Why Israel’s self-image changed from self-reliance to militarism

How Israel's Self-Image changed from Self-Reliance to Aggressive Militarism

By Yaron Peleg, University of Cambridge (The Conversation) – When the Zionist movement began to gather pace a century ago, many Jewish supporters wanted not just to create a political state for themselves, but to initiate a cultural revolution that would forge a new kind of Jewishness. Proud, self-reliant and resilient, the “new Jew” was a reaction to centuries of bullying, culminating in the virulent antisemitism of the modern era. But, as I ar…

Why Israel’s self-image changed from self-reliance to militarism

When the Zionist movement began to gather pace a century ago, many Jewish supporters wanted not just to create a political state for themselves, but to initiate a cultural revolution that would forge a new kind of Jewishness. Proud, self-reliant and resilient, the “new Jew” was a reaction to centuries of bullying, culminating in the […] The post Why Israel’s self-image changed from self-reliance to militarism appeared first on Asia Times.