The Pen and the Sword: Israeli Intellectuals and the Making of the Nation-State

Keren, Michael

ISBN 10: 0813306337 / ISBN 13: 9780813306339

Published by Routledge, Boulder, CO, 1989

About this Item

Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 120 p. Audience: General/trade. Fine in very good dust jacket. whisper of shelfwear to the jacket, first printing, no ownership marks.

Seller Inventory # Alibris.0027862

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Pen and the Sword: Israeli Intellectuals and the Making of the Nation-State
• Publisher: Routledge, Boulder, CO
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813306337
• ISBN 13: 9780813306339
• Binding: Hard cover
• Edition: First edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

Book by Keren, Michael

Reviews

Jewish intellectuals helped define the political, spiritual and cultural parameters of Zionism. Yet Israel's intelligentsia became articulate critics of the new state, challenging the application of messianic ideals to politics. This transformation is the theme of a thoughtful, lucid study by Keren, political scientist at Tel Aviv University. He shows how Israeli writers took up modernist trends from surrealist to absurdist; how a new generation of teachers challenged bureaucratic control of education. For Keren, the Six Day War of 1967 was a turning point, after which Israeli thinkers increasingly accepted nationalist assumptions uncritically and helped reinforce the status quo. Still, he argues, some intellectuals have resumed an actively critical role, spurred by the Begin government's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, a move they condemned as unethical and megalomaniacal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.