Mass communication has long been recognized as an important contributor to national identity and nation building. This book examines the relationship between media and nationalism in Israel, arguing that, in comparison to other countries, the Israeli case is unique. It explores the roots and evolution of newspapers, journalism, radio, television, and the debut of the Internet on both the cultural and the institutional levels, and examines milestones in the socio-political development of Hebrew and Israeli mass communication. In evaluating the technological changes in the media, the book shows how such shifts contribute to segmentation and fragmentation in the age of globalization.

In order to understand contemporary Jewish identity in the twenty-first century, one needs to look beyond the Synagogue, the holy days and Jewish customs and law to explore such modern phenomena as mass media and their impact upon Jewish existence. This book delves into the complex relationship between Judaism and the mass media to provide a comprehensive examination of modern Jewish identity in the information age. Covering Israel as well as the Diaspora populations of the US and UK, the author looks at journalism, broadcasting, advertising and the internet to give a wide-ranging analysis of how the Jewish religion and Jewish people have been influenced by the media age. He tackles questions such as: What is the impact of Judaism on mass media? How is the religion covered in the secular Israeli media? Does the coverage strengthen religious identity? What impact does the media have upon secular-religious tensions? Chapters explore how the impact of Judaism is to be found particularly in the religious media in Israel – haredi and modern Orthodox – and looks at the evolution of new patterns of religious advertising, the growth and impact of the internet on Jewish identity, and the very legitimacy of certain media in the eyes of religious leaders. Also examined are such themes as the marketing of rabbis, the `Holyland’ dimension in foreign media reporting from Israel, and the media’s role in the Jewish Diaspora. An important addition to the existing literature on the nature of Jewish identity in the modern world, this book will be of great interest to scholars of media studies, media and religion, sociology, Jewish studies, religion and politics, as well as to the broader Jewish and Israeli communities.

This volume presents a broad range of the various approaches and questions that preoccupy Israel's sociologists of language and communication. It covers the relation of language and communication to daily life, to social and cultural pluralism, and to politics and elections.

Behind Media Marginality examines the considerations and decisions that have resulted in the distorted and negative media coverage of minority groups in the Israeli media. Author Eli Avraham looks closely at media portrayals of those living in the geographic margins of Israeli kibbutzim, Jewish settlements in the West Bank, development cities, and the Israeli-Arab community from the 1960s through the 1990s. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of newspaper articles; interviews with reporters, editors, and government spokespeople; and statistical and demographic data, Avraham isolates and explores five factors that influence the way the media covers these social groups: the group's characteristics and location, their proximity to foci of power, their social-political environment, the media's policy toward covering the group, and the group's public relations strategies in response to coverage. An analysis both of media operations and of Israeli society, this book provides important insights into the role of the media in the formation of national identity.

This book applies the concept of mediatization to the contemporary dynamic between war, media and society, with a focus on the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Since the beginning of the 21st century the IDF has undergone an intensive process of mediatization that has transformed the media into an interpretative grid for many of its military activities and increasingly utilized media to garner public support and construct civilian perceptions of conflict and security through media activity and strategy. This process can be divided into four distinct chronological phases in accordance with the operational challenges confronted by the IDF during this period, from the Al-Aqsa Intifada of 2000, through Israeli unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005, and the second Lebanon war of 2006, to the series of Gaza confrontations of 2008-2014. The work shows how the IDF’s media policy evolved from a narrow perception of its role, and separation between operational and media actions to a cohesive and coherently articulated media strategy that is increasingly intertwined with military action and operational strategy and a vital component of strategic military aims and objectives. This strategic stance has led the IDF to adopt a global media perspective using the most advanced new media platforms, designed to influence public opinion and improve national narratives, both in Israel and the international community. By applying the concept of mediatization to the Israeli case, this book fills a research lacuna and offers a new prism for the study of media-military relations in contemporary conflicts. The book will be of much interest to students of civil-military relations, strategic studies, Middle Eastern Studies, media and communication studies, sociology and IR, in general.

This book explores Israel’s relations with its friends and foes, in the present and the past, by looking into news media outlets and their effect. There are several international political players involved in Israel’s tough neighborhood of the Middle East, and some of them are portrayed in this book through the dimension of media coverage. Along with this, the volume highlights some of Israel’s leading challenges in the sphere of international relations and public diplomacy. Hence, it integrates research in various topics—international relations, politics, media and Israel studies. With Israel at its center, the book brings together insights drawn from a wide range of scholarly inquiries into current global issues. Thus, a large scope and a uniquely wide perspective is established, enabling researchers to rely on this work. The book is bound to be of interest to specialists and to both advanced and undergraduate students in the field of Israel studies, Middle Eastern studies, scholars of international relations, and researchers of specific countries. However, though academic in nature, this book is also suitable for readers of popular social science who are interested in media and communication, Israel, or in the fascinating sociological forces that influence the regional geopolitics of the Middle East.

There is growing interest in Israel's political system from all parts of the world. This Handbook provides a unique comprehensive presentation of political life in Israel from the formative pre-state period to the present. The themes covered include: political heritage and the unresolved issues that have been left to fester; the institutional framework (the Knesset, government, judiciary, presidency, the state comptroller and commissions of inquiry); citizens' political participation (elections, political parties, civil society and the media); the four issues that have bedevilled Israeli democracy since its establishment (security, state and religion, the status of Israel's Arab citizens and economic inequities with concomitant social gaps); and the contours of the political culture and its impact on Israel's democracy. The authors skilfully integrate detailed basic data with an analysis of structures and processes, making the Handbook accessible to both experts and those with a general interest in Israel.