Setting aside the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, Kop (director, Center for Social Policy Studies, Israel) and Litan (vice president and director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, US) examine social divisions within the borders of Israel and discuss governmental policy initiatives that may be useful in lessening tensions between different native and immigrant Jews, between secular and religious Jews, between Jews and Arabs, and between Jews of different ethnic backgrounds: Ashkenazim (of European and American origin) and Sephardim (of Asian and African origin). They find one of the great motors of division, although not the only one, to be maldistribution of resources, and suggest ways in which this can be ameliorated in terms of education, infrastructure, and other areas. However, they have surprisingly little to say about land ownership. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Founded in 1948 amid bloodshed and the near devastation of the Jewish people after the Holocaust, modern Israel is something of a miracle. In a little more than fifty years of existence, the country has evolved into a significant economic and military power, both feared and resented by its Arab neighbors in the volatile Middle East. In Sticking Together, an Israeli and an American examine the major challenges confronting Israel within its own borders. These challenges—well known to Israelis but relatively little known elsewhere—have emerged in part out of the country's experience with large-scale immigration. Like the United States, Canada, and Australia, Israel has tried to melt different peoples into a cohesive nation. While its citizens have forged common bonds under circumstances of adversity— particularly constant threats from Palestinians and from neighboring Arab countries— the fabric of Israeli society is torn by four major schisms: between immigrants and native Israeli; between Jews and Arabs; between secular and religious Jews; and between Jews of different cultural and national backgrounds (such as Ashkenzim and Sephardim). Gradually, and often with great difficulty, Israelis have learned to accommodate and respect the deep differences among its population. To borrow a culinary analogy, Israeli society, much like American society, has become more "salad bowl" than "melting pot." Sticking Together examines the many challenges confronting Israel's experience with pluralism, and in the process, draws lessons that might prove useful to other societies that struggle to accommodate the needs of highly diverse populations.
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