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Post-Zionism and Israel

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The Palgrave International Handbook of Israel

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the intellectual movement of Post-Zionism by introducing key authors, their shared political commitments, and their historical legacy. By introducing intellectual forerunners (ranging from Ben-Gurion to the “Young Hebrews” or Canaanites) and by emphasizing the geopolitical shifts of the end of the Cold War, the chapter contextualizes Post-Zionism within the “end of history” zeitgeist of the 1990s, which called for the wide-spread application of liberal and universalist norms. While Post-Zionism left a significant mark on Israeli intellectual history, the chapter points out that Post-Zionism never spread significantly beyond the intellectual circles of the country’s “persistent elite.” By contrast, the accusation of Post-Zionism turned out to be a powerful tool of political mobilization for the country’s Neo-Zionist right, particularly in the context of populist “history wars” over the meaning of the Zionist project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heidelberg Center for Jewish Studies, Heidelberg, Germany

    Johannes Becke

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  1. Johannes Becke
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Correspondence to Johannes Becke .

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  1. School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    P. R. Kumaraswamy

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Becke, J. (2021). Post-Zionism and Israel. In: Kumaraswamy, P.R. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Israel. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2717-0_22-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2717-0_22-1

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