Preface

Having divided my adult life between residence in Israel and the United States, I often find myself explaining Israel or Israelis to non-Israelis (Jewish and non-Jewish alike), or conversely trying to convey to Israelis how things are seen from elsewhere. For what it is worth, I have tried to utilize this dual perspective in the work at hand, tapping into the vigorous debates among Israelis themselves while attempting to keep a broader view in mind. Whether such an “inside-outside” perspective has been useful is for others to judge, but at least I hope this book will provide a bridge between attentive publics that have not always paid attention to each other.

Acknowledgment for assistance must be extended to many colleagues and friends on both sides of the ocean. At various stages Ari Rosenthal, at Haifa University, and Caio Blinder and Carmela Lutmar, both at Notre Dame, gave valuable help as research assistants. Menachem Hofnung, at the Hebrew University, has been especially kind in providing comments and suggestions as well as handling numerous queries that arose in the course of the work. Others who have aided in one way or another include: Hatem Abu-Ghazeleh, Majid Al-Haj, Asher Arian, Myron Aronoff, Shlomo Aronson, Shlomo Avineri, Ya’akov Bar-Siman-Tov, Gad Barzilai, Avraham Ben-Zvi, Michael Brecher, Aryeh Carmon, Shlomo Deshen, Avraham Diskin, Eliezer Don-Yehiya, Daniel Elazar, André Eshet, Ze’ev Eytan (z”l), Morley Feinstein, Michael Francis, Menachem Friedman, Hillel Frisch, Yitzhak Galnoor, Yosef Gorny, Emanuel Gutmann, Alouph Hareven, Tamar Hermann, Tom Idinopulos, Efraim Inbar, Rachel Israeli, Elihu Katz, Edy Kaufman, Baruch Kimmerling, Aharon Klieman, Ran Kochan, Rebecca Kook, Shlomit Levi, Sam Lehman-Wilzig, Hana Levinsohn, Charles Liebman, Arend Lijphart, Noah Lucas, Ian Lustick, Greg Mahler, Ze’ev Maoz, Peter Medding, Gil Merom, William V. O’Brien, Ilan Pappé, Yoav Peled, Ilan Peleg, Yoram Peri, Elie Rekhess, Susan Hattis Rolef, Allen Schapiro, Ozer Schild, Michal Shamir, Gabi Sheffer, Michael Signer, Rita Simon, Hanoch Smith, Sammy Smooha, Sasson Sofer, Arnon Soffer, Ehud Sprinzak, Russell Stone, Ilan Troen, Mina Tsemach, Shevach Weiss, Gadi Wolfsfeld, Ephraim Ya’ar, Natan Yanai, Avner Yaniv (z’l), Yael Yishai, and Yair Zalmanovitch.

Anyone familiar with many of these names will know at once that I could not possibly have accepted all their advice, as they represent a full spectrum of clashing approaches and interpretations of Israeli politics and society. I have tried to draw upon each school of thought for what it had to offer, finding that each has its unique insights and contributions. The result, I hope, is a synthesis that encompasses these insights without engaging in scholarly quarrels in which the general reader may have little interest. If critics are frustrated trying to place this book easily in one camp or another, then I will feel that I have not totally failed in this regard.

I am grateful to the University of Haifa, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for hosting me as a visitor at various times. The University of Notre Dame also gave me a semester’s freedom for writing, and the Institute for the Study of the Liberal Arts at Notre Dame supplied a summer stipend for a research assistant.

Earlier versions of parts of the book have been published in Middle East Review (Fall 1988), Jewish Political Studies Review (Fall 1990), Mosaic (Spring 1991), Shofar (Fall 1991); in Shao-chuan Leng, ed., Coping with Crisis: How Governments Deal with Emergencies (University Press of America, 1990); in Menachem Mor, ed., Jewish Sects, Religious Movements, and Political Parties (Creighton University Press, 1992); in S. Ilan Troen and Noah Lucas, eds., Israel: The First Decade of Independence (State University of New York Press, 1994); and in Gabriel Ben-Dor and David B. Dewitt, eds., Confidence Building Measures in the Middle East (Westview Press, 1994).