The IsraelisAuthor: Donna RosenthalAbstract: Canberra Times reviewIsraelis have always been victims of the
caricature. Once
it was the female Sabra soldier bravely standing between the state and its destruction from the overwhelming might of its Arab neighbours, or Moshe Dayan and his pirate patch, smilingly efficient in the defeat of his enemies.Attitudes have changed and the hero state is now demonised, a victim of its own success, yet still in
caricature. Israelis are now the uncaring slayers of
children and old people. In a painstaking and praiseworthy stint of investigative journalism Donna Rosenthal has conducted hundreds of interviews, working through the complex layers of often competing and antagonistic communities that make up the Israeli state. The result is both a scholarly work and a fascinating read for those interested in getting behind the 10-second news grab.She finds a nation still in transition: families that have lived on the land for 10 generations and newcomers who have been separated from mainstream Jewry for a millennia; ultra religious Haredim who live within the state but refuse to be a part of it, and the majority non-orthodox who reserve their prayers for the soccer stadium when their favourite team is losing.Overwhelmingly she found people just trying to get on with their lives, concerned with relationships, raising children, watching their grandchildren grow up, but at the same time having to cope with suicide bombers, rocket attacks, always expecting the phone call or letter that requires them to don uniforms and head for the latest ‘front’.Weary of constantly seeing themselves on the evening news, they are destined to be ordinary people in an extraordinary land.