Israel Studies Review

In 2006-2007, several Arab nongovernmental organizations in Israel, led by a group of politicians and intellectuals, published future vision documents that summed up the needs, aspirations, hopes, and desires of Arab society in Israel. Despite the fact that the documents did not introduce any new ideas that were not on the Israeli political stage already, this article argues that the fact that the documents were a result of collective effort shows the deep changes that have been taking place among Arab society in general and its leadership in particular. The documents mark the rising tide of frustration and self-confidence, and as a result of oppositional consciousness among leaders and intellectuals of Arab society in Israel. The documents seek to redefine the relationship of Arab society with the Israeli state, demanding the transformation of Israel from an ethnic to a democratic state and calling the Jewish majority for a dialogue. The fact that several documents have emerged is a clear indication that the internal differences within Arab society are still stronger than the uniting forces within it.

Israeli Arabs' "future vision" documents are an ethical-political manifesto, contextualized in academic discourse and informed by socio-historical parallels. Hence, this article examines their political ethics in a comparative perspective, by referencing the case of Israeli Arabs along with two other distinct intra-state conflicts: the strife between Anglophones and Francophones in Canada and the struggle between Macedonians and Albanians in Macedonia. These cases illuminate two main ethical-political alternatives to the present pattern of relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Although the Canadian case indicates a renunciation of ethno-nationalism in favor of civic and linguistic patriotism, the Macedonian case presents an attempt to reconcile ethno-national affiliation with democratic principles. Projecting the ethical discussion of the Canadian and Macedonian cases onto Israel, I contend that normative acceptance of the mutual and dual right of self-determination, regarding both the individual's collective identity and the collective's polity, is a precondition for reconciliation between Jews and Arabs.

This article examines the challenge posed to the future of Israel as a Jewish state by its Palestinian minority. In particular, it analyzes a series of documents published in 2006-2007 by political and intellectual leaders of the Palestinian community in Israel in which they called upon Israel to abandon its Jewish identity and recognize its Palestinian citizens as an indigenous national minority with collective rights. After discussing the major demands and proposals made in these Vision Documents the article argues on both pragmatic and normative grounds that Israel must try to balance the demands of the Palestinian minority with those of the Jewish majority. This involves maintaining the state's Jewish character while providing greater collective rights, including limited autonomy, to its Palestinian citizens.

Israelis who have until now viewed themselves as "secular" in the rigid Israeli dichotomy between "religious" and "secular" are finding new ways of creating communities of meaning that connect to Jewish sources and yet stay aligned to values of pluralism and humanism.

These communities that do not follow the letter of the halakhah are developing in highly "secular" environments such as Tel Aviv and Nahalal and create Shabbat and holiday services combining live music, traditional prayers, and newly created prayers. By doing this, they come nearer to finding a closer echo and a truer mirror to their concerns and spiritual searches while, at the same time, finding spiritual expressions to their deep longing for connection to Judaism. Beyond the services and the communities that are forged, a new identity that bridges aspects of secularism, humanism, and spirituality is being created.

The article analyzes the reasons for this relatively new phenomenon in the context of Israeli religious and political life, and the existential crisis that has evolved as a result. The article also describes in detail two such communities as examples of this development.

This year, Israel marks the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the state. It is an opportune time to study anew the discussions in the People's Administration, which was founded on the eve of the declaration of statehood. In this article, I will examine the course of the discussions and the voting with regard to the declaration, as reflected in the primary sources, in the oral interviews with members of the People's Administration, and in the historiographic descriptions.

Meron Benvenisti, Son of the Cypresses: Memories and Regrets from a Political Life Review by Ruth Amir

Gadi Ben Ezer, The Migration Journey: The Ethiopian Jewish Exodus Review by Marian Reiff

Uri Bialer, Cross on the Star of David: The Christian Word in Israel’s Foreign Policy—1967 Review by Neville Lamdan

Jakob Feldt, The Israeli Memory Struggle: History and Identity in the Age of Globalization Review by Uri Ram

Esther Fuchs, ed., Israeli Women’s Studies: A Reader Review by Harriet Hartman

David Hulme, Identity, Ideology and the Future of Jerusalem Review by Ned Lazarus

Edy Kaufman, Walid Salem, and Juliette Verhoeven, eds., Bridging the Divide: Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Review by Sarah E. Yerkes

Zeev Maoz, Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel’s Security and Foreign Policy Review by Brent E. Sasley

Michael B. Oren, Power, Faith and Fantasy—America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present Review by Zvi Ra’anan

Yoram Peri, Generals in the Cabinet Room: How the Military Shapes Israeli Policy Review by David Tal