This book challenges the conventional view of Israeli politics as an ideological, stron party system. Focusing on three important and influential interest groups, the Gush Emunim, the Ihud kibbutz federation, and the Manufacturers' Association, Drezon-Tepler presents a comprehensive view of Israel's society and politics. Integrated here are unpublished sources, and material from personal interviews with prominent personalities including Prime Ministers Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, and Minister Ariel Sharon. The book illuminates such current controversial topics in Israel as the influence of the volatile Gush Emunim, the country's chronically unstable economy, and the continued vitality of the kibbutz movement. Relevant beyond Israel's borders, this book enhances understanding of systems, groups, and change, presenting an original, analytical framework of three models for group and party decision making within democracies. Marcia Drezon-Tepler is a political scientist and Middle East specialist with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, and a former Fulbright Scholar in Israel. |