Overview

This text tells the story of Amnon Zichroni, the Israeli civil rights lawyer whose legal and political battles from the early 1950s reveal a hitherto unknown chapter in the history of Israel: the struggle for human and civil rights in the occupied territories. Michael Keren's narrative explores the seminal court cases in which Zichroni challenged the definition of citizenship by nationalist criteria, opposed the construction of West Bank settlement, and defended freedom of the press, of association, and of religion. The work offers a portrayal of one man's campaign for justice in an embattled nation struggling to balance security imperatives with the rule of law.

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9780739103159

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Reviews

In addition to tracing the fascinating career of Israel's Amnon Zichroni from hunger-striking conscientious objector to sober civil liberties lawyer, this book explores many of the internal conflicts that bedevil all democracies facing genuine security threats. A stimulating read. -- A. Alan Borovoy It's a rare reader that will fail to learn something new and of compelling significance for personal and global political life from this book. -- Glenn D. Paige Michael Keren's briskly written biography of the Israeli civil rights lawyer Amnon Zichroni is in fact a revealing grassroots history of the half-century effort to establish the realm of individual dissent and civil rights in a society originally committed to a democratic but communal Zionism. It documents through fascinating landmark cases the constant vigorous dialogue that Israeli nationhood requires from its citizens. -- Charles S. Maier If the question is, Why should political scientists study lawyers? one answer is in this book. Political science, like law and public administration, is now moving from the study of government to the study of governance, that is, political decision-making processes shared by government and non-government actors. This book argues that radical, anti-establishment lawyers are not simply Robin Hoods but instead are key figures in the complex political task of orchestrating the relationship between government and civil society. -- Shapiro, Martin

In addition to tracing the fascinating career of Israel's Amnon Zichroni from hunger-striking conscientious objector to sober civil liberties lawyer, this book explores many of the internal conflicts that bedevil all democracies facing genuine security threats. A stimulating read. -- A. Alan Borovoy, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association It's a rare reader that will fail to learn something new and of compelling significance for personal and global political life from this book. -- Glenn D. Paige, President, Center for Global Nonviolence, University of Hawaii Michael Keren's briskly written biography of the Israeli civil rights lawyer Amnon Zichroni is in fact a revealing grassroots history of the half-century effort to establish the realm of individual dissent and civil rights in a society originally committed to a democratic but communal Zionism. It documents through fascinating landmark cases the constant vigorous dialogue that Israeli nationhood requires from its citizens. -- Charles S. Maier, Professor of History and European Studies, Harvard University If the question is, Why should political scientists study lawyers? one answer is in this book. Political science, like law and public administration, is now moving from the study of government to the study of governance, that is, political decision-making processes shared by government and non-government actors. This book argues that radical, anti-establishment lawyers are not simply Robin Hoods but instead are key figures in the complex political task of orchestrating the relationship between government and civil society. -- Martin Shapiro, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley

Michael Keren's briskly written biography of the Israeli civil rights lawyer Amnon Zichroni is in fact a revealing grassroots history of the half-century effort to establish the realm of individual dissent and civil rights in a society originally committed to a democratic but communal Zionism. It documents through fascinating landmark cases the constant vigorous dialogue that Israeli nationhood requires from its citizens.--Charles S. Maier

Author Information

Michael Keren is Professor of Political Communication at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of four books, including Professionals against Populism: The Peres Government and Democracy (1995).

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