Ethos Clash in Israeli Society

In Ethos Clash in Israeli Society, Eyal Lewin examines Israel’s ability to cope with long-term warfare. Lewin looks to Israel’s opposing national ethos, the ideological rivalry between republicanism and liberalism, as the key to understanding the instability of Israeli politics and estimating the country's chances of survival.

The question of whether Israel is capable of coping with long-term warfare has long haunted scholars of Israel studies. This book tackles the question through a thorough analysis of the Israeli national ethos. The national ethos of a people is the integrating element that defines a nation''s identity and bonds it into a coherent social group. However, in the Israeli case, two competing forms of national ethos threaten to tear society apart and weaken it: a republican ethos that cherishes the national group and a liberal ethos that puts the individual above all. In creating an account of Israel''s ability to fight possible future wars, this book carefully examines these two competing forms of national ethos that create an ideological dichotomy in Israel. Each ethos has its reasoning, its inherent logic, its historic origins, and theories of social science that can explain the background for its development. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of each ethos that takes account of the environment, setting, and circumstances through which it ought to be understood. The deep inquiry into the dynamics of Israel''s national ethos enables a new comprehension of the wobbliness of Israeli politics, and leads to certain conclusions about the fatal question that this book set out to find—whether Israel will eventually survive its international struggles or perish.