Israeli Culture and identity Judaism and Zionism

The idea of the "New Jew" as opposed to Exile Jew  The New Jew  Strong and brave  Farmer or worker  Socialist  Village dweller  Sports or hiking  Rooted in the land  Normalized  Adaptation of “Non- Jewish” image  The Exile Jew  Nervous and afraid  Merchant or agent  Capitalist  Urban  Talmud learning  Easily wandering  Different not-normal  Adaptation of anti-Semite image

Reviving Hebrew culture in its ancient cradle  Hebrew language as spoken secular  Hebrew secular culture  The bible replaces the Talmud  Jewish festivals as nature agricultural  New meaning to religion  Opposing Yiddish and other languages  Hebrew Education and high learning  Integrating universal culture into Hebrew

Israel as a spiritual center The School of Ahad-Ha-am: The School of Ahad-Ha-am: –Zionism as a Revival of Judaism –Revival in the land of Israel – Israel as focus of Jewish culture –Israel as Light upon the Nations Integration and contradiction: Normalization versus uniqueness

Hebrew Culture in the Yishuv  The politics of culture  Hebrew education system  Agricultural and socialist ethos The Kibbutz The Kibbutz Youth movements Youth movements  Norms and model images  The Arab Bedouin symbolizing authenticity  The Halutz (pioneer)  The guard-soldier  The Sabra  Voluntarism  Tel Aviv – the first Hebrew city  - symbol and reality

Cultural transformation Following State establishment  Facing Mass immigration  Facing decline of pioneering  The politics of melting-pot  Battle against Yiddish and oriental legacies Ben-Gurion and “ Mamlachtiut ” (statism) Propaganda against “ careerism ” The negative image of “ yordim ” (emigrants)

Growing counter culture since the 1970s  Penetrating oriental culture to mainstream popular culture (hits)  Openness toward Yiddish  Privatization - individualization  Americanization – consumer culture  Changing attitudes toward Diaspora and emigration  Decline of Kibbutz movement  Growing nostalgia to “ Jewish book case ”

Israeli Culture - Conclusion  Normalization and Judaization of Israeli culture  Flourishing Hebrew culture:  Literature, theater, journalism  Hebrew authors as world-known stars  Hebrew as a Jewish lingua franca