Israel
Politics, Myths and Identity Crises
An illuminating and unique anti-Zionist's perspective on Israel
'Orr's great clarity in forming and forwarding his ideas and ideological critique of nationalism, statehood, socialism and Zionism over four decades makes this book an important and timely contribution to the discussion of fundamental values for the 1990s and their relevance to the Middle East' Meir Vanunu
'By virtue of the articles that appear in hth book , it should be said that [Orr] was a pioneer in the cultural renaissance that is shaping the Israeli intellectual landscape, and the herald ... of a moral-political renaissance' News Within
'An illuminating and unique anti-Zionist perspective. Certainly not a beginners' book on Israel but a refreshingly honest attempt at creating debate on this tragic conflict' Socialist Review
'Orr's writings are highly thought-provoking, and are worth reading for anyone interested in the way politics and ethnicity meet in ethnic conflicts' Outlook (Canada)
His topics are also the stuff of which crises are made. Questions of identity go to the hear of ideological debates in and around Israel. Orr's book uses a wide range of anecdotal, historical. literary and social psychological sources, and provides a strong point of view. Middle East Journal (Autumn '95) 49, No 4
Akiva Orr was born in Berlin in 1931. From 1934-1964 he lived in Israel. In 1948, he served in the Israeli army and after the war read mathematics and physics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He lived in London after 1964, visiting Israel frequently.
General Introduction
Part One - Identity
1. Motives for writing a Book on Jewish Identity
2. Fragmentation of Jewish Identity
3. Generation and Culture in Israel
4. Israeliness
5. Twenty Six Years Later
Part Two - Myths
1. How Palestinians Became Refugees in 1948
2. From 1948 to the Intifada: Two Versions
3. The Kastner Case
Part Three - Ethnicity
1. Whose Right to Self Determination
2. Socialism and the Nation State
3. State and Ethnicity in Palestine
4. Who's Afraid of Satan
135mm x 215mm