The Hebrew Republic: How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace At Last (Hardcover)

by Bernard Avishai (Author) "What geniuses you are!..." (more)
Key Phrases: eretz yisrael, status quo agreement, binational state, Israeli Arabs, West Bank, Tel Aviv (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Addressing the state of Israel's democracy as well as security, Avishai (The Tragedy of Zionism), a contributor to the New York Review of Books, presents a three-fold approach to obtaining long-term peace and security. Most original and no doubt controversial is the idea of establishing a Hebrew republic that would be patently the state of the Jewish people, but would not privilege Jews and Judaism. (Avishai details current discrimination against Arab Israelis.) The other parts are negotiating a peace accord with the Palestinians along the lines of the Geneva Initiative and forming an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian economic union. Avishai distills his approach through conversations with 50 Israeli-Jewish, Israeli-Arab and Palestinian figures, including former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, novelist A.B. Yehoshua and Samir Abdullah, director of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. He also has a fascinating discussion with some young Israeli Jews who wrestle with how Jewish, and how integrated into the Middle East, Israel should be. His plan for economic union will be achievable only with a peace accord, and Avishai has little to say on how to get there. But he covers a great many key topics relating to Israel's internal dynamics as well as its regional and global position, now and in the future. (Apr.)
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Review
An earnest plan to end sectarian and ethnic violence in Israel by rallying warring factions to a common cause.Israel, observes Harvard Business Review consulting editor Avishai, "is a society where institutional discrimination against individuals for an accident of birth or a profession of faith has been so routine it is hardly noticed" - except, of course, by those most discriminated against, the Palestinian and Arab populations. Of late there has been much discussion concerning the rightness of the Law of Return, with some critics advancing the view that it is essentially unfair that a new Jewish immigrant from, say, Brooklyn, automatically trumps a Palestinian whose family has been on the ground for untold generations. Determining who is properly Jewish is not so much the question - though it is a question - as who is Israeli, and until that question is resolved there will be continued troubles, Avishai predicts. There are more divisions to address. Avishai identifies not 12 but five tribes of Israel, each comprising about 20 percent of the electorate: the Ashkenazim Jews of mostly European descent, the North African Mizrahi Jews, the "hypereducated" and "hypersecular" Russian Jews, the "ultranationalist" and "theocratic" Orthodox Jews and, finally, the Israeli Arabs. The first four tribes are afraid of the fifth, Avishai writes, while "Tribe Three hates Four, condescends to Two, and doubts One; Two hates One, resents Three and (for different reasons) Four; One is afraid of Two, patronizes Three, and hates Four; Four hates One, proselytizes Two, and is afraid of Three." Given such conditions - and given that Four disproportionately manages to pull down about 40 percent of the vote - it seems unlikely that concord can ever be reached, but Avishai sees hope in measures whereby the Arab population is brought into full citizenship, Israel's economy grows in the global market and a country is built "where people say they are Israeli," not Jewish.Well-intended, well-reasoned and well-written, though how practical a proposal remains to be seen. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt; 1 edition (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151014523
• ISBN-13: 978-0151014521
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #225,585 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wake up call for the true democrats in Israel, April 25, 2008

By	neodbg (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

It takes courageous authors as Avishai to stimulate a dormant generation of Israelis and Jews in Israel and around the world to confront the delicate issue of Jewish/Israeli national identity. The author, ahead of his time, presents the readers with a vivid and relevant description of the major problem that Israel faces today and more so in the future - the lack of a unifying and modern national identity definition that can support the entire citizen population of Israel, Jewish or not.

Since the state of Israel was born, its citizens were habituated to settle for a lesser democracy in favor of security, religion and "winning" the demographics of the Middle East. It has left the land and its people (Arabs and Jews alike) with an intolerable situation - we have failed to put in place a constitution, we did not separate religion and state and for years "security reasons" served as grounds for racial and ethnic discrimination.

Despite the gloomy state of democracy described above, along with the wars and conflict and a number of economic downfalls - surprisingly, the Israeli peace movement and its ideas prevailed. Today the majority of Israelis believe in the concept of two states and agree to territorial concessions - and we are talking about people who were not too long ago the core of the political right wing! But this did not happen overnight, it took over 40 years of occupation and bloodshed.

The people who started the peace movement were also motivated by ideas that Avishai wrote about in previous works such as the Tragedy of Zionism. It is therefore clear that the major contribution of this book is the beacon it will provide for a new generation of Israelis that can in due time catalyze the much needed change of thought and action that will transform if not completely, then in baby steps the reality of Israeli democracy.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New and Pragmatic Vision for Israel and Palestine, May 14, 2008

By	Mitchell Plitnick "http://www.mitchellplitnic... (Germantown, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bernard Avishai is a thinker and writer I've admired for some time. His rather unfortunately-titled 1985 book, The Tragedy of Zionism, was not, as one might think, a statement of opposition to Zionism. Rather, it harkened back to the roots of Zionism, calling for their ideological re-establishment while offering an insightful analysis of how out-moded Zionist institutions, mixed with the ongoing conflict with the Arabs, were impeding the full establishment of Israeli democracy.

In Avishai's 2002 afterword to the updated edition of his book, he gave hints of where he would go in The Hebrew Republic. Even in the original, Avishai began to crystallize his vision of a centrist, business class in Israel, playing the game of globalization as well as, or better, than anyone. In The Hebrew Republic, Avishai goes to great lengths to demonstrate that the current state of affairs-the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and conflict with Hamas in Gaza, as well as the increasing stratification of Israeli society, most particularly the growing numbers and political power of the Orthodox Jewish community and the increasing marginalization of Israel's Arab minority, mixed in with the influence of more recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union-cannot be sustained while also preserving Israel's role in the global economy.

It is in this globalized class of centrists that Avishai places his hopes, and frankly, it's a good place to place them.

Avishai mentions a few times, but doesn't really dwell on, the natural disconnect of capitalist entrepreneurs and left-wing peace activists. But even though he's not explicit about it, this book is a call for a union between those two forces. In this era, where there is considerable overlap on regional political issues between moderate peace activists and independent entrepreneurs, this is not a pipe dream. But neither would it seem to be on the horizon in the immediate future.

Avishai does an excellent job of diagramming how the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and, most crucially, the increased influence of the settler movement in Israeli politics, impact Israel's present and its future. But perhaps his greatest contribution in this book is his presentation of Palestinian pragmatists and business-people, who have every reason in the world to wish the conflict over and a mutually beneficial relationship between Palestinians and Israelis to emerge. It's a group not without influence among the Palestinians, but one whose voice has been much quieter than it needs to be. Avishai reveals the sector among Palestinians that Salam Fayyad represents, and, one can hope, whose influence will continue to grow.

Indeed, it is this sector that must be supported if Avishai's vision of peace, or some form of it, can possibly emerge. Where I find my most profound difference with Avishai is in his vision, after which he titled the book, of a "Hebrew Republic."

Once again, Avishai tempts those who don't read the book to believe he is blaming Zionism for all of the Middle East's ills. He isn't, but he is, I believe, promoting a vision of a transformation of Israeli society that would take a very long time, much longer than is suitable to stop the killing of innocents in Israel, the Occupied Territories and beyond.

Avishai wishes Israel to become a secular democracy similar to many of the countries of Western Europe. Not unreasonable, as Israeli society has, in recent years, begun to resemble Europe more and more, more so than it has the USA, which had been the trend for quite some time.

But it's hard to ignore the sheer magnitude of destruction and bloodshed that brought Europe to where it is now. Indeed, as Avishai envisions, it was a lessening of nationalistic fervor that brought the EU about. But it was also years in developing, and a distance from intra-European conflict was a key ingredient at every stage. Israel doesn't have that kind of time, particularly since it remains situated in a place where its very existence is, at best, resentfully accepted and at worst the target of attack. That's not an atmosphere where nationalism diminishes, no matter what happens inside Israel. Even in the event of peace with the Palestinians and the establishment of relations with the Arab League nations, it will be a long time before true acceptance of Israel takes full hold, and some time after that before Israelis begin to really trust that acceptance en masse.

But Avishai's fundamental premise is a sound one. His view of Israel is more than a Jewish state. It's a state which was built by Jews, will always be culturally Jewish and always be a homeland and refuge for Jews fleeing persecution. But Avishai's Israel must now come to grips with the new Israeli nation it has created and complete the work of creating a democracy begun so many decades ago.

That's a worthwhile goal to pursue, and its various aspects have the potential to greatly improve Israel's daily existence as well as its prospects for peace and place in the world long before the country reaches the point where fervent nationalism has lost its appeal.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Hebrew as the culmination of Jewish Modernism"?, October 9, 2008

By	Omer Belsky (Haifa, Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I find Bernard Avishai's book frustratingly elusive - while reading, I frequently felt the urge to dismiss the book as hopelessly naïve and the author as an elitist leftist, inhibiting a world unrecognizable to most Israelis. Much of the book is naïve (especially Avishai's fetish about Israel's lack of constitution, his conventional left wing views about the Israeli Arab conflict and of international projects such as the EU, and his eccentric economic claims) but the key idea of the book is that rarity - a fresh perspective, a new insight into Israel and the Arab Israeli conflict. It is a perspective that is worth thinking about, even if one is forced to ultimately reject it.

That main thesis, that key observation is that a large section of the Israeli public, which Avishai calls "the center", sees Israel as pretty much an ordinary advanced modern state. A Republic, like those of Europe, the United States, Canada. Like all Jewish Israelis, "the center" - sophisticated non-religious or moderately observant Jews - is used to describe Israel as a "Jewish and Democratic" state. But, Avishai argues - the "Jewish" element of this formula is for them paper-thin, in most regards but one: The use of the Hebrew language.

The advantage of promoting a Hebrew Republic rather than a "Jewish and Democratic" state is that Hebrew is a language and maybe a culture, not a religion. A "Hebrew" republic, Avishai argues, would be open to non Jews in the way that current Israel is not. Particularly, Arab Israelis could see themselves as full, equal members in the Hebrew Republic, something they cannot do in the current "Jewish" state.

Israel as a Hebrew republic would be attractive to Arabs the way France is to its minorities - a language is an acquirable characteristic, and Arabs can, and do acquire it. And in a state that would not stress its Jewishness, and therefore their foreign-ness, their otherness, they would have a strong incentive to fit in. The interest is economic - Israel is the key to Globalization. Only through Israel - through its high tech, globalized economy - can Israeli Arabs and Palestinians hope to join the world economy.

The "Hebrew Republic" is not only the Arab road to the Global economy, Bernard argues. It is also a necessary condition for Israel's maintaining and intensifying its role in the International market. Israel needs security and stability in order to maintain, and expand, its economic success.

This is the weakest part of the main argument. Israel does need security in order to support its economic well being, but it is far from certain that it needs peace in order to do so. And even if peace was a necessary element for Israel's economy, it is not obvious that the leftist peace project would actually secure peace. Thus far, almost 17 years since the beginning of the "peace phase" of Israeli politics with the ascension of the late Itzhak Rabin to the premier ship in 1992, there has been a lot of Peace talk and very little peace.

More fundamentally, Avishai's thesis is dependent upon an alliance between the Israeli Center and Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Avishai's description of Israel's Jewish society is piercing and effective, if not particularly original. But the Arabs of his book are almost entirely non-existent, represented by a few chosen interviewees, who express views very far from the Arab mainstream (in the case of one of them, Dr. Azmi Bishara, the views expressed do not even represent his own views - Dr. Bishara, an Israeli MP, has been charged with treason and has escaped Israel). The notion that there would be an Arab constituency to participate in a "Hebrew Republic" is farfetched.

See for example, Avishai's discussion of the discrimination of Israeli Arabs. Israeli Arabs are economically disadvantaged and politically marginalized. Much of the gap has long historical roots the goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, if not before. But it is also due to official and semi-official negligence. Government expenditure on Jewish Israelis is much larger than government expenditure on Arab Israelis.

An element that Asiahai downplays, if not ignores completely, is the part Israeli Arab leaders play in the situation. The overwhelming majority of African Americans responded to social injustice with a call of egalitarianism; Only a minority desired separation and black nationalism. Among Israeli Arabs, the response has been almost exactly the opposite. Discrimination is attacked not only in and of itself, but as a manifestation of the evils of the Zionist state. They agitate not for individuals but for collective rights. Their model, acknowledged or not, is Louis Farrakhan, not Martin Luther King.

The struggle in Israel and Palestine is one between two national movements. As long as this conflict rages, attempts to circumvent it by transforming it into a struggle for equality are bound to fail. For an outsider, Avishai's vision may seem inspiring and attractive - but it is a dream unlikely to be embraced by either Jews or Arabs.