The Founding Myths of Israel
Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State
Published on 27. December 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-0-691-00967-4 (ISBN)
Description
The well-known historian and political scientist Zeev Sternhell here advances a radically new interpretation of the founding of modern Israel. The founders claimed that they intended to create both a landed state for the Jewish people and a socialist society. However, according to Sternhell, socialism served the leaders of the influential labor movement more as a rhetorical resource for the legitimation of the national project of establishing a Jewish state than as a blueprint for a just society. In this thought-provoking book, Sternhell demonstrates how socialist principles were consistently subverted in practice by the nationalist goals to which socialist Zionism was committed. Sternhell explains how the avowedly socialist leaders of the dominant labor party, Mapai, especially David Ben Gurion and Berl Katznelson, never really believed in the prospects of realizing the "dream" of a new society, even though many of their working-class supporters were self-identified socialists.
The founders of the state understood, from the very beginning, that not only socialism but also other universalistic ideologies like liberalism, were incompatible with cultural, historical, and territorial nationalism. Because nationalism took precedence over universal values, argues Sternhell, Israel has not evolved a constitution or a Bill of Rights, has not moved to separate state and religion, has failed to develop a liberal concept of citizenship, and, until the Oslo accords of 1993, did not recognize the rights of the Palestinians to independence. This is a controversial and timely book, which not only provides useful historical background to Israel's ongoing struggle to mobilize its citizenry to support a shared vision of nationhood, but also raises a question of general significance: is a national movement whose aim is a political and cultural revolution capable of coexisting with the universal values of secularism, individualism, and social justice? This bold critical reevaluation will unsettle long-standing myths as it contributes to a fresh new historiography of Zionism and Israel.
At the same time, while it examines the past, The Founding Myths of Israel reflects profoundly on the future of the Jewish State.
The founders of the state understood, from the very beginning, that not only socialism but also other universalistic ideologies like liberalism, were incompatible with cultural, historical, and territorial nationalism. Because nationalism took precedence over universal values, argues Sternhell, Israel has not evolved a constitution or a Bill of Rights, has not moved to separate state and religion, has failed to develop a liberal concept of citizenship, and, until the Oslo accords of 1993, did not recognize the rights of the Palestinians to independence. This is a controversial and timely book, which not only provides useful historical background to Israel's ongoing struggle to mobilize its citizenry to support a shared vision of nationhood, but also raises a question of general significance: is a national movement whose aim is a political and cultural revolution capable of coexisting with the universal values of secularism, individualism, and social justice? This bold critical reevaluation will unsettle long-standing myths as it contributes to a fresh new historiography of Zionism and Israel.
At the same time, while it examines the past, The Founding Myths of Israel reflects profoundly on the future of the Jewish State.
Reviews / Votes
"Some of his interpretations may occasionally be questioned, but one cannot doubt the intellectual courage and erudition of this professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where his strong secularism and his devotion to the heritage of the Enlightenment make him both the leader of a school and an outstanding figure."--Alain-GCrard Slama, Le Figaro "Zeev Sternhell ... has observed as a historian the reality behind the myth that had assured the power of the Labor Movement for nearly forty years, until the arrival of Menahem Begin and the Likud in 1977. First surprise: the stereotype of the soldier-peasant, which one associates with the Jewish society of Palestine before 1948, masked a principle far-removed from the bucolic reveries of the 'founding fathers'... Had Sternhell simply shown how the socialist leaders--under the crushing weight of constraining realities--amended their program and sacrificed their egalitarian ideology on the altar of pragmatism, he would not have produced an original book. The interest of this work, however, comes from Sternhell's demonstration that the primacy given to national objectives indeed proceeded from an ideological choice."--Nicholas Weill, Le Monde des Livres "Not every day does one come across a history book of such great contemporary significance as that of Zeev Sternhell... This is a very important book, which raises historical questions of an ever-fresh political significance."--Yosef Agassi, Maariv Cultural Supplement "The key words figuring in the studies of the founding fathers until now have been improvisation, pragmatism, inventiveness, innovation, and lack of dogmatism... With professional competence, vigor, and a clear ... style, [Sternhell] challenges this description."--Menachem Brinker, Haaretz Book Supplement "[T]his is one of the most provocative of the recent rash of 'post-Zionist' studies that debunk earlier works on Israel's founding fathers and mothers."--Kirkus Reviews "This book will undoubtedly create discussion and debate for some time. An excellent companion to Simha Flapan's The Birth of Israel (LJ 8/87) and worthy reading for anyone interested in comparative political development."--Library Journal "[Sternhell's] work has an analytical intensity, a solidity and erudition generally lacking among the so-called 'new [post-Zionist] historians.' Not for Sternhell the ethical relativism of the postmodernists. His values are clearly those of the old Left... This is the yardstick from which he judges the Israeli labour movement, and he finds it deeply flawed."--Robert S. Wistrich, The Times Literary Supplement "Sternhell's conclusions on Israel's expansionism after 1967 are important and powerful... The demythologizing work of Sternhell and his fellow 'new historians' is, finally, profoundly constructive--as they clearly intended it to be."--Jerome Slater, Political Science Quarterly "Sternhell definitely mastered the relevant history. His view is impressively informative, and this meticulous book is packed with information, anecdotes, insights, and quotations... Knowledgeable students of Israel, interested in its political and ideological history, will find Sternhell's book both highly useful and indispensable."--Nachman Ben-Yehuda, American Journal of Sociology "[A] fiercely polemical--but assiduously researched--demolition job on ... comfortable myths... The central myth Sternhell attacks is that of the socialist, liberal and democratic values of Israel's pioneers."--Stephen Howe, The IndependentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
704 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-00967-4 (9780691009674)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Zeev Sternhell
The Founding Myths of Israel
Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State
E-Book
06/2015
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€199.95
Available for download
Persons
Zeev Sternhell is Leon Blum Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author, among works in several languages, of Neither Right nor Left and The Birth of Fascist Ideology, both published by Princeton University Press.
Content
PrefaceA Note on the Transliteration of Hebrew Names and the Translation of Hebrew Book TitlesIntroduction: Nationalism, Socialism, and Nationalist Socialism3Ch. 1The Primacy of the Nation: Aaron David Gordon and the Ethos of Nation-Building47The Negation of the Diaspora47What Is a Nation?52Nationalism versus Socialism: The Amelioration of Man, Nation, or Society?59The Right to the Land: The Power of History68Ch. 2The Worker as the Agent of National Resurrection74The Heritage of the Second Aliyah74The First Stages of the Shift to the Right80The Elimination of the Marxist Po'alei Tzion Party92The Founding of Ahdut Ha'avoda107Experiential Socialism121Ch. 3Socialism in the Service of the Nation: Berl Katznelson and "Constructive" Socialism134The Legend and the Reality134The Nation above All146From "Productivist" to Nationalist Socialism153Ch. 4Ends and Means: The Labor Ideology and the Histadrut178The Bases of Power178Taking over the Collective Settlements: The Establishment of the Nir Company192The Cult of Discipline and Authority: The Destruction of Gdud Ha'avoda (the Labor Corps)198Ch. 5The Triumph of Nationalist Socialism: "From Class to Nation"217What Is a Class?217The Collaboration with the Middle Classes233The Struggle over Workers' Education244Ch. 6Democracy and Equality on Trial264The Hegemony of the Apparatus and the Poverty of Intellectual Life264Oligarchy and Conformism270Equality: Principle and Practice282The Failure of the Family Wage290Class Warfare in the Histadrut306Epilogue: From the State-in-the-Making to the Nation-State318Notes347Glossary391Bibliography399Index409