The military and militarism in Israeli society Introduction Cultural constructions of war and the military in Israel Eyal Ben Ari and Edna Lomsky Feder Wars as catalysts of political and cultural change Myron J. Aronoff The Masada mythical narrative and the Israeli army Nachman Ben Yehuda The Independence Day military parade: a political history of a patriotic ritual Maoz Azaryahu War heroism and public representations: the case of a museum of coexistence in Jerusalem Efrat Ben Zeév and Eyal Ben Ari Army and war: collective narratives of early childhood in contemporary Israel Mirta Furman Masks and soldiering: the Israeli Army and the Palestinian uprising Eyal Ben Ari Militarism and the construction of the life worlds of Israeli males: the case of the reserve system Sara Helman Gender body and the national subject: Israeli womens poetry in the War of Independence Hannan Hever Filming national identity: war and woman in Israeli cinema Anat Zanger Engendering the Gulf War: Israeli nurses and the discourse of soldiering Meira Z. Weiss Epilogue Edna Lomsky Feder and Eyal Ben Ari