This book traces the origin and development of the communist movement in Palestine and Israel, examining in detail the problems affecting It In the years preceding Israeli statehood In 1948. focusing on these problems within the context of events in the Ylshuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) and the International communist movement, Dr. Rubenstein analyzes unpopular positions advocated by the Communist party, Its efforts to remain loyal to Moscow's dictates, and the succession of rifts within the movement. Concludes with an overview of the communist movement In Israel today, Dr. Rubenstein explains the virtual extinction of party influence on the current lsraeli political scene.

This book traces the origin and development of the communist movement in Palestine and Israel, examining in detail the problems affecting It In the years preceding Israeli statehood In 1948. focusing on these problems within the context of events in the Ylshuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) and the International communist movement, Dr. Rubenstein analyzes unpopular positions advocated by the Communist party, Its efforts to remain loyal to Moscow's dictates, and the succession of rifts within the movement. Concludes with an overview of the communist movement In Israel today, Dr. Rubenstein explains the virtual extinction of party influence on the current lsraeli political scene.

"Illuminating. . . . The entire field of modern Middle Eastern Studies still has remarkably little closely researched social history of this sort. Beinin's study adds to the work recently published by revisionist Israeli historians, debunking the dominant view of the origin and early history of the Palestine conflict and extending the revision into the 1950s and early 1960s. His explanation of the different political paths that were taken, turned back from, and lost sight of is an important—indeed vital—contribution to contemporary scholarly and political understanding."—Timothy Mitchell, New York University

Holidays of the Revolution explores a little-known chapter in the history of Mandatory Palestine and the State of Israel: the Israeli Communist Party and its youth movement, which posed a radical challenge to Zionism. Amir Locker-Biletzki examines the development of this movement from 1919 to 1965, concentrating on how Communists built a distinctive identity through myth and ritual. He addresses three key themes: identity construction through Jewish holidays (Hanukkah and Passover), through civic holidays (Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israeli Independence Day), and through Soviet and working-class myths and ceremonies (May Day and the October Revolution). He also shows how Jewish Communists viewed, interacted, and celebrated with their Palestinian comrades. Using extensive archival and newspaper sources, Locker-Biletzki argues that Jewish-Israeli Communists created a unique, dissident subculture. Simultaneously negating and absorbing the culture of Socialist-Zionism and Israeli Republicanism—as well as Soviet and left-wing–European traditions—Jewish Communists forged an Israeli identity beyond the bounds of Zionism.

This collection of essays covers a hundred-year history of Russian-language literature in Israel, including the pre-state period. Some of the studies are devoted to an overview of the literary process and the activities of its participants, others—to individual genres and movements. As a result, a complex and multifaceted picture emerges of a not quite fully defined, but very lively and dynamic community that develops in the most difficult conditions. The contributors trace the paths of Russian-Israeli prose, poetry and drama, various waves of avant-garde, fantasy, and critical thought. Today, in Russian-Israeli literature, the voices of writers of various generations and waves of repatriation are intertwined: from the "seventies" to the "war aliyah" of the recent times. Both the Russian-Israeli authors and their critics often hold different opinions of their respective roles in Israel’s historical and literary storms. While disagreeing on the definition of their place on the map of modern culture, Russian-Israeli writers are united by a shared bond with the fate of the Jewish state.

This exhaustive work offers readers at multiple levels key insights into the military, political, social, cultural, and religious origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History is the first comprehensive general reference encompassing all aspects of the contentious Arab-Israeli relationship from biblical times to the present, with an emphasis on the era beginning with World War I. The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict goes beyond simply recapping military engagements. In four volumes, with more than 750 alphabetically organized entries, plus a separate documents volume, it provides a wide-ranging introduction to the distinct yet inextricably linked Arab and Israeli worlds and worldviews, exploring all aspects of the conflict. The objective analysis will help readers understand the dramatic events that have impacted the entire world, from the founding of modern Israel to the building of the Suez Canal; from the Six-Day War to the Camp David Accords; from the assassinations of Anwar Sadat and Yitzhak Rabin to the rise and fall of Yasser Arafat, the 2006 Palestinian elections, and the Israeli-Hezbollah War in Lebanon.

This book traces the origin and development of the communist movement in Palestine and Israel, examining in detail the problems affecting it the years preceding Israeli statehood In 1948. Focusing on these problems within the context of events in the Ylshuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) and the International communist movement, Dr. Rubenstein analyzes unpopular positions advocated by the Communist party, its efforts to remain loyal to Moscow's dictates, and the succession of rifts within the movement. Concludes with an overview of the communist movement in Israel today, Dr. Rubenstein explains the virtual extinction of party influence on the current Israeli political scene.