Alan Dowty

Michael Brenner

Yaakov Ariel

Gil Troy

Ranen Omer-Sherman

Rachel S. Harris

Maoz Azaryahu

Steven Bayme

David Ellenson

Donna Robinson Divine

David Makovsky

Norman Stillman

Arnon Golan

Yedidia Stern

"An excellent tool in Middle Eastern politics classes [and] an intellectual resource for experts who want to learn more about the complexities of Israel."— Reading Religion Americans debate constantly about Israel, its place in the Middle East, and its relations with the United States. Essential Israel examines a wide variety of complex issues and current concerns in historical and contemporary contexts to provide readers with an intimate sense of the dynamic society and culture that is Israel today, providing a broader and deeper understanding to inform the conversation. The expert contributors to this volume address the Arab-Israeli conflict, the state of diplomatic efforts to bring about peace, Zionism and the impact of the Holocaust, the status of the Jewish state and Israeli democracy, foreign relations, immigration and Israeli identity, as well as literature, film, and the other arts. This unique and innovative volume provides solid grounding to understandings of Israel's history, politics, culture, and possibilities for the future.

Essays for the 21st Century

Essential Israel

In this eloquent and informative book, Alan Dowty traces how different countries throughout history have dealt with movement in and out of their borders, explores why governments resort to restrictive measures, and describes the effects of these policies.

The Contemporary Assault on Freedom of Movement

Closed Borders

Of all the 'hot-spots' in the world today, the apparently endless clash between the Jews and the Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution. This text places the conflict in its broad historical context before presenting an overview that serves as a 'road map' to a long-term resolution.

Israel/Palestine

Israel

Examines the political and social challenges Israel faces due to sharpening internal divisions, the continuing failure to forge a national identity that will include non-Jews, and the collapse of the peace process with the Palestinians.

Critical Issues in Israeli Society

"In this ... [book] ... Dowty demystifies the conflict by pitting it in broad historical perspective, identifying its roots, and tracing its evolution up to the current impasse. [He] offers an analytic framework for understanding transformations over time, and in doing so, punctures the myths of an "age-old" conflict with an unbridgeable gap between the two sides. ..."--Back cover.

Israel / Palestine

What explains the peculiar intensity and evident intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of all the "hot spots" in the world today, the apparently endless clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution. Is this conflict really different from other ethnic and nationalist confrontations, and if so, in what way? In this fully revised and expanded fourth edition of his highly respected introductory text, Alan Dowty demystifies the conflict by putting it in broad historical perspective, identifying its roots, and tracing its evolution up to the current impasse. His account offers a clear analytic framework for understanding transformations over time, and in doing so, punctures the myths of an "age-old" conflict with an unbridgeable gap between the two sides. Rather than simply reciting historical detail, this book presents a clear overview that serves as a road map through the thicket of conflicting claims. Updated to include recent developments, such as the clashes in the Gaza Strip and the latest diplomatic initiatives, the new edition presents in full the opposed perspectives of the two sides, leaving readers to make their own evaluations of the issues. The book thus expresses fairly and objectively the concerns, hopes, fears, and passions of both sides, making it clear why this conflict is waged with such vehemence – and how, for all that, the gap between the two sides has narrowed over time.

Alan Dowty

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