Delving into Israel's multifaceted society, editors Avi Sagi and Ohad Nachtomy, along with their distinguished contributors, explore the many ethnic and religious communities that comprise modern Israel and the ways in which they interact and often misunderstand each other. Detailing both the tensions between Israelis and Arab minorities, as well as issues involving recent immigrants and the different religious sects within the Jewish community at large, this collection of essays covers diverse subjects such as Holocaust education, language rights, military service, and the balancing of religious with secular systems of law. An essential read for anyone searching for a better understanding of the challenges being faced in contemporary Israel.

Avi Sagi (Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University, 1988) is a Professor at Bar-Ilan University and Senior Research Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem. His recent books include Circles of Jewish Identity (with Zvi Zohar), Tel Aviv, 2000; `Elu va Elu` A Study on the Meaning of Halakhic Discourse, Tel Aviv, 1996. Ohad Nachtomy (Ph.D. Columbia University, 1998) specializes in 17th century philosophy, and above all Leibniz and Spinoza. He has also begun a major research project in the philosophy of modern biology, on genotype-phenotype relations.

Introduction: Avi Sagi and Ohad Nactomy. Constitutional Incrementalism and Material Entrenchment - Hanna Lerner. Who is Afraid of Language Rights in Israel? - Meital Pinto. The Voice of the People: Language and State in Israel - Tamar Hostovsky Brandes. The Hand in Hand Bilingual Education Model: Vision and Challenges - Muhammad Amara. Cultural and Normative Duality in Israeli Society - Yedidia Z. Stern. Society and Law in Israel: Between a Rights Discourse and an Identity Discourse - Avi Sagi. Transcending the Secularization vs. Traditionalization Discourse: Jewish-Israeli Traditionists, the Post-Secular, and the Possibilities of Multiculturalism - Yaacov Yadgar. Service in the IDF and the Boundaries of Israel's Jewish Collective - Asher Cohen and Bernard Susser. Ideas vs. Reality: Multiculturalism and Religious-Zionism - Dov Schwartz. The Suffering of the Other: Teaching the Holocaust ot Arabs and Jews - Avihu Ronen. The Jewish Holidays as a Platform for a Multicultural Discourse of Identity - Rina Hevlin. The Multiple-Ethnic Synagogue in Israel - Nissim Leon. "We pay our Taxes and Serve in the Army": Ethnography and the Challenge of Multiculturism - Meirav Aharon. Multiculturalism in Israel: Linguistic Perspective - Michael Tanenbaum. Abstracts. Contributors. Index of Subjects. Index of Names.