European University Institute Library

Israel's Holocaust and the politics of nationhood, Idith Zertal ; translated by Chaya Galai

eng

index present

non fiction

Israel's Holocaust and the politics of nationhood

electronic resource

dictionaries

252486437

Idith Zertal ; translated by Chaya Galai

Cambridge Middle East studies, 21Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

The ghost of the Holocaust is ever present in Israel, in the lives and nightmares of the survivors and in the absence of the victims. In this compelling and disturbing analysis, Idith Zertal, a leading member of the new generation of revisionist historians in Israel, considers the ways Israel has used the memory of the Holocaust to define and legitimize its existence and politics. Drawing on a wide range of sources, the author exposes the pivotal role of the Holocaust in Israel's public sphere, in its project of nation building, its politics of power and its perception of the conflict with the Palestinians. She argues that the centrality of the Holocaust has led to a culture of death and victimhood that permeates Israel's society and self-image. For the updated paperback edition of the book, Tony Judt, the world-renowned historian and political commentator, has contributed a foreword in which he writes of Zertal's courage, the originality of her work, and the 'unforgiving honesty with which she looks at the moral condition of her own country'.--, Provided by publisher

The sacrificed and the sanctified -- Memory without rememberers -- From the People's Hall to the Wailing Wall -- Between love of the world and love of Israel -- Yellow territories

Israel's Holocaust & the Politics of Nationhood