Israeli Identity: in Search of a Successor to the Pioneer, Tsabar and Settler.(Book Review)

Middle East Quarterly, June, 2004 by Rosen, Judith Friedman

Israeli Identity: In Search of a Successor to the Pioneer, Tsabar and Settler. By Lilly Weissbrod. London: Frank Cass, 2002. 256 pp. $54.50.

As the provocative subtitle of this complex, interesting study suggests, the identity of the Israeli Jew has continuously been in transition through the past fifty-odd years. Weissbrod analyzes three major historical and political affinities to help resolve the current Israeli identity crisis. (The title is a bit of a misnomer, as the book does not discuss identity issues concerning Israel's 1.5 million non-Jewish citizens.)

Weissbrod's ...