LOVE OF LAND: NATURE PROTECTION, NATIONALISM, AND THE STRUGGLE OVER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW COMMUNITIES IN ISRAEL1 Shai M. Dromi Liron Shani2 Harvard University 1. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Department of Sociology Department of Sociology and Anthropology 33 Kirkland St. Mt. Scopus 91905 Cambridge, MA 02138 Jerusalem, Israel
[email protected] [email protected] 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology STS Program, Building E51-163 77 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA 02139 KEYWORDS: Nature, nationalism, sustainability, social movements, Israel, Jewish-Israeli settlers This manuscript was published in final form as Dromi, S. M. and Shani, L. (2019), Love of Land: Nature Protection, Nationalism, and the Struggle over the Establishment of New Communities in Israel. Rural Sociology. doi:10.1111/ruso.12274. The article is available at this link: https://rdcu.be/bsgej 1 The authors are indebted to Eyal Ben Ari and Nurit Stadler for their input on this project. Rafi Grosglik, Matthew Lawrence, Timothy Malacarne, and Kari Norgaard provided valuable comments on previous versions of this paper. The research was supported by funding from the Shaine Center for Research in the Social Sciences and the Yad Ora fund at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 2 Both authors contributed equally to this article and are listed alphabetically. ABSTRACT Although there is burgeoning research on environmental activism, few studies have examined the interrelationship between nationalism and nature protection in detail. This paper examines how groups manage the tension between national commitment and caring for the environment. It focuses on two opposing Israeli activist groups: a settler movement that aims to establish new communities in the fast-dwindling Israeli open expanses, and a “green” movement intent on preserving open spaces.