

Doctoral and post-doctoral fellows gathered at the Israel Institute's Leadership Summit last summer

srael Institute Doctoral Fellow Yemima Cohen was recently invited to present her research at Building Ithe University of Heidelberg in Germany. Cohen, who is writing her dissertation in sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gave a lecture about Jewish holy sites entitled, “Speedily and In Our Days: Temple Activism and Collective Memory in Israel.” She was invited to speak Academic by Dr. Johannes Becke, a 2013-2015 Israel Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow whom she met at the Israel Institute’s 2014 Leadership Summit. “For me, this is a very happy outcome [that was] cer- Networks tainly a result of the summit,” Cohen said. The Israel Institute will be supporting three scholars - Sujata Ashwarya Cheema, Hana Kubatova and Guilherme Casaroes - as participants in the upcoming 2015 Summer Institute for Israel Studies (SIIS). SIIS brings faculty from universities in North America and around the world together for seminars at Brandeis University and in Israel that help them design courses in Israel Studies for their home universities. The Israel Institute also helped sponsor the SIIS Annual Symposium, which was held on April 19, 2015, for previous Summer Institute alumni.

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 31 SPOTLIGHT:NEWS & NOTES ACADEMIA

NEW YORK ENGLAND GERMANY VERMONT ISRAEL

WASHINGTON DC CONFERENCE COLLABORATIONS

The Israel Institute helps sponsor national and international conferences hosted by universities and think tanks in the United States and abroad. In recent months, the

LIHI BEN SHITRIT BEN LIHI Institute has supported: The Jewish settlement enclave in Hebron (above); Dr. Lihi Ben Shitrit (below) A bilateral conference in Israel, hosted by 1 the Institute for National Security Stud- ies in January 2015, which explored “The Economic Ties Between Israel and China.” New Scholarly Work A conference on “American Jewry 2 and Israel: A Relationship in Tran- he Israel Institute recently supported the publication of Dr. Lihi sition?” hosted by New York University’s TBen Shitrit’s upcoming book, Righteous Transgressions: Wom- Taub Center for Israel Studies in April 2015. en’s Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right. The book, A conference on “The Culture of Lan- which will be published this coming fall by Princeton University Press, 3 guage: The Role of Israeli Culture in explores how women in conservative religious movements expand the Hebrew Language Classroom” led spaces for political activism. Righteous Transgressions examines how by the Institute for the Advancement of and why women-led activism happens in some movements but not Hebrew Research Colloquium at Middle- in others. Ben Shitrit demonstrates that, in some contexts, women are bury College in April 2015. able to overcome conservative gender roles within their communities A conference entitled "Rapproche- and be celebrated for taking on behaviors that would 4 ment, Change, Perception and normally be considered inappropriate. Looking at Shaping the Future: German-Israeli and the four most influential political movements of Israeli-German Diplomatic Relations” the Israeli and Palestinian religious right – the held by the Johannes Gutenberg Univer- Jewish settlers in the West Bank, the ultra-Or- sity of Mainz in April 2015. thodox Shas, the Islamic Movement in Israel An event “Examining U.S.-Israel and the Palestinian Hamas – Righteous Trans- 5 Relations at a Time of Change in the gressions reveals how the bounds of gender GARB MAXI Middle East” hosted in April 2015 by the expectations can be crossed in the least Center for American Progress. expected places. A conference at Cambridge Uni- 6 versity on “Diaspora and Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture” held in May 2015.

32 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE ISRAEL STUDIES IN EASTERN EUROPE

For the second year in a row, the Israel Institute sponsored and organized an inten- sive survey course on modern Israel at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary. The course, which was designed in conjunction with ELTE Prof. Zsofia Kata Vincze, featured two local scholars and five guest lecturers from Israel and the United States teaching on subjects from Israeli foreign policy to the history of Zionism. Over 200 students enrolled in the class. “This course was designed to cut through sensation- alist media headlines or slogans about Israel and, instead, provide students with an aca- demic analytic approach to understanding the country through a variety of perspectives,” Students at an Israel Institute-run course in Budapest Vincze said. “It was very beneficial and we hope that it will be repeated in future years.”

Our Fellows Around the Globe

Curious to know where our junior and senior fellows are conducting their research this year?

2014-15 DOCTORAL FELLOWS Dr. Johannes Becke, Oxford University Dr. Shayna Weiss, Bar Ilan University Yemima Cohen, Hebrew University Dr. Cameron Brown, Hebrew University Dr. Simon Williams, Harvard University of Jerusalem of Jerusalem Dr. Rona Yona, New York University James Eastwood, School of Oriental Dr. Kfir Cohen, UC Davis Dr. Hila Zaban, SOAS, University and African Studies (SOAS), University Dr. Liat Eldor, Wharton Business School, of London of London University of Pennsylvania *Supported in partnership with the Oded Erez, UCLA Dr. Roey Gafter, Tel Aviv University Haruv Institute Anat Goldman, University of Washington Dr. Randall Geller, University of Toronto Elyakim Kislev, Columbia University Dr. Reut Itzkovitch-Malka, Stanford 2014-15 FACULTY EXCHANGES Susanna Klosko, Brandeis University University Prof. Oren Barak, Cornell University Yael Lifshitz Goldberg, New York Dr. Sebastian Klor, University of Texas Prof. Yuval Ben-Bassat, UC Berkeley University at Austin Prof. Ariel Bendor, University Nimrod Lin, University of Toronto Dr. Lior Libman, University College London of Maryland Jason Olson, Brandeis University Dr. Daniel Mahla, Berlin Technical Prof. Moshe Maor, New York University Elad Popovich, Haifa University University Prof. Benjamin Miller, Dartmouth Anne-Sophie Sebban, Sorbonne University Dr. Liora Norwich, Brandeis University University Ori Swed, University of Texas at Austin Dr. Shani Oppenheimer Weller, Prof. Ronen Perry, Oxford University Marc Volovici, Princeton University University of Colorado* Prof. Sammy Smooha, New York University Zehavit Zaslansky, Cambridge University Dr. Shay Rabineau, Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2014-15 POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS Dr. Yonatan Sagiv, SOAS, University Dr. Ofra Amihay, Georgetown University of London Dr. Tali Artman-Partock, Cambridge Dr. Giddon Ticotsky, Stanford University University Dr. Sharon Weinblum, Oxford University

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 33 NEWS & NOTES

IN THEIR OWN WORDS Catch up with our 2014-15 interns, all recent college graduates placed at Israeli think tanks for a year.

REUBEN BERMAN TOVA COHEN LINDA DAYAN Reut Institute Taub Center for Social Moshe Dayan Center for Columbia University ’14 Policy Studies Middle East Policy University of Colorado ’14 Bard College ’14

While at the At the Taub Over the past Reut Institute, Center for Social few months at I have worked on Policy Studies in the Moshe Dayan a number of dif- Israel, I work to Center, I’ve had ferent and fasci- get our research new and exciting nating projects. about socioeco- opportunities to My primary focus nomic issues in assist academic through January was on facilitating Israel out to the English-speaking world. fellows, as well as to research inde- Firewall: Israel Legitimacy Hackathon, I’ve been working on a variety of proj- pendently with the guidance of experts. an event created to build technologi- ects, many involving English-language I’m currently working with Professor cal tools to help fight against the dele- online platforms and social media. Ofra Bengio to help her compile aca- gitimization of Israel. We spent months I assist in the effort to make Taub demic content on the evolving Kurdish talking to different people and organi- research available to broader audiences situation in the Middle East into a new zations handling delegitimization, and through the maximization of English book, and I’ve edited a master’s thesis asked how they felt technology could content. This involves writing and man- on Kurdish women in Turkey to be pub- help them improve their methods. aging English advertising campaigns lished by the Center. I am also the new Reut then built teams of on-the-ground and strategizing, as well as writing English-language editor of Beehive, activists and cyber and technology and implementing a long-term stra- the MDC’s monthly Middle East social developers to design and prototype tegic plan to disseminate the Center’s media analysis publication. these ideas, that came together for research to as many eyes as possible My personal project at the moment three days in January to complete their and come up with new ways to measure is ISIS English-language social media. projects. Following the hackathon, and optimize its impact. My work has I pay close attention to the microb- I began to work on Reut’s follow-up also involved leading the launch of the logging website Tumblr, where Euro- research in the field of delegitimiza- new Taub Center website and ensur- pean, American and other international tion. This intensive process will help us ing greater access to the organization’s ISIS militants and their supporters can build Reut’s understanding of the cur- research on social policy. recruit and disseminate their mes- rent environment of delegitimization In addition to these larger projects, sages unhindered by the censorship and glean lessons from the hackathon. I work with various members of the team and oversight of more popular plat- I am also working on an outline to complete smaller projects. I have also forms, like Twitter. On certain corners for a paper that will cover Israel’s rela- had the opportunity to attend presenta- of the website, one can easily find ISIS tionship with diaspora Jewish commu- tions with the researchers at the Knes- propaganda, glorification of jihad and nities. It focuses on the recent strain set or for groups of philanthropists and even detailed instructions on evad- on the partnership that stands at the students. My boss and colleagues at the ing the authorities and entering Syria heart of modern Jewish history, that Taub Center continually offer me oppor- through Turkey. My article on ISIS blogs between the Jewish people and the tunities to be involved in a variety of on Tumblr was run in Beehive in both Jewish State. projects and I’ve learned a great deal. English and Hebrew.

34 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE IN THEIR OWN WORDS Catch up with our 2014-15 interns, all recent college graduates placed at Israeli think tanks for a year.

CAROLINE KAHLENBERG MAYA KORNBERG URI SADOT Jerusalem Institute for Institute for National Institute for National Israel Studies Security Studies Security Studies Middlebury College ’14 Stanford University ’13 Hebrew University ’10; Princeton University ’13

As an intern at My work at the During the past JIIS, I am pre- INSS, on a range six months at the dominantly of projects, has INSS I mainly sup- working with spanned multiple ported the work Professor Yitzhak topics. I wrote a of INSS Direc- Reiter on his chapter on pro- tor, Gen. Amos forthcoming cesses that the Yadlin, both in book about conflicts at holy sites in the Arab Israeli community has undergone his research work on Israel’s strategic region. It details historical and con- over the past decade, for a forthcoming assessment, as well as in his diversified temporary disputes over sacred sites, book on that subject. The chapter looked work routine as director of a large think including conflicts between religious at integration and segregation processes, tank. I have been integrally involved in groups (such as Jewish-Muslim disputes characteristics of Arab protests, changes the make-up of his many media appear- regarding authority over the Western within Arab society and insights gleaned ances and articles, and even had the Wall/Temple Mount) as well as conflicts from opinion polls of the Arab Israeli privilege of co-authoring with him a among religious groups (such as the community. I am also working on a chap- piece for Ha’aretz entitled “Zionism is intra-Christian struggle for authority in ter in a book on spoilers in the peace Not on the Decline,” appearing in late the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). process. My chapter focuses on Israeli 2014. The article came as a response to In the process of conducting research leadership as a spoiler in the peace pro- a much-cited article by former-Mossad and editing these chapters, I have cess, using the examples of Netanyahu Chief Shabtai Shavit, who argued that learned that even the very smallest, in the Kerry Initiative and Barak in the Zionism is at a nadir. seemingly bureaucratic changes regard- peace process with Syria. I also recently In tandem, I conducted indepen- ing these sites – such as the rebuild- finished an article on homeland secu- dent work on Israel’s settlement demo- ing of a ramp to the Temple Mount or rity. In addition, I published two op-eds graphics, which saw air as a co-authored the removal of a ladder at the Church of in the Jerusalem Post. The first article article on ForeignPolicy.com. I have also the Holy Sepulchre – can spark fierce was about how the millennial generation participated in the production and pub- conflict and even violence across the relates to the concept of peace differ- lication process of several INSS publica- region. At the same time, I am learning ently, and the second was about an INSS tions including a booklet published soon about creative conflict resolution meth- project that brings together prominent after the conclusion of Operation Pro- ods that lend themselves to peace, or Israelis to look at alternative meanings tective Edge and the INSS’ annual strate- at least toleration, between different of the concept of security. There are five gic assessment for 2014. During my time groups. In addition to this work, groups — environmental, gender, iden- at the INSS, I’ve greatly expanded my I also help in grant writing, which gives tity, human and social security — and knowledge of Israel’s national security, me a window into JIIS' different projects I moderate the latter group. My latest and made significant contacts, learned regarding Jerusalem’s economy, educa- project explores the shift of the Israeli from leading authorities and practiced tion, culture, environment and efforts left over the past two decades in regards key skills that I am certain will be useful in conflict management. to security issues. for me in the future.

WWW.ISRAELINSTITUTE.ORG 35 SPOTLIGHT:ISRAEL INSTITUTE ACADEMIA PROGRAMS What We Do The Israel Institute works in partnership with leading academic, research and cultural institutions to enhance knowledge and study of modern Israel in the United States and around the world. In pursuit of this mission, the Israel Institute supports a diverse range of programs, listed below.

DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS The Institute offers fellowships to Ph.D. stu- BEN ZWEIG BEN dents in advanced stages of their doctoral process, who are researching and writing their dissertation on a topic related to Israel or incorporating Israel as a case study. Suc- cessful candidates reflect the Institute’s goal of advancing the study and understanding of modern Israel, and address issues of contem- porary, historical or cultural importance.

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS The Institute offers post-doctoral fellow- ships to highly qualified recent Ph.D.s who are working on Israel-focused topics and who are developing courses on modern Israel. The fellowship appointments are for up to two years and open to academics in a range of fields and departments. Fellows teach classes in Israel Studies and develop their dissertations into books. The Insti- tute seeks promising scholars who can teach about Israel effectively while carrying out From left to right, Israel Institute's, Jill Wyler, Dr. Michael Koplow, Marge Goldwater, Amb. Itamar an innovative research agenda. Rabinovich, Noa Levanon Klein, Dr. Ariel Ilan Roth, and Kerren Marcus.

FACULTY EXCHANGES AND TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS RESEARCH GRANTS FACULTY DEVELOPMENT The Institute assists in fostering academic The Institute offers grants for scholars, GRANTS exchanges involving senior academics and academics and independent researchers The Institute offers grants that enable fac- policy experts between campuses in the U.S., to conduct substantive research on issues ulty members to develop new courses in Israel and Europe. Among other initiatives, related to modern Israel. Areas of study Israel Studies. Designed for professors the Institute has sent professors during the include, but are not limited to, Israeli his- who have some knowledge of Israel but past and current academic years to Princ- tory, politics, economics and law. Grants not enough to teach a course in the field, eton University, Cornell University, Dart- are aimed at facilitating the research and the program is also an opportunity to mouth University, New York University, writing of books or scholarly articles that travel to Israel, hone language skills and the University of Pennsylvania and the make a serious contribution to the field of take part in any other activities that will Lille Institute of Political Science (Sciences Israel Studies or promote a greater under- assist in developing and teaching Israel Po Lille). standing of modern Israel. Studies courses.

36 ISRAEL INSTITUTE MAGAZINE MONOGRAPH SERIES These internships grant college students global platform to showcase the work of The Institute commissions scholars to write and recent college graduates access to a promising Israeli writers and expand the academic books on topics related to Israel broad community of scholars and policy reach of Israeli arts and culture abroad. that will fill gaps in the field of Israel Stud- practitioners, while providing important For details about any of these programs, ies. The Institute also subsidizes works on work experience. please refer to our website: Israel that already have been accepted for www.israelinstitute.org publication by an academic press. THINK TANK COLLABORATIONS The Institute supports senior visiting fel- ACADEMIC CONFERENCES lows at leading think tanks. The Institute The Institute convenes and co-sponsors aca- also supports younger scholars as research demic conferences devoted to the study of assistants, which gives them a firsthand DONORS Israel and related topics. Each October, the opportunity to work in the policy com- Major Supporters of the Israel Institute organizes its own conference on munity and to make vital connections with major issues and developments in the field leading intellectuals outside of their aca- Institute include: of Israel Studies. The Institute is also a sup- demic institutions. • Charles and Lynn Schusterman porter of the Association for Israel Stud- Family Foundation ies’ annual conventions, as well as academic SCHUSTERMAN VISITING • Jim Joseph Foundation conferences at other institutions. The Israel ARTIST PROGRAM • Paul E. Singer Foundation Institute has supported such conferences at One of the largest organized residency Northwestern University, Brandeis Univer- programs of Israeli artists ever to launch • Guilford & Diane Glazer sity and other institutions. in the United States, the Israel Institute’s Foundation Schusterman Visiting Artist Program • Steinhardt Foundation for ANNUAL PUBLIC FORUM brings Israeli artists from various disci- Jewish Life The Institute sponsors an annual public lec- plines – including visual art, film, music ture or panel discussion featuring prominent and choreography – to North America, • Abramson Family Foundation figures discussing contemporary Israel-re- where they reside for two to four months • Lucius N. Littauer Foundation lated topics. The event is designed to serve at some of the nation’s most esteemed as a high-level forum for policy experts, and universities. To date, 70 artists have par- an opportunity for them to convene and ticipated in this program. The program’s exchange diverse perspectives. objective is to foster high levels of inter- ISRAEL INSTITUTE action between the Israeli artists-in-res- President: Amb. Itamar Rabinovich ACADEMIC PRIZES idence and the local communities where Executive Director: Dr. Ariel Ilan Roth In collaboration with the Association for they are based, through classes, lectures, Israel Studies (AIS), the Institute co-spon- exhibitions, screenings, readings and Program Director: Dr. Michael Koplow sors two annual prizes that are awarded at the performances. Director of Arts and Cultural AIS annual convention: a lifetime achieve- Programs: Marge Goldwater TRANSLATION PROJECT ment award and an award for young scholars. Program Officer: Noa Levanon Klein The Israel Institute supports an annual Program Officer: Dr. Ned Lazarus INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS translation project in order to increase The Israel Institute matches young schol- international access and exposure to Program Coordinator: Jill Wyler ars with top think tanks and research insti- modern Hebrew literature. Through the Office Manager: Kerren Marcus tutions in Israel and the United States translation of recently published Israeli for a period of a few months to a year. books into English, the project creates a ABOUT THE ISRAEL INSTITUTE

The ISRAEL INSTITUTE works in partnership with leading academic, research and cul- tural institutions to enhance knowledge and study of modern Israel in the United States and around the world. Founded in 2012 as an independent, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. and Tel Aviv, the Institute supports scholarship, research and exchanges to empower the growth of a multi-faceted field of Israel Studies and expand opportunities to explore the diversity and complexity of contemporary Israel.

The Israel Institute provides programs for emerging and senior scholars to encourage new scholarship, facilitate the development of new courses and expand learning opportunities. The Institute is dedicated to promoting new research on Israel and showcasing Israeli lit- erature, arts and culture. The Institute also provides unique opportunities for exceptional college students and graduates to immerse themselves in Israel-relevant work and gain experience in Israel-related research through valuable internship experiences. We invite you to learn more at www.israelinstitute.org or call us at 202.289.1431 for more information.

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