Book Description

"Deals authoritatively with some of the most critical issues facing Israel in the last half-century. The authors write with objectivity, presenting original insights in a diverse range of subjects."--Don Peretz, emeritus professor of political science, State University of New York at Binghamton This comprehensive review of the first 50 years of Israel's existence surveys the major events of its history as well as the underlying trends in Israeli politics, economics, and foreign policy that will direct the country's evolution into the new century. Combining a rich variety of viewpoints among Israeli, Arab, and American scholars, representatives of the political left and right, and, among the Jewish scholars, representatives of both secular and religious perspectives, this is the single-volume source for anyone seeking to understand Israel as it enters the 21st century. Contents 1. Moscow and Israel: The Ups and Downs of a Fifty-Year Relationship, by Robert O. Freedman 2. U.S.-Israel Relations since 1948, by Robert J. Lieber 3. Israel and the American Jewish Community: Changing Realities Test Traditional Ties, by George E. Gruen 4. Israel and the Arab States: The Long Road to Normalization, by Malik Mufti 5. Israeli Thinking about the Palestinians: A Historical Survey, by Mark Tessler 6. Labor during Fifty Years of Israeli Politics, by Myron J. Aronoff 7. The Right in Israeli Politics: The Nationalist Ethos in the Jewish Democracy, by Ilan Peleg 8. Religio-Politics and Social Unity in Israel: Israel's Religious Parties, by Chaim J. Waxman 9. The Arab Parties, by Elie Rekhess 10. From Agricultural Pioneers to the "Silicon Valley" of the Middle East: The Changing Political Economy of Israel, by Ofira Seliktar 11. The Press and Civil Society in Israel, by Michael Keren 12. Epilogue: The Israeli Elections of 1999, by Mark Rosenblum Robert O. Freedman is president and Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone professor of political science at Baltimore Hebrew University. Among his previous books are The Intifada: Its Impact on Israel, the Arab World, and the Superpowers (UPF, 1991), The Middle East and the Peace Process: The Impact of the Oslo Accords (UPF, 1998), Israel Under Rabin, and Israel in the Begin Era.