Contradictions of Israeli Citizenship

Guy Ben-Porat is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Ben-Gurion University. He has written widely on Israel and conflict resolution, and his research focuses on conflict resolution, ethnic relations, globalization, public policy and multiculturalism.Bryan S. Turner is Presidential Professor in the Ph.D. Program in Sociology at the City University of New York's Graduate Center and Professor of Social and Political Thought at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. One of the world's leading sociologists of religion, he has also devoted significant attention to sociological theory, the study of human rights, and the sociology of the body.

"Israel has been characterized as a society with multiple self-definitions, many different frontiers and borders, and continuing controversies over recognition. Profs. Ben-Porat and Turner cycle into these discussions a book that revolves around multiple facets of citizenship. It is a very useful collection of original papers that examine a dozen the most interesting and complex aspects of Israel today. The chapters are written by leading experts on contemporary issues within Israel. The book can serve as a fascinating introduction to Israeli society as well as source of commentary and insight for those already familiar with the cultural complexities of this fascinating county."Russell A. Stone, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, American University in Washington."Ben Porat and Turner are offering in this pioneering book an insight into the conflicts embedded in Israel's struggles to define the political meaning of citizenship in a rifted society that is still in search for its collective identity. No future study of citizenship and Israeli society will be complete without a serious reading of this important volume of original scholarship. Highly recommended."Gad Barzilai, Professor of International Studies, Law & Political Science, University of Washington.

• 1. Introduction: The Contradictory Character of Citizenship Bryan 2. Collective Identities, Public Spheres, Civil Society and Citizenship in the Contemporary Era 3. Military Hierarchies and Collective Action: The Case of Israel 4. Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Israeli Welfare State: State Building and Political Economy 5. Corporatism and Multiculturalism as Responses to Ethnic Claims and Socio-economic Inequality: The Case of Shas 6. Citizenship and Ethnic Mobilization in Israel: The Case of Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow 7. Fundamentalist Citizenships: The Haredi Challenge 8. NGOization of the Israeli Feminist Movement: Depoliticizing or Redefining Political Spaces? 9. Parading Pridefully into the Mainstream: Gay and Lesbian Immersion in the Civil Core 10. Inward Turns: Citizenship, Solidarity and Exclusion 11. Civic Associations, Empowerment and Democratization: Arab Civil Society in Israel 12. All by Myself? The Paradox of Citizenship Among the FSU Immigrants in Israel 13. The Rise and Fall of Liberal Nationalism