Israel has changed. The country was born in Europe's shadow, haunted by the Holocaust and inspired by the Enlightenment. But for Israelis today, Europe is hardly relevant, and the country's ties to the broader West, even to America, are fraying. Where is Israel heading? How do citizens of an increasingly diverse nation see themselves globally and historically? In this revealing portrait of the new Israel, Diana Pinto presents a country simultaneously moving forward and backward, looking outward and turning in on itself. In business, Israel is forging new links with the giants of Asia, and its booming science and technology sectors are helping define the future for the entire world. But in politics and religion, Israelis are increasingly self-absorbed, building literal and metaphorical walls against hostile neighbors and turning to ancient religious precepts for guidance here and now.

Excerpt from Jewish Emancipation: The Contract Myth One common argument against Zionism, which those who employ it think particularly effective, is the contention that the very profession of Zionism is both a breach of faith by Jews and a peril to Jews. It is a breach of faith, they say, because it repudiates the fundamental principle by virtue of which the grant of civic equality was made to Jews in those countries where such a grant has been made. It is a peril because it deprives the emancipated Jews of their title deeds to civic liberty and equality, while it renders powerless the one instrument which could open the gates of freedom to those Jews who are still unemancipated; What, according to this contention, is that fundamental principle upon which the Jewish emancipation of the past rested and the Jewish emancipation of the future must rest ? It is easier to ask that question than to get a precise answer to it, but, so far as may be gathered from the vague formulation of the critics of Zionism, this is their thesis: - The Jews were conceded emancipation as a sect and because they were a sect. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.