Author Description

The State Of Israel Was Established In 1948 As A Jewish Democracy, Without A Legal Separation Between Religion And The State. Ever Since, The Tension Between The Two Has Been A Central Political, Social, And Moral Issue In Israel, Resulting In A Cultural Conflict Between Secular Jews And The Fundamentalist, Ultra-orthodox Haredi Community. What Is The Nature Of This Cultural Conflict And How Is It Managed? In Theocratic Democracy, Nachman Ben-yehuda Examines More Than Fifty Years Of Media-reported Unconventional And Deviant Behavior By Members Of The Haredi Community. Ben-yehuda Finds Not Only That This Behavior Has Happened Increasingly Often Over The Years, But Also That Its Most Salient Feature Is Violence--a Violence Not Random Or Precipitated By Situational Emotional Rage, But Planned And Aimed To Achieve Political Goals. Using Verbal And Non-verbal Violence In The Forms Of Curses, Intimidation, Threats, Arson, Stone-throwing, Beatings, Mass Violations, And More, Haredi Activists Try To Push Israel Toward A More Theocratic Society. Driven By A Theological Notion That All Jews Are Mutually Responsible And Accountable To The Almighty, These Activists Believe That The Sins Of The Few Are Paid For By The Many. Making Israel A Theocracy Will, They Believe, Reduce The Risk Of Transcendental Penalties. Ben-yehuda Shows How The Political Structure That Accommodates The Strong Theocratic And Secular Pressures Israel Faces Is Effectively A Theocratic Democracy. Characterized By Chronic Negotiations, Tensions, And Accommodations, It Is By Nature An Unstable Structure. However, In His Fascinating And Lively Account, Nachman Ben-yehuda Demonstrates How It Allows Citizens With Different Worldviews To Live Under One Umbrella Of A Nation-state Without Tearing The Social Fabric Apart.