ISRAELI MIND: How the Israeli National Character Shapes Our World - Tapa dura

"Alon Gratch's book intends to explain the Israeli mind to the world, because of Israel's importance to other countries. But it is first and foremost a beautiful love song to Israel, by a post-Israeli, who is able to look at us from a certain distance, understand us better than we can understand ourselves, warn us against existential dangers, and encourage us to do the right things." --Yossi Beilin, former Israeli Minister of Justice "Alon Gratch has wielded his Israeli mind to produce an incisive and provocative analysis of how his countrymen think about life, culture and the politics of the Middle East. His brilliant riff on the roots of the oppositional Israeli character is worth the price of the book alone. You may not always agree with Gratch but you will certainly be stimulated, absorbed and entertained." --Joseph Berger, author of The Pious Ones and Displaced Persons "[A] provocative blend of psychological profile and foreign policy analysis... Illuminating and full of fresh insights into contemporary geopolitics...a fascinating thought exercise, and worth the read." --Publishers Weekly "Gratch demonstrates a mastery of the delicate inner workings of the human mind and, at the same time, a profound insight into the epochal movements of history -- a rare but essential balancing act. He is a compassionate but exacting observer of the Israel character at a moment of great peril and consequence. That's why his book is not only a work of genius but also, and more important, a beacon of light and hope." --The Jewish Journal

Drawing on a broad cultural and historical canvas, and weaving in the author's personal and professional experience, The Israeli Mind presents a compelling, if disturbing, portrait of the Israeli national character. Emerging from the depth of Jewish history and the drama of the Zionist rebellion against it, lsraelis are struggling to forge an identity. They are grand and grandiose, visionary and delusional, generous and self-centered. Deeply caring because of the history of Jewish victimization, they also demonstrate a shocking indifference to the sufferings of others. Saying no is their first, second and third line of defense, even as they are totally capable of complete and sudden capitulation. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the collective but also to sacrifice that very collective for a higher, and likely unattainable ideal. Dr. Alon Gratch draws a vivid, provocative portrait of the conflicts embedded in the Israeli mind. Annihilation anxiety, narcissism, a failure to fully process the Holocaust, hyper-masculinity, post-traumatic stress, and an often unexamined narrative of self-sacrifice, all clash with the nation's aspiration for normalcy or even greatness. Failure to resolve these conflicts, Gratch argues, will threaten Israel's very existence and the stability of the Western world.