Local Communities and the Israeli Polity

Cover

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Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

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CONTENTS

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pp. vii-viii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

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pp. ix-xii

PREFACE

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pp. xiii-xiv

The chapters in this book shed light on a new trend which is likely to change social relations and the distribution of power in Israel in the years to come. Since the early 1970s, local communities and regions began to demand their share of power from the central government and gained importance in the politics of the country. Their struggle ...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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pp. xv-xvi

I am especially grateful to two colleagues. Each of them, throughout the years, encouraged and advised me on the preliminary idea, content, and feasibility of this project. The following is only the highlight of their contribution. Giora Goldberg from Bar-Han University collaborated with me on the preliminary conceptualization of the tense relations ...

Introduction: 1. National and Spatial Divisions In Israel

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pp. 1-38

At the end of the British rule and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, power was transferred from these institutions to the formal government and was consolidated there. A highly centralized unitary political system quickly emerged. The system emphasized the strengthening of the state authority and statism for itself as prominent national values (Weiss 1979). Shortly after independence, the Israeli system was already recognized ...

PART I. The Arab-Jewish Cleavage

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pp. 39-40

2. Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: Contested Domains

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pp. 41-66

The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is more than a dispute over territory and the right for self-determination. ¹ The Palestinians of the two regions are also ambivalent toward the modern Western values of the Jewish society. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism increases their militancy. Moreover, Palestinians and Israelis are locked in controversy over interests of ...

3. The Changing Strategies of Mobilization among the Arabs in Israel: Parliamentary Politics, Local Politics, and National Organizations

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pp. 67-88

After the 1948 war, only 156,000 Arabs remained in Israel. They constituted 13 percent of the total population. The Arabs were a weak and isolated group, cut off from their kin who became refugees in the Arab countries of the Middle East. The vast majority, 80 percent, were villagers. The bulk of the urban Arab middle- and ...

PART II. The Ethnic-Class Cleavage

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pp. 89-90

4. Oriental Jews in the Development Towns: Ethnicity, Economic Development, Budgets, and Politics

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pp. 91-122

Following its establishment in 1948, the state of Israel launched a national policy of building new towns. They were called "development towns." Numerous studies were conducted to evaluate the towns. Most of the studies approached the development towns from a national-level perspective. In urban and regional planning, for example ...

5. The Integration of Renewal Neighborhoods into the Mainstream of Israeli Society: Illusion or Reality?

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pp. 123-154

Since 1977 ninety neighborhoods in Israel became part of a nationwide rehabilitation project-Project Renewal. The project was declared by the government "a major national priority." The aim of the project was to rehabilitate distressed sections of towns and cities or whole settlements, and to help residents improve their quality of life. ...

PART III. The Religious-Secular Cleavage

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pp. 155-156

6. The Emergence of Ultra-Orthodox Neighborhoods in Israeli Urban Centers

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pp. 157-188

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community (referred to as Haredi; the individual within it is a Haredi, pI. Haredim) is a society whose religious conception rests on fundamentalist bases. Together with other cultural and religious traits, this community displays a complex attitude towards the modern world. The fundamentalist elements espouse ...

7. Gush Emunim New Settlements in the West Bank: From Social Movement to Regional Interest Group

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pp. 189-208

Since its inception in 1974, Gush Emunim ("Bloc of the Faithful") has been a fascinating sociopolitical phenomenon. No political group of such small size has ever attracted so much attention in Israel's academia or public debate. Several factors have contributed to the Gush's attractiveness from the perspective of social science, the mass media, and the general public. First, the Gush has demonstrated ...

PART IV. The Left-Right Cleavage

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pp. 209-210

8. Kibbutzim and Moshavim: From Ideological Symbol to Interest Group

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pp. 211-240

The kibbutz and the moshav constitute an integral element of Labor Zionism, the dominant ideological-political movement within organized Zionism and within the state during the period 1933-77.¹ The kibbutzim and moshavim contributed directly to the advance of the overall Zionist endeavor, and to the achievement of Labor Zionist ...

PART V. Cleavages in the City

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pp. 241-242

9. Jerusalem: Central Authority and Local Autonomy

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pp. 243-266

There is Jerusalem above and Jerusalem below. Jerusalem above refers to the Holy City. Religious Jews expect that the Messiah will come, perhaps today, and return the city to its biblical glory. When secular Jerusalemites use the same expression, they mean an ideal city that is far better than others both architecturally and socially. Jerusalem below ...

GLOSSARY

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pp. 267-274

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

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pp. 275-276

INDEX

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pp. 277-285