A New Israel: Democracy in Crisis, 1973-1988: Essays

The right-wing Likud party has reduced Israel to economic disaster and thwarted a just settlement with Palestinian Arabs, asserts Avishai ( The Tragedy of Zionism ). Israel's opposition Labor leaders ``want a liberal society but not a plural one,'' he further charges cogently, chiding Labor for its historic failure to come up with an alternative vision. Even among Israeli peace activists, he finds a lukewarm commitment to pluralistic, democratic institutions. While he condemns PLO terrorism, Avishai opposes Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. There are lively pieces on Israeli popular culture, Noam Chomsky, Zionism, and Commentary magazine's transformation from eclectic forum to hard-line vehicle sharing ``complicity in the far-reaching cultural consequences the New Right has wrought.'' (May)