Asher Arian - Böcker

National Security and Public Opinion in Israel undertakes to depict the patterns of public opinion in Israel regarding national security policy. It analyzes some of the issues involved in the relationship between public opinion and the decisionmakers on national security issues.

National Security and Public Opinion in Israel undertakes to depict the patterns of public opinion in Israel regarding national security policy. It analyzes some of the issues involved in the relationship between public opinion and the decisionmakers on national security issues.

Forty years after becoming an independent state, Israel is still involved in deadly strife with many of its Arab neighbors and with the Palestinians under its military control. The protracted Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the most fundamental features of the Israeli experience; it overshadows economic and social decisions, and often sets the poli

Forty years after becoming an independent state, Israel is still involved in deadly strife with many of its Arab neighbors and with the Palestinians under its military control. The protracted Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the most fundamental features of the Israeli experience; it overshadows economic and social decisions, and often sets the poli

Public opinion has played a crucial role in the transitions from war to peace in Israel since the 1967 Six Day war. Security Threatened is the first major analysis of the interactions among opinion, politics and policy in that period, based on opinion surveys of thousands of adult Jews conducted between 1962 and 1994. The public divided during those years into militant hardliners and more conciliatory security positions, and power either shifted between, or was shared by, the Likud and Labour parties. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the onset of the intifada, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the American victory in the Gulf War, all segments of the Israeli public became more conciliatory. Policy initiatives reflected shifts in political power which in turn magnified changes in public opinion. Leaders were constrained by public opinion and by perceptions of threat, but they could also alter policy if they had the will because opinion was rather equally divided; since most people had their minds made up, the opposition could not block their policy.

Public opinion has played a crucial role in the transitions from war to peace in Israel since the 1967 Six Day war. Security Threatened is the first major analysis of the interactions among opinion, politics and policy in that period, based on opinion surveys of thousands of adult Jews conducted between 1962 and 1994. The public divided during those years into militant hardliners and more conciliatory security positions, and power either shifted between, or was shared by, the Likud and Labour parties. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the onset of the intifada, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the American victory in the Gulf War, all segments of the Israeli public became more conciliatory. Policy initiatives reflected shifts in political power which in turn magnified changes in public opinion. Leaders were constrained by public opinion and by perceptions of threat, but they could also alter policy if they had the will because opinion was rather equally divided; since most people had their minds made up, the opposition could not block their policy.

As the momentum toward peace in the Middle East surges and wanes, the intensity of politics in Israel takes on added relevance. There can be little doubt that the historic Israel-PLO peace accord could not have occurred were it not for the turnabout elections of 1992. This volume, the seventh in a series begun in 1969, carries on the tradition of offering in-depth analyses of the major issues, actors, and parties involved in Israeli politics.Leading social scientists from Israeli and North American universities and research institutes, using different methods and coming from diverse intellectual traditions, address questions such as whether the elections were a referendum on the return of the Territories; what roles the PLO and the United States played in the election results; how technological changes in political communications, packaging of candidates, and opinion polls affected the results; what contributions such groups as women, Arabs, and members of various religions made to the change in government; and whether the political reforms instituted before the elections resulted from changes in the mood of the electorate or brought about changes in Israel's policy. Contributors to the volume include Majid Al-Haj, Gideon Doron, Aaron Fein, Hillel Frisch, Tamar Hermann, Hanna Herzog, Barry Kay, Jonathan Mendilow, Barry Rubin, Ron Shachar, Gabriel Weimann, Aaron Willis, Gadi Wolfsfeld, and Yael Yishai.

Leading American and Israeli social scientists discuss the precedent-setting events of Israel's 1996 elections.Leading social scientists from Israeli and American universities, using different methods and representing diverse intellectual traditions, address the precedent-setting events of Israel's 1996 elections. The contributors discuss the meaning of collective identity, the role of religion and nationalism in modern Israel, the political behavior of Israeli Arabs, the secrets of success of the immigrant party. Also discussed are issues such as the impact of the direct election law on party organization, primaries and coalition-formation calculations, the repeated electoral failure of Shimon Peres, and the role of the media in the election campaign.The 1996 elections in Israel represented a "first" in Israeli politics in many ways. For the first time Israelis directly elected their prime minister and, in simultaneous but separate elections, they elected their 120-member Knesset (parliament). Also, it was the first time that elections were held after the mutual recognition of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization following the Oslo accords and it was the first election held after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rubin.The political parties made widespread use of primaries in 1996, and hundreds of thousands of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union cast their first ballots. The large support for a party supported by former-Soviet immigrants highlighted the emergence of sectarian interests. This was also expressed in the surge for the two Arab parties from five seats in 1992 to nine seats in 1996, and for the three Jewish religious parties whose combined representation grew from 16 to 23 seats.

Considers the impact of the 1999 Israeli elections.This volume highlights Israel's 1999 elections, in which the prime-ministerial race between incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak ended with Barak winning by the biggest landslide ever in Israel. Although some observers interpreted these results as a fundamental shift in public opinion, there is little evidence to support this. The book shows how old patterns funneled into a new system of voting produced the 1999 results, where a weak candidate (Barak) bested a wounded prime minister (Netanyahu) abandoned by most of his political allies. Leading social scientists from Israeli and American universities, using a variety of approaches and coming from diverse intellectual traditions, address topics including the emergence of political blocs, strategic voting, and split ticket voting. In addition to major party performance, special interest parties-who did better than ever in 1999-are also discussed, such as the haredi, ultra-orthodox, non-Zionist Shas, the anti-haredi secular Shinui, two parties appealing to former Soviet émigrés and Arab parties.

Considers the impact of the 1999 Israeli elections.This volume highlights Israel's 1999 elections, in which the prime-ministerial race between incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak ended with Barak winning by the biggest landslide ever in Israel. Although some observers interpreted these results as a fundamental shift in public opinion, there is little evidence to support this. The book shows how old patterns funneled into a new system of voting produced the 1999 results, where a weak candidate (Barak) bested a wounded prime minister (Netanyahu) abandoned by most of his political allies. Leading social scientists from Israeli and American universities, using a variety of approaches and coming from diverse intellectual traditions, address topics including the emergence of political blocs, strategic voting, and split ticket voting. In addition to major party performance, special interest parties-who did better than ever in 1999-are also discussed, such as the haredi, ultra-orthodox, non-Zionist Shas, the anti-haredi secular Shinui, two parties appealing to former Soviet émigrés and Arab parties.

First published in 1991, Changing New York City Politics provides an important grounding for understanding where New York City politics is likely to go in the coming two years.Three decades after New York City’s first Black mayor was elected and then defeated after only one term, the city’s second Black mayor is facing challenges that in many ways are similar to those of his predecessor, yet different in others. Like David Dinkins, Mayor Eric Adams faces worries about crime and public disorder, recovery from an economic downturn, and criticism over his managerial style. It may be a quite different city today in terms of the makeup of its electorate – less white, more diverse, but certainly no more Black – and Adams may have a closer connection to the Police Department than Dinkins could manage – but the challenges of constructing a multi-racial electoral and governing coalition in the face of skepticism from white voters remains.This book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, American history, and comparative politics.

First published in 1991, Changing New York City Politics provides an important grounding for understanding where New York City politics is likely to go in the coming two years.Three decades after New York City’s first Black mayor was elected and then defeated after only one term, the city’s second Black mayor is facing challenges that in many ways are similar to those of his predecessor, yet different in others. Like David Dinkins, Mayor Eric Adams faces worries about crime and public disorder, recovery from an economic downturn, and criticism over his managerial style. It may be a quite different city today in terms of the makeup of its electorate – less white, more diverse, but certainly no more Black – and Adams may have a closer connection to the Police Department than Dinkins could manage – but the challenges of constructing a multi-racial electoral and governing coalition in the face of skepticism from white voters remains.This book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, American history, and comparative politics.