- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: The Free Press (20 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0684869721
- ISBN-13: 978-0684869728
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.5 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,045,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Robert Alter professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, UC Berkeley, and author of "The Art of Biblical Narrative" "The Israelis" is thoroughly absorbing, and also deeply instructive, even for readers who may be familiar with the country. It provides a vivid mosaic of anecdotal portraits that span all the variegated sectors of Israel's population and all the problems with which contemporary Israelis struggle, from terrorism to drugs, prostitution, and the sundry rifts between religious and secular, Jews and Arabs, Europeans and Jews of Middle Eastern origin.
Product Description
Israel. It looks like one country on CNN, a very different one on al-Jazeera. The BBC has its version, "The New York Times" theirs.
But how does Israel look...to Israelis?
Who are these people who order Big Macs in the language of the Ten Commandments? Are they the sabras -- native-born Israelis -- who believe that only sissies wait in line and obey No Parking signs? Are they the dreadlock-wearing Ethiopian immigrants who sing reggae in Hebrew? The inventors who've devised the world's most popular computer chips and the latest cancer treatments? The Christians in Nazareth who publish an Arabic-style "Cosmo?" They live with exploding buses, but their youth are also the world's biggest MTV fans, a generation whose heroes are not generals but former soldiers who have built the world's second Silicon Valley.
In "The Israelis," you'll meet the third wife of a fifty-six-year-old Bedouin who watches "Oprah; " ultra-Orthodox Jews on "Modesty Patrols" making certain that religious women bus passengers are "properly" attired and seated apart from men (in the world's only country that drafts women for the military). You'll see what it's like taking children to the mall -- first to shop at Toys 'R' Us and then to pick up gas masks. And meet the bride whose Ethiopian-born parents dislike the guy she married, not because he's white -- but because he's not Jewish enough.
"The Israelis" tells the stories of the clandestine human airlift that brought more than fourteen thousand Ethiopians out of Africa in thirty-six hours and of the avalanche of former Soviets who are delivering an enormous brain gain but a demographic dilemma as well, since many aren't Jewish and theircommunities feature churches and Christmas trees.
Israel is the Middle East's only country with a growing Christian population, and Arab Christians are the most educated and affluent Israelis. What's the most popular name for an Israeli boy? Muhammad. In "The Israelis," young Israeli Muslims -- who speak better Hebrew and know more about Judaism than most Jews of the Diaspora -- reveal their frustrations and hopes. You'll also meet the "Arab Jews"; half of all Israelis are from Jewish families that left Islamic countries.
From battlefields to bedrooms to boardrooms, discover the colliding worlds in which this astounding mix of 6.7 million devoutly traditional and radically modern live -- a country smaller than New Jersey that captures the lion's share of the world's headlines. Interweaving hundreds of personal stories with historical facts and intriguing new research, "The Israelis" is lively, irreverent, intimate, and always fascinating. It is one of the most original books about Israel in decades.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
An international-news producer friend at CNN told me: "Our viewers are confused. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
An international-news producer friend at CNN told me: "Our viewers are confused. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Focussing on the lives of real people with their hopes and dreams, fears and prejudices, and loves and hates makes a genuine contribution to understanding. Too many people view Israelis as "Zionists" or "Jews" instaed of as people. This is a huge step forward towards balance. And it is beautifully written and consequently, easy to read.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For any one who has never been to Israel, indeed even for those who have, this is a first-rate introduction to probably one of the most vivid and challenging nations in our contemporary world. one too often represented by stereotypical black-hatted religious Jews or grim-faced, young soldiers on their way to or from battle. True, Israel does have these. But she has a whole panoply of people with dreams, fears and hopes - some of them quite ordinary - who live their lives at the sharp end of conflict in a land never out of the news. Donna Rosenthal lets them talk for themselves and the result is an engaging book which will put tomorrow's headlines into an entirely different perspective.
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I understand that Donna has written update to coincide with Israel's 6oth anniversary. As I loved the original 2005 version, I can't wait to see the new book available on Amazon
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2008 paperback: best book about modern Israelis
An entertaining, enlightening, balanced book. Popular with readers of all religions and ages. Rosenthal (www. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2009 by E Greene
Healthy Multiculturalism
This vibrant & colorful work on the diverse society of Israel incorporates interviews with a large number of individuals, insightful observations, facts of history and the... Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2008 by Pieter
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > Middle East > Israel
- Books > History > Cultural History
- Books > History > Other Historical Subjects
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > Middle East
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Political Science & Ideology > Political Science
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Multicultural Studies > Jewish Studies
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology > Family & Social Groups
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
