Rubber Bullets: Power and Conscience in Modern Israel

A combination of probing analysis and memoir describes Israel's transformation from a society held together by national liberation to a liberal democracy that must make room for individual Israelis, providing an insightful look at the politics, family, and community of a misunderstood nation.

Ezrahi, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, writes a "personal reflection on the clash between nationalistic and liberal-democratic conceptions of power in Israel, on the attempts to reconcile the logic of military force in the pursuit of national liberation with the integrity of the original commitment to democracy." He focuses on the role of power in what he calls the formation of male and female identities, the relations between sons and fathers, and the relative places of public and private lives in modern Israel. He believes that the coming years will continue to be formative, dangerous years of upheaval and that deepening divisions between nationalists and liberals and the grave domestic conflict over the relations between religion and politics are likely to be the source of further instability. Written by one of Israel's most erudite social commentators, this scholarly book is bound to be controversial. George Cohen

Ezrahi, an Israeli-born and -reared political, science professor at the Hebrew University and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, examines the outlook for Israeli democracy, particularly as it conflicts with traditional Zionist ideology. With deep roots in a broadly based political philosophical tradition and bringing to bear modern liberal democratic thought, the author questions the direction the current Israeli government policy has taken. He notes that Israel developed a collectivist culture early in its history but is now faced with the demand for greater individualism, creating a domestic conflict of conscience in the country. How to maintain security while simultaneously respecting reasonable Palestinian demands in a democratic setting is a challenge to which Ezrahi has committed his efforts. This book requires a great deal of concentration and pondering but is well worth the effort. Recommended for a wide audience.?Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.
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