Israël: een late volksplanting. Een kritisch commentaar bij J.E. Ellemers' Israël-studie

Samenvatting

An evaluation of the book by J. E. Ellemers, Van idee tot moderne staat: een studie over het ontstaan van de Israelische maatschappij en de veranderingen daarin (From Idea to Modern State: A Study of the Creation of Israeli Society and Its Transformations, Meppel: Boom and Son, 1967). This is an excellent study which suffers, however, from some serious defects. In spite of the suggestion of the title of his book, Ellemers has concentrated unduly on the early part of his study: the transition from the iy shuv (the Jewish community of Palestine) to the state of Israel. While he indicates some 'total' or even 'totalitarian' elements of Israeli nationalism and 'militarism,' he does not fully do them justice. Also, he fails to place Israel among the latecomers to nation-state building, with the US, the Union of South Africa, Germany, Canada, etc; this makes it difficult for him to do justice to foreign criticisms of Israel. I. Langnas.