Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land, and Prophetic TraditionTransaction Publishers - 207 oldal Israeli politics and policymaking reflect themes long imbedded in Jewish culture. The concepts of Chosen People and Promised Land, and their meaning in Christian as well as Jewish religious traditions, assure that Israel is perpetually in the international spotlight. They also impose a sense of distinctiveness on the Israeli population. Some Israelis trumpet their country's accomplishments with unrestrained superlatives. Social critics accuse Israel of having the worst of the world's conditions. In this they reflect another trait that seems to have been inherited from the ancients: the prophetic tradition of extreme self-criticism. In reality, much of what occurs in Israel is similar to what occurs in countries that share its characteristics: democracy, western culture, and an advanced level of economic development. Such an idea may seem bizarre alongside headlines about suicide bombings and the country's aggressive defensive posture. This misses what is normal about Israel. In Israel policymakers weigh benefits and costs of various options, and generally choose something moderate, just as they do elsewhere. But this reality does not dim the rhetoric of politics, where hyperbole frequently seems more evident than rational discourse. Sharkansky discusses three central issues in Israeli public affairs: religion, national security, and social policy. He describes how policymakers relate to these issue and themes. Major problems may not be solved, but they are managed in a way that is tolerable. It is in this trait that Israel resembles other western democracies. In sum, biblical themes affect Israel's political rhetoric more than they affect the way officials actually work out their problems. Pragmatic coping with worldly realities generally overcomes emotional expressions that convey ingredients of spirituality. Ira Sharkansky, born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, has been professor of political science and public administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1975. He is author of several works, including Coping with Terror: An Israeli Perspective, Politics and Policymaking: In Search of Simplicity, and The Political Economy of Israel, the latter available from Transaction. |
Részletek a könyvből
1 - 5 találat összesen 50 találatból.
... Jews, and certainly not for their neighbors. The biblical prophets had expressed themselves like some of my university colleagues. Condemnation was far more prevalent than praise. There is little moderation in the words of vii Contents vii.
... Biblical themes of the Chosen People, Promised Land, and the style of the prophets appear in Israeli politics, even if they are not the only influences on the country, and even if they do not necessarily affect the nature of Israeli ...
... Biblical ideas heighten pride, expectations, jealousy, and enmity. Why else the prominence of Israel in the newspapers of the world, and the international importance of an ethnic squabble between four and one-half million Jews and a ...
... biblical themes in contemporary Israeli government. As part of this, we must take into account several related issues. First is the complexity of “political culture.” This concept deals with ideas and behaviors that are widely shared ...
... Biblical Roots Elements of a political culture need not be unique to a particular people. The biblical source of Israeli traits has made them—or traits with similar names—attractive to Christians in various settings. The Boers of South ...
Más kiadások - Összes megtekintése
Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic Tradition Ira Sharkansky Korlátozott előnézet - 2017 |
Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic Tradition Ira Sharkansky Nincs elérhető előnézet - 2017 |