About

Controversies

About

60 Momentous Debates in The Hebrew Press From 1918-2008: the Kibbutzim split; the evacuation of Sinai; the Kastner trial; the satire "Queen of the Bath"; the murder of Count Bernadotte; the Right of Return; the "Who is a Jew" issue; schooling in the immigrant camps; conscription service for girls; the Jibril deal; the Der'i trial; the Oslo Agreement; the disengagement from Gaza.

THE ARGUMENTS, DISPUTES, CULTURE WARS, AND CONFLICTS OF THE POLITICAL MOVEMENTS that appear in the book were and remain an integral part of the saga of Israeli society in a political, demographic and cultural reality. In "real time" these were matters of tactics, political calculations, ideological nuances and cultural differences that underlined the existing separations and exacerbated the contrasts. In retrospect, some of the issues in the book that so outraged the public in their time seem bizarre or meaningless to the reader who is not a historian. Other matters, on the other hand, remain a source of agitation and vexation to this day.

THE MAJORITY OF OUR PUBLIC CONFRONTATIONS NEVER END. They change their shape, become intertwined, and act as reminders.

This book contains an array of public disputes as they appeared in the press. This selection is bound to be limited in scope: sixty significant disputes out of one thousand or more.
Some of them raged for a time and were then forgotten. The powerful nature of others has become evident over the years.

Others remain an enigma: Who killed Arlozorov and Who Gave the Order. The arguments over Kastner's behavior and over the sinking of the "Altalena" flare up from time to time, including the controversial issue of Deir Yasin and even of Tel Chai. On the other hand, the struggle over women's rights is still waged fiercely, and corruption in the government is a constant on the agenda.

THIS BOOK APPEARS FIRST AND FOREMOST THANKS TO THE INITIATIVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF ZVI MEITAR, the founder of the Meitar Collection, its aim being to induce young people to take an interest in history.

THE SELECTION OF PUBLIC CONFRONTATIOINS IN THIS BOOK APPEARS AS IT WAS PRINTED IN THE NEWSPAPERS, either in form of press cuttings or, for the sake of improved legibility, from exact copies of the original transcripts, with certain abridgements. The following pages show a clear distinction between the conflicted sides: right page vs left page , orange print vs. blue. The random choice of page and color reflects the separation between the sides—not their positions or preferences.