Authors: Jonatha Adelman
ISBN-13: 9780415775106, ISBN-10: 0415775108
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Routledge
Date Published: July 2008
Edition: New Edition
The state of Israel is one of the most controversial countries in the world. Yet, its unique creation and rise to power in 1948 has not been adequately explained either by its friends (mainstream Zionists) nor by its detractors (Arabists and post-Zionists).
Using a variety of comparative methodologies; from contrasting the Jewish state to other minorities in the Ottoman Turkish Empire to the rise of the four Tigers in Asia to newly independent countries and revolutionary socialist countries in Europe and Asia, Jonathan Adelman examines how Israel has gained the strength to overcome great obstacles and become a serious regional power in the Middle East by 2007.
Themes addressed include:
Jonathan Adelman provides a fresh perspective to view one of the most controversial states in the world and avoids the highly charged ideological descriptions that often plague such discussions. Understanding the rise of Israel, a central state in the region, helps to explain a great deal about the Middle East today.
List of tables
Pt. I The rise of Israel 1
1 Introduction 3
2 Controversy over Israel 15
3 The rise of Israel in comparative perspective 27
Pt. II Obstacles to the rise of Israel 43
4 Jewish issues 45
5 Hostility of the major powers 57
6 Enmity of the Arab world and Iran 73
7 Major international and religious organizations 91
8 Western unwillingness to help Israel in crises 102
9 Israeli issues 110
Pt. III Revolutions and the rise of Israel 119
10 Historical roots of the revolutions 121
11 Two modern Zionist revolutions 131
12 Revolutionary military-security factors 144
13 Revolutionary factors: aliyah, education, government and party 166
14 International factors 179
15 Conclusions 198
Notes 207
Bibliography 243
Index 257