From Marginalization to Bounded Integration

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

From Marginalization to Bounded Integration From Marginalization to Bounded Integration Reassessing the Compatibility of Religion and Democracy: A Comparison of the State-Religion Relationship in Turkey and Israel Aviad Rubin, Department of Political Science, McGill University, Montreal January 2010 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Copyright © Aviad Rubin 2010 From Marginalization to Bounded Integration January 2010 Abstract There is an inherent tension in the relationship between religion and democracy. While religion generally adheres to a single ultimate set of values, democracy requires political tolerance and the recognition of the coexistence of several truths. This is why, both intuitively and according to influential theories of modernization, the separation of religion and the state has been seen as a pre-condition for successful democratization. Yet a comparison of Israel and Turkey challenge the validity of such alleged ―truths.‖ This is because existing theories cannot adequately account for the dynamic nature of the state-religion relations. Israel, which assigned a formal role to religion in the state, was able to maintain stable democratic rule despite some major internal and external political challenges. Nevertheless, after three decades of constructive collaboration between the state and religious actors, the latter have increased their demands on the state in a manner that challenged the foundations of the regime, although so far the state has been successful in effectively containing them. In contrast, the Turkish state attempted to enforce strict secularization on society by marginalizing religion from public affairs through constitutional measures and military repression. Yet after eight decades trying, Turkish society remained far from being truly secular and the attempts to enforce secularism seriously undermined Turkish democracy. To understand why this has been the case, the dissertation develops a model for the state-religion relationship, the Bounded Integration Model (BIM), that overcomes the over simplistic, static and deterministic nature of existing theories. The model demonstrates that religious actors should be understood as potential members in civil society, the dynamic interaction of which with the state determines the boundaries of civil society and the prospects for stable democratic governance. The study concludes that there is a need to re-evaluate the relationship between the state and religion over time, and reconsider deterministic conclusions about the ability of some religions - Islam in particular - to peacefully co-exist with democratically governed states. 2 From Marginalization to Bounded Integration January 2010 Abstract Il existe une crispation inhérente de la relation entre la religion et la démocratie. La religion, pour sa part, adhère à un seul et unique code de valeurs, tandis que la démocratie, elle, nécessite une tolérance politique et l‘acceptation de la coexistence de plusieurs vérités. C‘est pour ces raisons que non seulement intuitivement, mais également selon les théories influentes de la modernisation, la séparation de la religion et de l‘État est regardée comme la pierre angulaire d‘une démocratisation réussie. Toutefois, une comparaison entre l‘Israël et la Turquie conteste la validité de ces présumées vérités, et ce, parce que les théories actuelles ne peuvent expliquer convenablement la dynamique de la nature des relations entre la religion et l‘État. D‘une part, l‘Israël, consacrant au sein de l‘État un rôle officiel à la religion, a été en mesure de maintenir un gouvernement démocratique stable malgré certains enjeux politiques, internes et externes, importants. Néanmoins, après trois décennies de collaboration fructueuse entre l‘État et les acteurs religieux, ces derniers ont augmenté leurs demandes envers l‘État de sorte qu‘elles s‘opposaient aux assises du régime; jusqu‘à maintenant, l‘État a toutefois réussi à les limiter. D‘autre part, l‘État turque a tenté d‘appliquer une sécularisation absolue en marginalisant la religion des affaires publiques par l‘entremise de mesures constitutionnelles et de répression militaire. Pourtant, après huit années de persévérance, la Turquie demeure loin d‘être un État réellement laïque et les efforts déployés dans le but d‘appliquer ce laïcisme ont grandement nui à la démocratie. Afin de comprendre le pourquoi de tels aboutissements, la présente dissertation propose un modèle intitulé le Modèle d‘intégration limitée (MIL) illustrant la relation entre l‘État et la religion en palliant la nature simpliste, statique et déterministe des théories actuelles. Ce modèle démontre que les acteurs religieux doivent être considérés comme étant des membres potentiels de la société civile dont l‘interaction dynamique avec l‘État déterminerait les limites de la société civile et les aspirations à une gouvernance démocratique stable. Cette étude conclue qu‘une réévaluation de la relation entre l‘État et la religion au fil du temps est nécessaire et remet en question les conclusions déterministes sur la capacité de certaines religions – notamment l‘Islam – de pouvoir coexister en paix avec des États gouvernés démocratiquement. 3 From Marginalization to Bounded Integration January 2010 Table of contents Abstract …2 Table of Contents …4 Acknowledgements …5 Chapter 1. Introduction …6 Chapter 2. Re-conceptualizing the Role of Religion in Democratic …23 Regimes: From Marginalization to Bounded Integration Turkey Chapter 3. Religion and State in Turkey's Pre-Republican Era …54 Chapter 4. Turkey's Authoritarian Laicism 1923 – 1950 …80 Chapter 5. Democratic Challenges to Kemalist Hegemony 1950-2007 …106 Israel Chapter 6. Zionism and Religion Pre-Independence …171 Chapter 7. An Era of Constructive Collaboration 1948-1967 …197 Chapter 8. Democratic Containment of Religious Challenges 1967- …232 2007 Chapter 9. Religion in Democratic Regimes: Preliminary …285 Conclusions Bibliography …300 4 From Marginalization to Bounded Integration January 2010 Acknowledgements This study is a product of a long and challenging journey. Along this journey I was assisted, guided and inspired by many, to whom I am deeply thankful. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Phil Oxhorn, a true mentor and an academic role model who guided me skillfully throughout this project and helped in crystallizing my ideas. I would also like to thank Harold Waller and Juliet Johnson for serving in the advisory committee of this study and for providing thoughtful advice and support whenever needed. I am also honored to thank Professor Michael Brecher, a scholar of rare quality who has been a source of inspiration throughout the course of my studies at McGill University. The department of political science at McGill provided an unparalleled stimulating intellectual environment. In particular I would like to thank my peers in the department – Daniel, Francoise, Amy, Kate, Donald, Rob, and Dan who were supportive, intellectually invigorating and good company in leisure times whenever the weight of the task became too heavy. This research was conducted in two countries that are a lot more than mere case studies for me. Israel is my homeland and this research was motivated by a personal commitment to make it a better a more just place. I was lucky to be hosted at the Gilo Center for Democracy and Civic Education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem which provided a pleasant working environment during my field research in Israel, for which I would like to thank its staff. Along this study I came to know Turkey in an intimate way. Turkey is one of the most fascinating places in the world, and its welcoming people made my research there a unique and unforgettable experience. I would like to express special thanks to Canan Aslan from Middle East Technical University for her tireless help in organizing contacts and interviews and to my dedicated friend and assistant Onur Kara for an invaluable work. This research would not have made possible without generous funding from the Steinberg Fellowship of the Jewish Federation in Montreal, The Rabin Scholarship of the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University and the Demirel fellowship of the Moshe Dayan Center. I thank them all. Finally, I would like to thank my family. To my parents who made my dreams come true, my children Shai and Alon who are the source of joy in my life, and my partner and dearest friend Shelly, without whom this road would have been much harder. 5 From Marginalization to Bounded Integration January 2010 Chapter 1: Introduction And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. George Washington, 1796 Recent events in the Middle East and the growing entanglement of religion in politics throughout the region focus new attention on the role religion might play in transitions to democracy and its impact on the stability of democratic regimes. For many decades, dominant theories such as modernization theory and the ―clash of civilizations‖ have advocated the secularization thesis which argues that religion and democracy are incompatible - the former is about an ultimate divine truth whereas the latter is based on the peaceful coexistence of different truths and the art of bargaining and compromise. The policy
Recommended publications
  • Making the Afro-Turk Identity
    Vocabularies of (In)Visibilities: (Re)Making the Afro-Turk Identity AYşEGÜL KAYAGIL* Abstract After the abolition of slavery towards the end of the Ottoman Empire, the majority of freed black slaves who remained in Anatolia were taken to state “guesthouses” in a number of cities throughout the Empire, the most im- portant of which was in Izmir. Despite their longstanding presence, the descendants of these black slaves – today, citizens of the Republic of Turkey – have until recently remained invisible both in the official historiography and in academic scholarship of history and social science. It is only since the establishment of the Association of Afro-Turks in 2006 that the black popu- lation has gained public and media attention and a public discussion has fi- nally begun on the legacies of slavery in Turkey. Drawing on in-depth inter- views with members of the Afro-Turk community (2014-2016), I examine the key role of the foundation of the Afro-Turk Association in reshaping the ways in which they think of themselves, their shared identity and history. Keywords: Afro-Turks, Ottoman slavery, Turkishness, blackness Introduction “Who are the Afro-Turks?” has been the most common response I got from my friends and family back home in Turkey, who were puzzled to hear that my doctoral research concerned the experiences of the Afro-Turk commu- nity. I would explain to them that the Afro-Turks are the descendants of en- slaved Africans who were brought to the Ottoman Empire over a period of 400 years and this brief introduction helped them recall.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Seders Will Open Hearts
    ב“ה :THIS WEEK’S TOPIC ערב פסח, י׳׳ד ניסן, תש״פ ISSUE The Rebbe’s meetings with 378 Erev Pesach, April 8, 2020 the chief rabbis of Israel For more on the topic, visit 70years.com HERE’S my STORY OPEN SEDERS WILL Generously OPEN HEARTS sponsored by the RABBI YAAKOV SHAPIRA they spoke about activities of the Israeli Rabbinate and the state of Yiddishkeit in Israel; and they discussed the prophecies concerning the coming of the Mashiach and the Final Redemption. They went from topic to topic, without pause, and their conversations were recorded, transcribed and later published. During the first visit in 1983, the Rebbe asked the chief rabbis how they felt being outside of Israel. My father said that he had never left the Holy Land before, and that the time away was very difficult for him. To bring him comfort, the Rebbe expounded on the Torah verse, “Jacob lifted his feet and went to the land of the people of the East,” pointing out that while Jacob’s departure from the Land of Israel was a spiritual descent, y father, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, served as the later it turned out that this descent was for the sake of a MAshkenazi chief rabbi of Israel from 1983 until 1993, greater ascent. All Jacob’s sons — who would give rise to while Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu served as the Sephardic the Twelve Tribes of Israel — were born outside the Land. chief rabbi. During their tenure they traveled to the United This is why the great 11th century Torah commentator, States three times for the purpose of visiting the central Rashi, reads the phrase “lifted his feet” as meaning Jacob Jewish communities in America and getting to know their “moved with ease” because G-d had promised to protect leaders.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciling Statism with Freedom: Turkey's Kurdish Opening
    Reconciling Statism with Freedom Turkey’s Kurdish Opening Halil M. Karaveli SILK ROAD PAPER October 2010 Reconciling Statism with Freedom Turkey’s Kurdish Opening Halil M. Karaveli © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Institute for Security and Development Policy, V. Finnbodav. 2, Stockholm-Nacka 13130, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Reconciling Statism with Freedom: Turkey’s Kurdish Opening” is a Silk Road Paper published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and the Silk Road Studies Program. The Silk Road Papers Series is the Occasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and ad- dresses topical and timely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit research and policy center. It has offices in Washington and Stockholm and is affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading research and policy center, serving a large and diverse commu- nity of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the forefront of research on issues of conflict, security, and development in the region. Through its applied research, publications, research cooperation, public lec- tures, and seminars, it functions as a focal point for academic, policy, and public dis- cussion regarding the region. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this study are those of the authors only, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Joint Center or its sponsors.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
    Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict Middle East Report N°147 | 21 November 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iv I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Religious Zionism: From Ascendance to Fragmentation ................................................ 5 A. 1973: A Turning Point ................................................................................................ 5 B. 1980s and 1990s: Polarisation ................................................................................... 7 C. The Gaza Disengagement and its Aftermath ............................................................. 11 III. Settling the Land .............................................................................................................. 14 A. Bargaining with the State: The Kookists ................................................................... 15 B. Defying the State: The Hilltop Youth ........................................................................ 17 IV. From the Hills to the State ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • CV July 2017
    1 November, 2017 Curriculum Vitae Mimi Ajzenstadt Personal Details Date of birth: September 24, 1956 Country of birth: Israel Nationality: Israeli Family Status: Married No. of children: 2 Home phone: 972-2-6767540 Work phone: 972-2-5882600 E-mail: [email protected] Higher Education 1992-1994 Post-doctoral fellow, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Department of Sociology and the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Law, sociology of law, sociology of deviance. 1985-1992 Ph.D. Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, Criminology. 1980-1984 M.A. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Criminology. 1981-1982: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Teaching Certificate, Arabic language 1977-1980 B.A. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Education, Arabic Language 1 2 Appointments at the Hebrew University 2012- present Full Professor, the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Law and the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. 2007– 2012 Associate Professor, the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Law and the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. 2002- 2007 Senior Lecturer, the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Law and the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. 1994-2002 Lecturer, the Institute of Criminology, the Faculty of Law and the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work. Service in other Academic Institutions Summer, 2011 Visiting Professor, Cambridge University. Summer, 2010 Visiting Professor. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. 2005 -2006 Visiting Professor. University of Maryland, Maryland, USA. Winter, 2000 Visiting Scholar. Stockholm University, Sweden. Fall 1999 Visiting Scholar. Yale University, New-Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A., Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fifth Passover Cup and Magical Pairs: Isaac Baer Levinsohn and the Babylonian Talmud
    European Journal of Jewish Studies 15 (2021) 84–103 brill.com/ejjs The Fifth Passover Cup and Magical Pairs: Isaac Baer Levinsohn and the Babylonian Talmud Leor Jacobi Abstract The Fifth Passover Cup is mentioned in a textual variant of a baraita in Tractate Pesaḥim of the Babylonian Talmud (118a), attributed to Rabbi Ṭarfon and another anonymous Palestinian tanna. Scholars have demonstrated that the variant is primary in talmu- dic manuscripts and among the Babylonian Geonim. Following a nineteenth-century proposition of Isaac Baer Levinsohn, it is argued that the fifth cup was instituted in Babylonia due to concern for magical evil spirits aroused by even-numbered events [zugot]. Objections to Levinsohn’s theory can be allayed by critical source analysis: the Talmud’s attribution of the fifth cup to the Palestinian tanna Rabbi Ṭarfon in a baraita is pseudoepigraphic, based upon Rabbi Ṭarfon’s teaching regarding the recitation of Hallel ha-Gadol in Mishnah Ta‘anit 3:9. A special appendix is devoted to Levinsohn’s separate study on zugot in the ancient and medieval world. Keywords Talmud – Passover – magic – Haskalah – source criticism – Halakhah – Levinsohn – magical pairs © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/1872471X-bja10020.0102883/ 3..8.31893: The Fifth Passover Cup and Magical Pairs 85 1 Introduction1 If the four Passover cups were created during the six days of creation, then the fifth was conjured up at twilight on the eve of the Sabbath.2 The saga of the mysterious fifth cup stretches from its origins in a phantom talmudic tex- tual variant to its alleged metamorphosis into the ubiquitous “cup of Elijah” to latter-day messianic revival attempts incorporating the visual arts.
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-13864-3 — the Israeli Settler Movement Sivan Hirsch-Hoefler , Cas Mudde Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-13864-3 — The Israeli Settler Movement Sivan Hirsch-Hoefler , Cas Mudde Index More Information Index 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the, 2 Ariel, Uri, 76, 116 1949 Armistice Agreements, the, 2 Arutz Sheva, 120–121, 154, 205 1956 Sinai campaign, the, 60 Ashkenazi, 42, 64, 200 1979 peace agreement, the, 57 Association for Retired People, 23 Australia, 138 Abrams, Eliott, 59 Aviner, Shlomo, 65, 115, 212 Academic Council for National, the. See Professors for a Strong Israel B’Sheva, 120 action B’Tselem, 36, 122 connective, 26 Barak, Ehud, 50–51, 95, 98, 147, 235 extreme, 16 Bar-Ilan University, 50, 187 radical, 16 Bar-Siman-Tov, Yaacov, 194, 216 tactical, 34 Bat Ayin Underground, the, 159 activism BDS. See Boycott, Divestment and moderate, 15–16 Sanctions transnational, 30–31 Begin, Manahem, 47, 48, 118–119, Adelson, Sheldon, 179, 190 157, 172 Airbnb, 136 Beit El, 105 Al Aqsa Mosque, the, 146 Beit HaArava, 45 Al-Aqsa Intifada. See the Second Intifada Beitar Illit, 67, 70, 99 Alfei Menashe, 100 Beitar Ironi Ariel, 170 Allon, Yigal, 45–46 Belafonte, Harry, 14 Alon Shvut, 88, 190 Ben Ari, Michael, 184 Aloni, Shulamit, 182 Bendaña, Alejandro, 24 Altshuler, Amos, 189 Ben-Gurion, David, 46 Amana, 76–77, 89, 113, 148, 153–154, 201 Ben-Gvir, Itamar, 184 American Friends of Ariel, 179–180 Benn, Menachem, 164 American Studies Association, 136 Bennett, Naftali, 76, 116, 140, 148, Amnesty International, 24 153, 190 Amona, 79, 83, 153, 157, 162, 250, Benvenisti, Meron, 1 251 Ben-Zimra, Gadi, 205 Amrousi, Emily, 67, 84 Ben-Zion,
    [Show full text]
  • Radicalization of the Settlers' Youth: Hebron As a Hub for Jewish Extremism
    © 2014, Global Media Journal -- Canadian Edition Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 69-85 ISSN: 1918-5901 (English) -- ISSN: 1918-591X (Français) Radicalization of the Settlers’ Youth: Hebron as a Hub for Jewish Extremism Geneviève Boucher Boudreau University of Ottawa, Canada Abstract: The city of Hebron has been a hub for radicalization and terrorism throughout the modern history of Israel. This paper examines the past trends of radicalization and terrorism in Hebron and explains why it is still a present and rising ideology within the Jewish communities and organization such as the Hilltop Youth movement. The research first presents the transmission of social memory through memorials and symbolism of the Hebron hills area and then presents the impact of Meir Kahana’s movement. As observed, Hebron slowly grew and spread its population and philosophy to the then new settlement of Kiryat Arba. An exceptionally strong ideology of an extreme form of Judaism grew out of those two small towns. As analyzed—based on an exhaustive ethnographic fieldwork and bibliographic research—this form of fundamentalism and national-religious point of view gave birth to a new uprising of violence and radicalism amongst the settler youth organizations such as the Hilltop Youth movement. Keywords: Judaism; Radicalization; Settlers; Terrorism; West Bank Geneviève Boucher Boudreau 70 Résumé: Dès le début de l’histoire moderne de l’État d’Israël, les villes d’Hébron et Kiryat Arba sont devenues une plaque tournante pour la radicalisation et le terrorisme en Cisjordanie. Cette recherche examine cette tendance, explique pourquoi elle est toujours d’actualité ainsi qu’à la hausse au sein de ces communautés juives.
    [Show full text]
  • Whiteness As an Act of Belonging: White Turks Phenomenon in the Post 9/11 World
    WHITENESS AS AN ACT OF BELONGING: WHITE TURKS PHENOMENON IN THE POST 9/11 WORLD ILGIN YORUKOGLU Department of Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice The City University of New York [email protected] Abstract: Turks, along with other people of the Middle East, retain a claim to being “Cau- casian”. Technically white, Turks do not fit neatly into Western racial categories especially after 9/11, and with the increasing normalization of racist discourses in Western politics, their assumed religious and geographical identities categorise “secular” Turks along with their Muslim “others” and, crucially, suggest a “non-white” status. In this context, for Turks who explicitly refuse to be presented along with “Islamists”, “whiteness” becomes an act of belonging to “the West” (instead of the East, to “the civilised world” instead of the world of terrorism). The White Turks phenomenon does not only reveal the fluidity of racial categories, it also helps question the meaning of resistance and racial identification “from below”. In dealing with their insecurities with their place in the world, White Turks fall short of leading towards a radical democratic politics. Keywords: Whiteness, White Turks, Race, Turkish Culture, Post 9/11. INTRODUCTION: WHY STUDY WHITE TURKISHNESS Until recently, sociologists and social scientists have had very little to say about Whiteness as a distinct socio-cultural racial identity, typically problematizing only non-white status. The more recent studies of whiteness in the literature on race and ethnicity have moved us beyond a focus on racialised bodies to a broader understanding of the active role played by claims to whiteness in sustaining racism.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenomenon, Vigilantism, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh's
    ‘THE SIMPLE JEW’: THE ‘PRICE TAG’ PHENOMENON, VIGILANTISM, AND RABBI YITZCHAK GINSBURGH’S POLITICAL KABBALAH Tessa Satherley* ABSTRACT: This paper explores the Kabbalistic theosophy of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, and allegations of links between his yeshiva and violent political activism and vigilantism. Ginsburgh is head of the yeshiva Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) in Samaria/the northern West Bank. His students and colleagues have been accused by the authorities of violence and vandalism against Arabs in the context of ‘price tag’ actions and vigilante attacks, while publications by Ginsburgh and his yeshiva colleagues such as Barukh HaGever (Barukh the Man/Blessed is the Man) and Torat HaMelekh (The King’s Torah) have been accused of inciting racist violence. This paper sketches the yeshiva’s history in the public spotlight and describes the esoteric, Kabbalistic framework behind Ginsburgh’s politics, focusing on his political readings of Zoharic Kabbalah and teachings about the mystical value of spontaneous revenge attacks by ‘the simple Jew’, who acts upon his feelings of righteous indignation without prior reflection. The conclusion explores and attempts to delimit the explanatory power of such mystical teachings in light of the sociological characteristics of the Hilltop Youth most often implicated as price tag ‘operatives’ and existing scholarly models of vigilantism. It also points to aspects of the mystical teachings with potential for special potency in this context. Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh (1944-) is a Chabad rabbi and head of the Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, near the major Palestinian population centre of Nablus (biblical Shechem). The yeshiva occupies an unusual discursive space – neither mainstream religious Zionist (though some of its teaching staff were educated in this tradition) nor formally affiliated with the Hasidic movement, despite Ginsburgh’s own affiliation with Chabad and despite his teachings being steeped in its Kabbalistic inheritance.
    [Show full text]
  • Palestine About the Author
    PALESTINE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Professor Nur Masalha is a Palestinian historian and a member of the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London. He is also editor of the Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies. His books include Expulsion of the Palestinians (1992); A Land Without a People (1997); The Politics of Denial (2003); The Bible and Zionism (Zed 2007) and The Pales- tine Nakba (Zed 2012). PALESTINE A FOUR THOUSAND YEAR HISTORY NUR MASALHA Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History was first published in 2018 by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK. www.zedbooks.net Copyright © Nur Masalha 2018. The right of Nur Masalha to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro by seagulls.net Index by Nur Masalha Cover design © De Agostini Picture Library/Getty All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978‑1‑78699‑272‑7 hb ISBN 978‑1‑78699‑274‑1 pdf ISBN 978‑1‑78699‑275‑8 epub ISBN 978‑1‑78699‑276‑5 mobi CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1. The Philistines and Philistia as a distinct geo‑political entity: 55 Late Bronze Age to 500 BC 2. The conception of Palestine in Classical Antiquity and 71 during the Hellenistic Empires (500‒135 BC) 3.
    [Show full text]
  • An Mora Constrts
    Yitzchak Blau Rabbi Blau is a Ram at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Efrat, IsraeL. PLOUGHSHAS INTO SWORDS: CONTEMPORA RELIGIOUS ZIONISTS AN MORA CONSTRTS AUTHOR'S NOTE: When Jewish communities are threatened, we rightfully incline towards communal unity and are reluctant to engage in internal criti- cism. In the wake of recent events in Israel, some of which I have witnessed firsthand, one might question the appropriateness of publishing this article. Nevertheless, the article remains timely. It attempts to correct a perceived misrepresentation of yahadut, irrespective of political issues, and such a step is always relevant. Furthermore, the decision to delay our own moral ques- tioning during difficult times could lead in modern Israel to a de facto deci- sion never to raise such questions. Finally and most significantly, times of heightened anger, frustration and fear can cause cracks in the moral order to widen into chasms. I hope the reader will agree that the issues analyzed in the article remain very much worthy of discussion. The article does not advocate a particular political approach. While readers of a dovish inclination will no doubt find the article more congenial, it is the more right wing readers who truly stand to benefit from the discussion. It is precisely the militant excesses of the dati le)ummi world that enable and lead others to ignore their legitimate criticisms. The ability to combine a more right wing political view with a more moderate expression of Judaism would be both a kiddush hashem and more successful politically as well. "In ths situation of war for the land of our life and our eternal free- dom, the perfected form of our renewal appears: not just as the People of the Book-the galuti description given us by the genties- but rather as God's nation, the holy nation, possessors of the Divine Torah implanted therein, for whom the Book and the Sword descended intertwned from the heavens .
    [Show full text]