The Melting Pot in Israel: The Commission of Inquiry Concerning the Education of Immigrant Children During the Early Years of the State

by Zvi Zameret

Overview

This volume combines a translation of substantial portions of one of the most important documents in the early history of Israel-the government commission of inquiry concerning education in the immigrant camps, appointed in 1950-with analysis of the ensuing public debates and repercussions, and their meaning for Israeli society today. Using extensive historical research, Zameret traces the development of political and social processes in the early years of Israel's existence and points to their far-reaching and decisive implications for contemporary Israeli society, including the rise of Shas, the political party created by ultra-Orthodox Oriental Jews.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791489222
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	09/18/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	952 KB

About the Author

Zvi Zameret is Director of Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi in Jerusalem. In addition to the Hebrew version of this book, he has published, in Hebrew, Across a Narrow Bridge: Shaping the Education System During the Great Aliya.

Table of Contents

	Abbreviations	vii
	Preface	ix
Book I
	Introduction	3
Chapter 1	Early Incidents of Religious-Secular Conflict	7
Chapter 2	Absorption of Mass Immigration in the Early Years: Facts and Figures	15
Chapter 3	Why Was a Government Commission of Inquiry Appointed?	19
Chapter 4	The Composition of the Commission of Inquiry	41
Chapter 5	Ben-Gurion's Stand on the Education of Immigrant Children	47
Chapter 6	Attitudes of Various Parties toward the Commission of Inquiry	59
Chapter 7	Uniform Education in the Immigrant Camps and the Religious Workers Stream	65
Chapter 8	Political Developments during the Course of the Commission's Investigation	79
Chapter 9	The Culture Department's Objections to the Commission's Conclusions	89
Chapter 10	Reactions to the Frumkin Report: Government, Knesset, Histadrut	101
Chapter 11	Comments on the Procedures and Conclusions of the Frumkin Commission	123
Chapter 12	The Decision to Introduce a State Educational System (1953)	137
Chapter 13	Shas--The Party Whose Roots Lie in the Anti-Religious Coercion of Israel's First Years	145
Chapter 14	Summing Up: Israel--From "Melting Pot" to Pluralistic State	155
	Notes to Book I	161
Book II
	Report of the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Education in the Immigrant Camps	191
	Introduction: Appointment, Authority, and Procedures of the Commission	193
Chapter 1	The General Background	197
Chapter 2	The Immigrant Camps	233
Chapter 3	Specific Accusations	237
Chapter 4	Accusations in the Press	269
Chapter 5	Sources of Propaganda Abroad	275
Chapter 6	Conclusions	287
	Addendum: List of Witnesses Who Testified before the Commission	293
	Notes to Book II	297
	Glossary of Hebrew Terms	301
	Select Biographies	306
	Bibliography	321
	Index	329

Editorial Reviews

An extremely useful source for the study of the relationship between education, politics, and society in modern Israel. Zameret’s informative contextualization of the Frumkin Commission Report, as well as the text of the report itself, throws new light on the ethnic and religious tensions that threaten today’s Israel no less than war or terrorism.” — Derek J. Penslar, author of Shylock’s Children: Economics and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe

“There passed before my eyes an entire period of time, whose memory I had relegated to a back, obscure corner of my mind, where it was almost forgotten. And when, in the wake of reading The Melting Pot in Israel, I again remembered it, it was not at all bright, but rather ugly and cloudy.” — Aharon Megged, author of The Story of Selvino’s Children: Journey to the Promised Land

From the Publisher