Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The 1977 electoral earthquake marked an alternative elite's arrival in power. Its leader, Me-
nahem Begin, had a great deal in common with the fi rst generation in his character but had
quite dissimilar views and appealed to a very different constituency.
The new group arose from the nationalist opposition to the Labor Party from the Herut
(later the Likud) Party — and was also rooted in the Irgun rather than the Labor-dominated
Haganah militia in the pre-state period. During the three-decade-long era of Labor rule, this
opposition had the character of a subculture and produced its own second generation, the
“princes,” from the sons of its leaders.
But it was Mizrahi support that changed this group from a small opposition to a ruling
bloc. The group also gained support among more religious Jews —both Ashkenazic Datim and
traditionalist Sephardim —because of its nationalist stance, although Herut was a secularly
oriented party.
Once in power, however, the Herut and its center-right coalition partners did not disman-
tle socialist institutions built up by Labor. Such economic issues were not an Israeli priority.
Rather, socialism declined slowly, fi nally to be largely replaced by the privatization of the 1990s.
Given the country's lack of heavy industry or interests entrenched enough to block change —
and given the strong inclination toward fl exibility and innovation —Israel was well poised to
become a postindustrial society.
The durability of Israeli society has also been strengthened by the experiences of war, terror-
ism, and other outside threats, which inevitably bind people together. In the wake of trauma, a
number of seemingly contradictory reactions — familial and national solidarity; hedonism or
living for the moment; and religious faith — offer refuge. All of these impulses coexist strongly
in Israeli society.
So does another characteristic, highly identifi ed with Jewish history: a strong sense of hu-
mor. Israeli humor is not the same as the historic, Yiddish- and Diaspora-oriented Jewish
humor. It is far more literal and linear, based less on wordplay and possessing a strong streak
of political and social satire.
One of the most remarkable examples of this use of humor was an unannounced, unsched-
uled television program broadcast by what was then Israel's only channel on the evening of
January 14, 1991. Israel faced an imminent Iraqi assault in response to the U.S.-led attack on
Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. At the time, many thought chemical and biological weapons would
rain down on Israel within hours. Citizens were glued to their televisions.
With no introduction, a comedian who strongly resembled the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hus-
sein, appeared on the screen. Speaking Arabic-accented Hebrew, he described how he was
about to destroy Israel. At fi rst, the tone was serious, but then it became increasingly hysterical
and silly. Pulling out vegetables, as in some cooking demonstration, the Saddam look-alike
started jamming them into a food processor to show what he was going to do to Israel. As
realization dawned on the massive audience, horror turned to laughter, and Israel's population
became ready to face a barrage of Iraqi rockets.
This approach to life and politics ensures that the military's strong role in the country does
not turn its citizens toward militarism. Other factors that keep the military from holding
undue power are the lack of a military caste or tradition, the army's relaxed discipline, and
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