Yael Zerubavel's Recovered Roots

In Yael Zerubavel’s, compelling and eye opening book Recovered Roots, the author attempts to explore the reconstruction of Jewish nationalism, myths and identities socially constructed by Zionist leaders across several decades. She does so by analysing themes critical to the study of Jewish history such as iconic heroism, collective sacrifice and the creation of Israeli national identity through narrative reconstruction as well as the reinterpretation of ancient Jewish military defeats such as Masada, the battle of Tel Hai and the Bar kokhba revolt. Zerubavel places the majority of her context within three influential periods of Jewish history, antiquity, exile and national revival with exile, exploring each in great detail while making comparisons …show more content…
It would appear the author is writing from a fanaticized perspective in coherence with that of the Zionists, emphasizing the normalcy of the Israeli narratives of nationalism. Although the Zionist narratives were not complete fabrications there is danger (especially in youth) in failing to recognize its constructed past as well as the necessity of its existence surrounding events in the time period it was created. For example, Zerubavel suggests that “martyrs are remembered in the hours of helplessness and death for the country constitutes a pure act of self-sacrifice for the collectivity, devoid of any benefit for oneself.” Words such as these have led many to kill others and die for the sake of their nation, the frequent Palestinian attacks in Israel and Tel-Aviv are an example of misguided youth comprehending these words as if they were written in stone in the 10 commandments. (Wong) The current re-creation of the Islamic state (ISIS) is an extreme example of nationalists ready to kill and die for one’s cause. Although, the state of Israel has finally risen out of the need for a “by any means necessary” type ideology, many political leaders and intellectuals have …show more content…
In spite of further studies on this topic I would recommend authors and researchers be careful with getting to caught up in specific ideologies of the past, especially if your study is on the creation of modern identity. Furthermore, although the lines between myths and facts maybe blurred at times it is vital that they remain separated through extensive and thorough investigative work of historical and cultural evidence. My final recommendation is to keep consistent. Often informal novels such as this loose depth when they are not critical all the way through. However, In Zerubbabel’s defence, if we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?