Political Parties In Israel

"Few countries receive as much attention as Israel and are at the same time as misunderstood. The Oxford Handbook of Israeli Politics and Society brings together leading Israeli and international figures to offer the most wide-ranging treatment available of an intriguing country. It serves as a comprehensive reference for the growing field of Israel studies and is also a significant resource for students and scholars of comparative politics, recognizing that in many ways Israel is not unique, but rather a test case of democracy in deeply divided societies and states engaged in intense conflict. The handbook presents an overview of the historical development of Israeli democracy through chapters examining the country's history, contemporary society, political institutions, international relations, and most pressing political issues. It outlines the most relevant developments over time while not shying away from the strife both in and around Israel. It presents opposed narratives in full force, enabling readers to make their own judgments"--

This book is an analysis of the struggle between Israel's hawks and doves for control of national policy. It explores the inner workings of Israel's major parties and assesses the interaction between domestic political combat, internal succession and identity crises, and Israeli policy on key issue.

This title was first published in 2000: The International Library of Politics and Comparative Government brings together in one series, the most significant journal articles to appear in the field of comparative politics in the last twenty-five years. It makes accessible to teachers, researchers and students an extensive range of essays which provide an indispensable basis for understanding both the established conceptual terrain and the new ground being broken in the fast changing field of comparative political analysis. A number of acknowledged experts have been invited to act as editors for the series. They preface each volume with an introductory essay in which they review the basis for the selection of articles and suggest future directions of research and investigation in the subject area. An invaluable resource for all those working in the field of comparative government and politics.

This volume examines the challenges and circumstances Israel has faced during the 1990s and addresses both the public's and leadership's singular goal of "peace and security".

A study of the Knesset based on a series of interviews with members of the Eighth Knesset (1973-77), this book is a revealing picture of the Israeli political system and the individuals who work within it.

Tradition and Politics is acomprehensive study of the religious parties of Israel. Gary S. Schiff traces the religious parties of the modern state of Israel from their origins in Europe early in the twentieth century to, in response and reaction to the rise of Zionism, their transplantation to Palestine, their adaptation to the new realities, their participation in the quazi-government of the Jewish community under the British mandate, and their unfolding roles after independence. Schiff examines a subject that has long fascinated and perplexed observers of the Israeli scene: the existence of four separate and distinct religious political parties within the Israeli political spectrum. Each party claims to be the one exponent of traditional Judaism; each demonstrates a distinctive political personality based on its historical development and ideological perspective.Religious (traditionalist) parties emerge in reaction to the pressures and predicaments of modernization and help to legitimize modernizing states in the eyes of traditional sectors of the public. Schiff finds the key to the uniqueness of the Israeli parties to be their divergent attitudes toward the relationship between tradition and modernity. After the labyrinthine histories of Israel’s religious parties in both pre-state and post-independent eras, Schiff turns his attention to several key religious and state institutions: the Ministry of Religions, the chief rabbinate, and the separate religious school systems, and to some of the controversial issues that have racked Israeli society—for example, the question of "Who is a Jew?" and the controversy over Sabbath legislation. He concludes with an analysis of the special significance of the religious parties in the Israeli political system.

This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the dynamics of Israeli politics. It aims to familiarize those interested in Israel's government with that country's origins; the way its political institutions, practices, and traditions have evolved; and the way the government works.