Myths in Israeli Culture Captives of a Dream

Gertz's analysis of a variety of texts written before and after the establishment of the State of Israel--selected from political speeches and posters, election propaganda, journalism, literature, film, and even street signs and graffiti--shows that they're based on identical narratives that appear and reappear in variations according to the specific events of the time. These underlying master narratives, or myths, articulate a shared worldview of Israeli-Jewish society as a struggle between opposing forces: the few against the many. The narratives also serve to provide legitimacy to the social order, foster integration between its members, and lead them to action. Gertz (Open U.; Tel Aviv U.) uses the narratives to shed new light on chapters in the modern history of Israel. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR