In days to come
Subtitle: a new hope for Israel
By: Avraham Burg ; translated by Joel Greenberg
Contributors: Greenberg, Joel, translator
Edition: First edition.
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 321
ISBN-13: 9781568589787
Subjects: Israeli Authors; Political activists; Biography
Description: "Born in 1955, Avraham Burg witnessed firsthand many of the most dramatic and critical junctions in Israeli history. Here he chronicles the highs and lows of his country during the last five decades, beginning with the 1967 war, when, as a young boy, his mother brought him back Uzi cartridges from the Kotel, which he incorporated into the Chanukah menorah he made for his home economics class. Burg narrates the misplaced hopes of religious Zionism (informed by his conservative upbringing), Israel's obsession with military might (informed by his own experiences as a paratrooper), the country's democratic aspirations (informed by his tenure in the Knesset) and more. What he delivers, ultimately, is an analysis of the ambitions and failures of Israel and Judaism, from the unique standpoint of his generation--the children of the mythical "founders" who established the state. In Days to Come is Burg's philosophical inquiry into what Jewish-Israeli identity means today if you are personally, ethically, and politically opposed to what your country stands for. With bravery and candor, he urges his countrymen to dare to ask the difficult questions and accept the truth of difficult answers, have the courage to move on from trauma to trust, understand that Jews do not have monopoly over suffering but a responsibility to prevent crimes against humanity, have the will to solve the conflict between Israel and Palestine by adopting new paradigms, be ready to relinquish the privileges given to the Jews and create a shared space with equal rights for every human being, lay the groundwork for a constitutional reality in which every individual--under Israeli sovereignty or responsibility--has equal rights, and build a wall of separation between synagogue and state"--
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Part 1. Living; title: Chapter One: Menorah of bullets (1955-1968); title: Chapter Two: A ray of light in the dark (1969-1977); title: Chapter Three: Soldier in war, activist in peace (1973-1982); title: Chapter Four: The public life (1982-2001); title: Chapter Five: An alien in the Knesset (1988-1992); title: Chapter Six: Decline and redemption (2001-2004); title: Part II. Learning; title: Chapter Seven: Running and writing with a kippah; title: Chapter Eight: Of Isaac and Abraham; title: Chapter Nine: A tale of two Hebrons; title: Chapter Ten: The new meaning of Hebron; title: Chapter Eleven: From local to global identity; title: Chapter Twelve: Of trauma and recovery; title: Chapter Thirteen: The Holocaust Is over; title: Chapter Fourteen: A tale of two meetings; title: Chapter Fifteen: Betwixt and between epilogue: the dawn after the long night.