Emotions of Conflict, Israel 1949-1967

In its early decades, Israel’s citizens had to cope not only with security challenges, but also with the emotional burden that accompanied them. The book unpacks the history of citizens’ emotions-an analysis of the reports about how they felt and of the emotional regime-the emotional repertoire designed by political leaders and cultural agents wishing to mold the feelings of Israeli citizens. Policymakers-Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion first and foremost-sought to fortify the spirits of Israelis and to inculcate an emotional regime that would rise to the challenges of the new frontier state. This emotional regime imbued Israelis with a sense of moral rectitude and equipped them with tools to manage their fears. Most significantly, it met the human need for existential meaning in times of crisis, meaning that is essential for overcoming the fear of impending death. However, the effort to inculcate the emotional norms was Sisyphean and failed at times.
The perspective of the history of emotions leads to hitherto untapped and nuanced insights about the weaknesses and strengths of Israelis, and reveals new connections between identity, morality, state-sanctioned violence, politics, and law, along with a new understanding of the motivations behind policymakers’ decisions.

Orit Rozin, Associate Professor in the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University

Dr. Orit Rozin is Associate Professor in the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University. Her research interests span the social, legal, and cultural history of modern Israel. Rozin has published on Israeli citizenship, legislation and jurisprudence, immigration, gender issues, family life and food history. Most recently she has published articles assessing Israel’s political and security challenges from the perspective of the history of emotions. In 2020 she was a Starr Fellow at Harvard University. During her career she served as visiting scholar and visiting professor at universities in the United States, Canada, India and Germany.