ABSTRACT: As the field of Israel Studies continues to evolve and gain prominence in academic circles, it is crucial to examine its status beyond its traditional places of growth in North America, Europe, and Israel. This roundtable brings together a diverse group of experts to explore the current state of Israel Studies globally. It offers diverse insights into the unique challenges, opportunities, and contributions emerging from their positionalities. This comprehensive discussion of Israel Studies beyond the traditional Western context explores how scholars, institutions, and communities engage with and contribute to the field in regions marked by distinct geopolitical, cultural, and historical conditions.
ON AUGUST 18, 1975, JUST OVER 50 YEARS AGO, I ARRIVED WITH MY family on Aliya. We left the Midwest and an American university and were headed for the Negev and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev where I would teach American History. Although I had extensive training in Jewish history, I came as an American historian with special interests in the history of education and urban planning. I was curious then, and have continued to be curious throughout my life, about the institutionalization of ideas-that is, what happens to an idea, how it is altered, developed, and compromised in the course of its implementation. This very brief personal sketch will perhaps explain a bit of the development of the journal this volume is marking and the way I tell its history.
As the field of Israel Studies continues to evolve and gain prominence in academic circles, it is crucial to examine its status beyond its traditional places of growth in North America, Europe, and Israel. This roundtable brings together a diverse group of experts to explore the current state of Israel Studies globally. It offers diverse insights into the unique challenges, opportunities, and contributions emerging from their positionalities. This comprehensive discussion of Israel Studies beyond the traditional Western context explores how scholars, institutions, and communities engage with and contribute to the field in regions marked by distinct geopolitical, cultural, and historical conditions.
THE FIELD OF ISRAEL STUDIES HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT ACADEMIC gathering place for scholars, largely but not exclusively in the humanities and social sciences, who share a scholarly passion for and scientific interest in investigating the multiple dimensions of Israel-its culture, history, politics and society to name but a few. Israel Studies, the flagship journal of the field for the past three decades, has accurately reflected this diversity of interests, and the methodological pluralism that necessarily comes with such diversity, by publishing a wide variety of scholarship that engages with Israel. In this regard, Israel Studies, both the field and the journal, is not unlike other area studies that have a focus on the exclusive study of national identities, states or regions of the world, e.g. Italian Studies, Iranian Studies, Middle East Studies, Slavic Studies, and others. All area studies share a common fascination with what is unique and singular about their field of study, and Israel Studies is no exception. However, too much emphasis on what is unique at the expense of emphasizing the comparable features and traits of the single case can create inevitable obstacles not only for the advancement of knowledge and scholarship but, equally important, for the integration of scholars and students of Israel Studies within wider global academic networks. In this essay, I will reflect on the history of the concept of the uniqueness of the Israeli case in comparative social science. I argue that while significant developments have been made over the past thirty years, in no small measure because of publications such as Israel Studies, that normalized the status of Israel as an explicitly comparable and compared case, the contemporary spread of antisemitism, anti-Zionism around the world, the growth of the BDS movement in the academic community, and domestic social and political changes in Israel continue to pose significant challenges ahead. More than ever, the need for the comparative study of Israel today is crucial.
The adoption of modern values has constituted a challenge in traditional societies. This includes the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community in Israel, which has experienced change in a number of domains, particularly in education and employment. This case study examines the situation of women art teachers in Haredi schools who must contend with the conflict between educational materials in the modern world and the ideological framework of ultra-Orthodox society. Using Foucault's concept of a "transparent surveillance" mechanism, by which the subject internalizes the gaze to the point where it becomes invisible yet ever-present, this study explores the dilemmas of these teachers and their professional identity, in ways that are relevant beyond the ultra-Orthodox world. The research is based on a qualitative content analysis of interviews with a group of art teachers in the ultra-Orthodox secondary school system, in which art is a relatively new subject. The findings indicate that these teachers, whether consciously or unconsciously, develop a complex identity in response to their professional challenges and conflicts. Accordingly, they employ a variety of strategies to function as dual agents-of both preservation and change-as they straddle the line between tradition and modernity. The findings challenge Foucauldian perspectives by demonstrating that these intersecting mechanisms of transparent surveillance, rather than merely constraining agency, paradoxically create spaces for strategic negotiation and resistance. In some cases, their agency is enacted without full awareness of its broader implications.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable resurgence of clientelism in developed democracies, challenging the traditional notion that its presence diminishes as democratic institutions mature. This paper examines the case of Israel in order to explore the potential re-emergence of clientelism in liberal democracies amidst growing social fragmentation. Utilizing a comprehensive database of municipal budgeting, socio-economic, and demographic data, along with voting records from the Israeli Central Election Committee, this study analyzes the distribution of government funding to Jewish-majority cities over a period of 2i years. The findings reveal a significant clientelist bias in the allocation of public resources, which correlates with increased political support for certain parties, particularly under rightwing populist governments. This study further uncovers a self-reinforcing cycle wherein clientelist practices perpetuate political power and social divisions, thereby questioning the resilience of democratic institutions against clientelist strategies. The Israeli case offers insights into the dynamics of clientelism within developed democracies and highlights the interplay between social fragmentation and democratic governance.
This article explores the varied representation of Richard III on the Israeli stage, tracing its productions from the first in 1966 through the most recent, which premiered in September 2023. Focusing on the interplay between Shakespeare's depiction of tyranny and Israel's political climate, it examines how local productions have adapted the play's central figure-an archetypal tyrant to reflect shifting attitudes toward leadership, morality, and power. Through an analysis of the six major Israeli stagings-each marked by distinct aesthetic, political, and interpretative choices-as well as their media coverage (including reviews and interviews with actors and directors), the article demonstrates how the character of Richard has absorbed contemporary views on tyranny, democracy, and national identity. The trajectory it maps reveals how Richard's authoritarianism, initially associated with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, comes to be explicitly linked with the Israeli government in the play's most recent production, directed by Itay Tiran at the Gesher Theater amidst the 2023 judicial overhaul protests.
In recent years, the Reform movement in Israel has emerged as a prominent religious denomination, one that promotes pluralistic Judaism based on humanistic values and advocacy for civil rights. To serve its congregants and strengthen its institutional recognition, it develops rituals and texts that embed this worldview. This study focuses on the movement's liturgical response to Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day as part of this effort. Through qualitative analysis, based on participant observation of ritual performance, interviews with community rabbis, and textual analysis of prayers and proposed memorial ceremonies, this study attempts to illuminate-for the first time-the non-Orthodox Jewish response to Rabin's assassination and the challenge of preserving his memory and legacy. We argue that this response reflects the Reform movement's effort to provide a religious-liberal framework for memorialization and commemoration, and to establish a democratic civic discourse based on Jewish values, thereby positioning itself as a socio-political movement integral to public discourse in Israel. In the absence of anthropological research on religious and liturgical responses to Rabin's assassination, the study provides insights into the role of democratic values in Israeli society and their relationship to Jewish tradition.
This article presents the first scholarly analysis of an unpublished curriculum written by Rabbi Menachem Froman (1945-2013) in response to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Preserved in the Froman Archive at the National Library of Israel, the 39-page curriculum-written for use in Israel's national school system-offers a rare example of rabbinic pedagogy engaging political trauma. At a time when most Religious Zionist leaders remained silent or confined their responses to sermons, Froman produced a comprehensive framework that sought to address the event in religious and educational terms. The curriculum constructs a parallel between Isaac the Patriarch and Yitzhak Rabin, emphasizing themes of rootedness, sacrifice, and the capacity to yield. Drawing on Jewish mysticism, Zionist identity, and civic education, Froman envisioned a renewed Religious Zionism grounded in humility and shared national belonging. The case study presented here illustrates how religious narratives can be mobilized to interpret political violence and provide resources to address polarization in Israeli society.
This article explores the evolving dynamics of the Israeli government's narrative and policies toward the Israeli diaspora from the early years of statehood until the early 2000s. Whereas the term "diaspora" has historically referred to Jewish communities outside Israel, the "Israeli diaspora" concept is relatively new, emerging only within the past few decades. This study examines Israeli official political discourse and policies directed toward Israelis living abroad, and how this engagement has redefined the boundaries of Israel's national community beyond its borders. Given the significant changes in the Israeli government's conceptions, perceptions, and attitudes toward the Israeli diaspora over the years, the study employs a comprehensive qualitative longitudinal methodology. A chronological "trajectory" was selected as the primary research tool, enabling the systematic analysis of changes, continuities, and disruptions in governmental narrative and policies concerning emigration. Ultimately, the article presents a novel approach to understanding Israeli state-migrant relations, drawing on K & uuml;bler-Ross's stages of grief model. Although originally developed to describe the stages of grief individuals go through, it has been adapted by some scholars to analyze broader societal behaviors, public sentiments, and policy.
In December 1950, a story was published in the Herut Daily titled "The Levite's Concubine at Kibbutz Yagur." According to the story, a woman who had immigrated to Palestine arrived in Yagur, where she claimed one of her sons was a member. However, when it was found that she was not in fact the mother of a kibbutz member killed in the 1948 War as she had claimed, she was banished from Yagur. When the story of "The Levite's Concubine at Kibbutz Yagur" was published in the Herut Daily, Yagur members filed a civil suit and a criminal complaint. The defendants, represented by Shmuel Tamir, were eventually convicted and fined. Tamir had intended to expand the narrative of the case with an attack on the kibbutzim of the Labor-Zionists, not only for their supposed neglect of new immigrants but also for their abandonment of Irgun members during the two Saisons ("hunting seasons"). However, Tamir was held in check by the court, which sought to balance freedom of the press against the reputation of Kibbutz Yagur. This judicial stance, along with other factors, prevented the case from developing into a successful political trial for Tamir and Herut Daily, unlike the Kastner Affair several years later, from which Tamir emerged as a prominent defense attorney. The case contributes to our understanding of the court's position as an institute that enjoyed high public regard at the time.
This article traces the changes within Israel's right-wing camp in its attitudes toward the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the evolving meanings of that event in Israeli history. It identifies four distinct stages in the right's response to the assassination-beginning with early efforts at collective reflection alongside attempts to portray Yigal Amir as a mere "wild weed" within the religious-Zionist community; continuing with interpretations that drew causal links between the assassination to Rabin's role in the Altalena Affair and and culminating in claims that compare the incitement against Rabin during the Oslo process with the protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since his indictment. These shifting perceptions, the article argues, originate from three major ideological shifts that have shaped Israeli society over the past decades: the spread of neoliberal ideas, the decline of statism (mamlachtiyut), and the rise of populist patterns in Israeli politics. Together, these changes have not only enabled but actively influenced the right-wing camp's evolving interpretations of Rabin's assassination and its ways of commemoration.
The phrase "it shall surely not come about" was repeatedly proclaimed by rabbis from the religious-nationalist camp to express their opposition to the government-sponsored disengagement plan to evacuate the Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza Strip. This phrase, which permeated the discourse among those opposing the plan, sparked controversy both during and after the plan's implementation. While some viewed it as a divine promise or prophecy, others accused the rabbis of making false promises and misleading statements. This eventually resulted in a leadership crisis and a loss of faith among religious youth. To understand this dynamic, the study explores the practical and political-religious context of the phrase, the rabbis' explanations after the fact and their interpretations of the pragmatic gap in understanding between them and their audience. We suggest that the ambiguity of this expression arises from its nature as a "religious speech act" and consider its broader implications for Israeli society, in particular with regard to how religious discourse can shape public perceptions, drive social movements and contribute to tension between various sectors of the population.
ABSTRACT: A proposal to build a major civilian airport in the Jezreel Valley has been one of Israel's longest and most acrimonious environmental controversies. The decision about where to site the country's second international airport has been plagued by special interests and conflicting values. The anticipated environmental and health impacts caused by a civilian airport on life in the Jezreel Valley are described, along with the heated debate between the local residents and environmentalists on the one hand and Israel's powerful military establishment on the other. The conflict highlights profound changes in Israeli society and the ecological challenges it faces as it seeks to preserve the country's historic and scenic landscapes in an increasingly crowded reality. This case study concludes that locating a new airport on an artificial island in the Mediterranean constitutes the optimal solution for resolving Israel's longstanding air traffic conundrum.
ABSTRACT: This article examines the adaptation of Orthodox prayer practices in Israel to the pandemic restrictions, focusing on the resulting "religious occupation" of public spaces and the intensification of the religious-secular conflict. A mixed-methods approach that incorporates media analysis, surveys, and interviews is used to analyze creative solutions that emerged during the pandemic, such as outdoor prayer gatherings, which at the same time exacerbated existing secular-religious tensions. The research explores the diverse responses across different Jewish denominations, highlighting both the innovative capacity of Orthodox practices and the ongoing struggle for control over public space. The study further examines the sonic dimension of these adaptations, exploring the potential for prayer to be perceived as disruptive "noise," and links this perception to historical anti-Semitic tropes. The analysis concludes by considering the long-term impact of these pandemic-era shifts on the relationship between religious observance, public space, and the broader religious-secular dynamics in Israel.
ABSTRACT: This article will assess the extent of future trade relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia after normalization, and attempt to identify key sectors likely to benefit from the diplomatic shift. Using a robust methodology, we aim to project potential trade volumes between the two countries and discuss the challenges inherent to the new economic landscape. The core of this analysis uses 2020 trade figures, a pivotal year marked by the signing of the "Abraham Accords", to project future trends and estimate potential trade figures between KSA and Israel in the coming years. The strength of our research lies not in its precise trade volume calculations but in the highlighted sectors poised for growth and an understanding of factors that influence economic cooperation. Initially focused on Saudi Arabia—the more sought-after party in this context—the article details both the current measures taken to align KSA politically and diplomatically with Israel and previous steps taken to reach a peace agreement. We then discuss relevant regional and geopolitical developments. Moving on to our economic analysis, we highlight factors that could shape or alter the scope of transactions between the two countries. Finally, we introduce our method for evaluating the economic potential between Saudi Arabia and Israel, by comparing it with World Trade Organization data from various countries already trading with Saudi Arabia in similar fields.
