The Divided People: Can Israel's Breakup Be Stopped? [Hardcover]

Eva Etzioni-Halevy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0739103245 | ISBN-13: 978-0739103241 | Publication Date: February 2002

The Divided People describes a fracturing Israel, a deeply divided state whose political system is buckling and whose society is rapidly polarizing into religious and secular camps. Written by a social scientist and drawing upon social science research, the work documents the emergence of separate social networks, residential areas, symbols, and identities—and even a split in the Hebrew language itself. Yet rather than argue for a return to the commonality of the past, Eva Etzioni-Halevy champions Israel's painful transition toward a truly multicultural society prepared to embrace diversity and democracy. This provocative new book carries a supremely important message for a postmodern Israel taking its first painful steps toward pluralism, liberalism, and tolerance, and a wider lesson for western nations grappling with the problems of a devolutionary age.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Eva Etzioni-Halevy gives a penetrating account of how the no-holds-barred power competition between religious and secular leaders is endangering Israel's democracy. A sweeping but deeply troubling analysis of Israel today and of the funeral pyre its political elites seem intent on building. (Higley, John )

Even after concluding that Israeli Jews are increasingly divided on religious grounds, Eva Etzioni-Halevy redirects our attention to the erosion of the common ground that used to (ought to/can still) unite them as a nation and as a democracy. (Katz, Elihu )

The Divided People [is] a fascinating dtudy of the variety of differences in worldview and experiences between secular and religious Jews in Israel. (H-Net Reviews )

While all commentators on Israeli reality focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Eva Etzioni-Halevy points out the crucial significance of the ongoing religious-secular confrontation—which, to no lesser extent, questions the viability of this society. In this masterpiece of sociopolitical analysis, Etzioni-Halevy shows how the essential character of this only sovereign Jewish society is at stake in a battle where divergent camps oppose each other with obstination, willfully ignoring each other's legacy as well as the cultural foundation that holds them together. (Eliezer Ben-Rafael )

About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is Professor of Political Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University. Her books include Classes and Elites in Democracy and Democratization (1997) and The Elite Connection (1993).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Lexington Books (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739103245
• ISBN-13: 978-0739103241
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,576,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eva Etzioni-Halevy is professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. She has published fourteen academic books and numerous articles, before turning to the writing of Biblical novels.A child Holocaust survivor, Eva was born in Vienna, Austria, and was fortunate to escape as a small child with her parents in 1939. She spent World War II in Italy, partly in an Italian concentration camp and partly in hiding. Having survived the Holocaust in this manner she moved to what was then Palestine in 1945. She lived most of her life in Israel, but spent lengthy stretches of time in the United States and Australia before returning to Israel in 1989, to seek her roots there. As part of searching for her roots, she returned to the religious orientation she had previously abandoned. It is this root seeking that also led her to the discovery of the rich world of the Bible, and to the intention of bringing it to life for contemporary readers through the writing of Biblical novels.Her Biblical novels so far are THE SONG OF HANNAH (Plume/Penguin, 2005), and (forthcoming) THE GARDEN OF RUTH (Plume/Penguin, January 2007).Eva lives in Tel Aviv with her husband; she has three grown children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, insightful book. Must read., May 2, 2002

By 

Oren Etzioni (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divided People: Can Israel's Breakup Be Stopped? (Hardcover)

Well, I think this is a terrific book if you're interested
in the topic. It's full of insight, beautifully written,
and offers a novel perspective.

Also, it was written by Mother.

Hi Mom!

4.0 out of 5 stars Pertinent and informative, casts a cloud over the future..., May 23, 2003

By 

Edward Weiss - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divided People: Can Israel's Breakup Be Stopped? (Hardcover)

As someone who's witnessed the day-to-day lives of Israelis firsthand and observed the ongoing rift between the secular and religious camps, I was extremely interested in hearing what the author had to say about the situation. This book confirmed my own observations and fears: that the split between the religious and the secular in Israel is becoming a problem that may eventually outweigh the Palestinian crisis in terms of practical consequences. Is there any hope for reconciliation? Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that way.

Minus one star for atrocious punctuation.