Udi Lebel - Böcker

This book illustrates how a dominant political party, the Mapai, under the leadership of P.M. David Ben-Gurion, chose to ‘hug,’ honor and commemorate ‘Her Fallen’ and ‘Her Bereaved Families,’ whilst simultaneously ignoring the fallen that were identified with the rival political party, Herut, led by Menachem Begin. Designing legislation and cultural policy designated for Teaching the public that those who sacrificed themselves in the Israeli War of Independence – were Hagana Members, one of three Israeli undergrounds movements, associated with Mapai specific ideological viewpoint. By that - the Israeli state created political legitimacy and dominance for Mapai – which was framed as the only political party which were involved with the struggle for national independence. "Her" fighters, battles and casualties became part of the collective memory and national ethos. This project was implemented by refusing to acknowledge "the Other" casualties of the Eztel and Lehi underground movements wich were ideological identified with Herut Party. The state excluded their bereaved families from the wider official military bereavement circle and forced them to experience "disenfranchised grief", With no access to official commemoration or to rehabilitative support. It was only after the Likud's (ex-Herut) victory in the 1977 elections that enabled P.M. Menachem Begin to correct this "exile from national identity" and to initiate the inclusion of "His" fighters and casualties to the military cemeteries, to the history books and to the state commemorations, as recognizing their families as part of the National Military Bereavement circles entitled to Honors and support.A thought provoking study about the dark side of the Israeli nation building era, Politics of Memory explores the politics of historiography, bereavement and military commemoration, and the confrontation over boundaries of national pantheon, examining the effects of these factors on Israel

This book analyzes the changes and tendencies expressed in the relation between army and society in Israel.Since its inception, Israel has been defined as a nation in arms, a public space in which the security needs became central and, to a great extent, dictated the agenda and functioning of all the public arenas operating in it. The theoretical investigation is accompanied by case study illustrations of special instances related to the nexus between:security and societysecurity and politicsthe army and the mediathe army and public relationssecurity and culturebereavement and commemorationsocial motivation to serve in the armythe army and foreign policy.Lebel explores the connection between the military and culture in Israel against the backdrop of globalization, individualism, liberalism, and social burn-out in the face of survival and change.

This book illustrates how a dominant political party, the Mapai, under the leadership of P.M. David Ben-Gurion, chose to ‘hug,’ honor and commemorate ‘Her Fallen’ and ‘Her Bereaved Families,’ whilst simultaneously ignoring the fallen that were identified with the rival political party, Herut, led by Menachem Begin. Designing legislation and cultural policy designated for Teaching the public that those who sacrificed themselves in the Israeli War of Independence – were Hagana Members, one of three Israeli undergrounds movements, associated with Mapai specific ideological viewpoint. By that - the Israeli state created political legitimacy and dominance for Mapai – which was framed as the only political party which were involved with the struggle for national independence. "Her" fighters, battles and casualties became part of the collective memory and national ethos. This project was implemented by refusing to acknowledge "the Other" casualties of the Eztel and Lehi underground movements wich were ideological identified with Herut Party. The state excluded their bereaved families from the wider official military bereavement circle and forced them to experience "disenfranchised grief", With no access to official commemoration or to rehabilitative support. It was only after the Likud's (ex-Herut) victory in the 1977 elections that enabled P.M. Menachem Begin to correct this "exile from national identity" and to initiate the inclusion of "His" fighters and casualties to the military cemeteries, to the history books and to the state commemorations, as recognizing their families as part of the National Military Bereavement circles entitled to Honors and support.A thought provoking study about the dark side of the Israeli nation building era, Politics of Memory explores the politics of historiography, bereavement and military commemoration, and the confrontation over boundaries of national pantheon, examining the effects of these factors on Israeli national identity and politics.With introductions by Moshe Arens, former Israeli Minister of Defense and Minister for Foreign Affairs, and by Yehiel Kadishai, P.M. Menachem Begin’s chief of staff, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Israeli history; military studies; memory and heritage studies; the study of loss and bereavement, and politics in general.

This book analyzes the changes and tendencies expressed in the relation between army and society in Israel.Since its inception, Israel has been defined as a nation in arms, a public space in which the security needs became central and, to a great extent, dictated the agenda and functioning of all the public arenas operating in it. The theoretical investigation is accompanied by case study illustrations of special instances related to the nexus between:security and societysecurity and politicsthe army and the mediathe army and public relationssecurity and culturebereavement and commemorationsocial motivation to serve in the armythe army and foreign policy.Lebel explores the connection between the military and culture in Israel against the backdrop of globalization, individualism, liberalism, and social burn-out in the face of survival and change.

The 1973 Yom Kippur War did not only have external implications on Israel, but also some dramatic internal implications, particularly with regards to the civil-military relations as well as the fields of psychology and political sociology. To this day, the consequences of this war are still prevalent in Israel, in terms of drafting security policies and the military doctrine.After the war, new identities were formed in the Israeli civil society, which began to function as active agents in shaping security policy. These players are not a unique Israeli case, yet their actions in Israel serve as a case study that illuminates their significant impact in other countries as well. This is due to the fact that the "Israeli Laboratory" is a liberal democratic society living with an ongoing conflict; it has a mandatory army that is sensitive to fluctuations in public opinion, culture and the media; and issues of national security and military conduct are always a top public concern. Consequently, this book examines the rise of five identities and agents that were formed after the 1973 War and highlights the effects they had on the formation of Israeli defense policy from then on. The book also clarifies the importance of exposure to these agents' activities, referring to the psycho-political social factors that may actually dictate a state's international policies. It therefore forms a study that connects sociology, political psychology, international relations, the field of culture studies and studies of strategy planning. Thus, the book is of interest to both the domestic-Israeli field of research and to the global scholarly discourse, particularly to academic disciplines engaged in civil-military relations (political sociology, political science).