Brother Against Brother: Violence and Extremism in Israeli Politics from Altalena to the Rabin AssassinationIn this groundbreaking and controversial study of the rising tide of militancy in Israel, Ehud Sprinzak lays bare the historical roots of violence in Israeli domestic politics, examining the effects such militancy has had on the nation's civic culture. He traces the origins of the extremist thread to the era of the founding of the Jewish state, and shows how it has grown increasingly malignant in the past decade, culminating in the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER takes the reader through the critical turning points in Israeli political history and introduces us to the leaders whose careers were baptized by blood. Through his exploration of the disputes between David Ben-Gurion's Labour Movement and Menachem Begin's Irgun movement, Sprinzak argues that their legacy of conflict provided the inspiration for such agitators as Meir Kahane and the Orthodox radicals behind the Hebron massacre of 1994 and Rabin's assassination. Despite Sprinzak's disturbing accounts of violence, he remains optimistic that when peace between Israeli's and Arabs is reached and the great debate about borders of the nation is finally laid to rest, Israeli political violence will decline dramatically. BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER provides an incisive and extensively researched historical perspective on Israeli politics and opens a new chapter in our understanding of one of the world's most fascinating nations. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Crisis at Year One | 17 |
The Eruption of Past Hatreds | 51 |
The Case of Haredi Violence | 87 |
Rebellion in the Periphery | 115 |
Gush Emunim | 145 |
The Crisis of the Israeli Radical Right | 217 |
Countdown | 244 |
Jews Who Kill? Some Afterthoughts | 286 |
Appendix | 307 |
Notes | 325 |
Bibliography | 345 |
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Common terms and phrases
activists Altalena Amir Arab army assassination attack Aviv Baruch Goldstein Ben-Gurion Bernadotte Black Panthers camp campaign commander confrontation David delegitimation demonstrations Eretz Israel Etzion evacuation extraparliamentary extreme right extremist Gentiles Goldstein Gush Emunim Ha'aretz Halakhic haredi Harel Hebrew Hebron massacre Ibid ideological involved Irgun Israeli society Jerusalem Jewish Jews Judea and Samaria Kach Kahane's Kastner killing Kiryat Kiryat Arba Knesset Labor large number leaders Lehi lence Likud Matzpen Meir Kahane Menachem Begin Meshi-Zahav messianic military movement murder nation Nazis Nekuda never operations organization Oslo Accords Palestine Palestinian Palmach peace police political violence prime minister protest Rabbi Rabin radical right redemption religious riots rodef secular Sephardi settlement settlers Shin Beth Siah social soldiers Sprinzak struggle Tel Aviv Tel Rumeida Temple Mount territories terrorism terrorist tion ultra-Orthodox underground vigilante Wadi Salib West Bank Yediot Aharonot Yehuda Yesha yeshiva yeshiva students Yigal Yitzhak young Zionist