The Founding Myths of Israel

Preface Ch. 1The Primacy of the Nation: Aaron David Gordon and the Ethos of Nation-Building The Negation of the Diaspora What Is a Nation? Nationalism versus Socialism: The Amelioration of Man, Nation, or Society? The Right to the Land: The Power of History Ch. 2The Worker as the Agent of National Resurrection The Heritage of the Second Aliyah The First Stages of the Shift to the Right The Elimination of the Marxist Po'alei Tzion Party The Founding of Ahdut Ha'avoda Experiential Socialism Ch. 3Socialism in the Service of the Nation: Berl Katznelson and "Constructive" Socialism The Legend and the Reality The Nation above All From "Productivist" to Nationalist Socialism Ch. 4Ends and Means: The Labor Ideology and the Histadrut The Bases of Power Taking over the Collective Settlements: The Establishment of the Nir Company The Cult of Discipline and Authority: The Destruction of Gdud Ha'avoda (the Labor Corps) Ch. 5The Triumph of Nationalist Socialism: "From Class to Nation" What Is a Class? The Collaboration with the Middle Classes The Struggle over Workers' Education Ch. 6Democracy and Equality on Trial The Hegemony of the Apparatus and the Poverty of Intellectual Life Oligarchy and Conformism Equality: Principle and Practice The Failure of the Family Wage Class Warfare in the Histadrut Epilogue: From the State-in-the-Making to the Nation-State Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"Some of his interpretations may occasionally be questioned, but one cannot doubt the intellectual courage and erudition of this professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where his strong secularism and his devotion to the heritage of the Enlightenment make him both the leader of a school and an outstanding figure."--Alain-G?rard Slama, Le Figaro "Zeev Sternhell ... has observed as a historian the reality behind the myth that had assured the power of the Labor Movement for nearly forty years, until the arrival of Menahem Begin and the Likud in 1977. First surprise: the stereotype of the soldier-peasant, which one associates with the Jewish society of Palestine before 1948, masked a principle far-removed from the bucolic reveries of the 'founding fathers'... Had Sternhell simply shown how the socialist leaders--under the crushing weight of constraining realities--amended their program and sacrificed their egalitarian ideology on the altar of pragmatism, he would not have produced an original book. The interest of this work, however, comes from Sternhell's demonstration that the primacy given to national objectives indeed proceeded from an ideological choice."--Nicholas Weill, Le Monde des Livres "Not every day does one come across a history book of such great contemporary significance as that of Zeev Sternhell... This is a very important book, which raises historical questions of an ever-fresh political significance."--Yosef Agassi, Maariv Cultural Supplement "The key words figuring in the studies of the founding fathers until now have been improvisation, pragmatism, inventiveness, innovation, and lack of dogmatism... With professional competence, vigor, and a clear ... style, [Sternhell] challenges this description."--Menachem Brinker, Haaretz Book Supplement "[T]his is one of the most provocative of the recent rash of 'post-Zionist' studies that debunk earlier works on Israel's founding fathers and mothers."--Kirkus Reviews "This book will undoubtedly create