Description
Book SynopsisMeir Yaari (1897-1987) was the leader of Hashomer Hatza’ir, a movement which took an active part in shaping the history of the Jewish people in the crucial decades of the twentieth century. Its Kibbutzim had a leading role in matters of aliyah, settlement, and defense in mandatory Palestine and then independent Israel, and its members were among the organizers of Jewish resistance and revolt during the Holocaust. This biography discusses pivotal issues in the history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, such as the friction between Zionism and socialism, the Arab question, the absorption of new immigrants, and generation gaps and conflicts. The book blends individual and collective perspectives and never loses sight of the tension between ideology and reality.
Trade Review“This is an excellent book, one that I enjoyed reading very much. Halamish is an extraordinary historian and storyteller. It is also important for me to note that even though I was born and educated in Israel, I learned much and gained new insights into the kibbutz movement by reading this volume. … This book has significant relevance for Israeli society today.” —Moti Gigi, Sapir College, Israel Studies Review Vol. 33, No. 3
-- Moti Gigi * Israel Studies Review *
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Reisha
- Chapter 2: Vienna
- Chapter 3: Bitaniyya Illit
- Chapter 4: Founding a Kibbutz Movement
- Chapter 5: A Wife and Helpmate
- Chapter 6: Ideological Collectivism
- Chapter 7: Facing the Catastrophe
- Chapter 8: Facing the Forces of Tomorrow
- Chapter 9: A Gaping Abyss
- Chapter 10: Against the Current
- Chapter 11: From Military Glory to Marking Time in the Opposition
- Chapter 12: Unrequited Love
- Chapter 13: In the Shadow of Big Brother
- Chapter 14: The Kibbutz during the Transition from Yishuv to State
- Chapter 15: For Zionism, for Socialism, for the Brotherhood of the Nations—and in That Order
- Chapter 16: Fractured Beliefs
- Chapter 17: The Rebellion of the Sons
- Chapter 18: A Dove with Folded Wings
- Chapter 19: Twilight
- Chapter 20: Epilogue
- Bibliography
