Abraham's Children

Israel is a crumbling mosaic, not a melting pot, to judge from these interviews with 26 young Israeli Jews (the oldest are in their 40s), conducted by Viennese journalist Sichrovsky ( Born Guilty ). ``They call us black,'' says Yakov, a Jew of Libyan descent who hates being in the army reserve and ``having to go against Arabs.'' Robert, of Polish descent, lost his left arm on patrol in the occupied territories; he supports a hard-line position and says that if a Palestinian state is ever created it will be in Jordan, ``not here.'' We also meet Ilona, who escaped from Soviet anti-Semitism; Ruth, a mother of two, ambivalent about life on a religious kibbutz; and David who rejects his family's Orthodox faith and seeks accommodation with the Palestinians. The narratives, earnest, impassioned and all different, comprise a many-fachere... eted portrait of Israel's ``young generation.'' (Nov.)