What are the origins of Israeli nationalism? What is the cultural logic behind national festivals, military parades and patriotic memorials? How does a country like Israel transform state-related public events into enactments of nationalism? In this book, Don Handelman considers the meaning of Holocaust and military memorialism in Israel. He investigates the role of holiday celebrations, especially how they affect young children first learning about their country. Analyzing state ceremonies such as Holocaust Remembrance Day for the war dead, and Independence Day, he notes the absence of minorities and examines their significance in the promotion of a national identity. He also looks at how Israel exports powerful symbols of statehood. Throughout, he unravels the meaning of national ritual and symbol in Israel today.
Author(s): Don Handelman
Edition: 1st
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 288
Preliminaries......Page 2
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 12
List of Figures......Page 14
1 The Collapse of Versailles and the Nation-in-Arms......Page 18
2 Bureaucratic Logic......Page 34
3 Making Jews National in their Citizenship......Page 58
4 Celebrations of the National Holiday Occasions in Kindergartens......Page 76
5 Celebrations of Bureaucratic Logic Birthday Parties in Israeli Kindergartens......Page 92
6 Opening Holocaust Remembrance Day The Bureaucratic Logic and Aesthetics of National Mourning......Page 116
7 Sequencing the National Opening Remembrance Day and Independence Day......Page 134
8 The Presence of Absence The Memorialism of National Absence......Page 162
9 Absence Rising......Page 186
Epilogue The Cyborg State......Page 216
Notes......Page 224
Bibliography......Page 256
Index......Page 280
