The late Zevulun Hammer (1936-1998) was one of the prominent leaders of the National Religious Party (NRP) in Israel, and this book traces his political path. From 1969 he served as a Member of Knesset, and later served as Minister of Welfare, Minister of Religions, Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister. Hammer successfully navigated political waters, from being active in the NRP's youth movement in the early 1960s to the leadership positions he reached at a relatively young age. Hammer led one of the most dramatic upheavals in a political party in Israel as the leader of the youth faction, and ultimately succeeded in unseating the party elders.
Zevulun Hammer's story is not just the story of the man, it is the story of a generation: the leadership generation of the national-religious movement that rebelled against the generation above it, but found itself - after two decades - at the same leadership point as before it. A generation that sought to change world orders, but was ultimately forced to make do with preserving the interests of religious Zionism, in a reality of political power struggles threatening to erode them. A generation that tried to carry the flag of the Greater Land of Israel, but moderated its views when political reality allowed for a political breakthrough. A generation that sought to strengthen Torah religious perceptions, but later turned out to be even more liberal than its ancestors. A generation that sought to strive for general leadership, but was eventually forced to settle for a sectoral party.
Dr. Aharon (Roni) Kempinski, Academic Dean and Head of the Department of Citizenship Studies at Emuna-Efrata College, and Lecturer at Bar-Ilan University.
Danacode: 110-20305 ISBN: 978-965-226-514-2 Language: Hebrew Pages: 278 Weight: 600 gr Dimensions: 17X24 cm Publication Date: 05/2021 Publisher: Bar-Ilan University Press
CONTENTS
Foreword 7
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
Chapter 2: “A Movement within a Movement” (1956–1967) 19
Chapter 3: “Their Hearts Beating with Excitement” (1967–1973) 35
Chapter 4: “Social Gush Emunim” (1973–1977) 51
Chapter 5: “Equal Partners” (1977) 71
Chapter 6: “I Believe Begin” (1977–1981) 91
Chapter 7: “A Value-Based Issue to be Decided” (1981–1984) 111
Chapter 8: “The Party is in Dire Straits” (1984–1986) 137
Chapter 9: “Realization of the World-View” (1986–1988) 153
Chapter 10: “Don’t Want to Force Secularism
on Our Youth” (1988–1992) 173
Chapter 11: “The Mafdal at Your Right” (1992–1996) 191
Chapter 12: “We Shall Be Going and Growing” (1996–1998) 213
Chapter 13: A Generation in a Nutshell 229
Bibliography 241
Indexes 259
Dr. Aharon (Roni) Kempinski, Academic Dean and Head of the Department of Citizenship Studies at Emuna-Efrata College, and Lecturer at Bar-Ilan University.