Priya Singh is associate director at Asia in Global Affairs (AGA), Kolkata. She has held research positions as fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, and as IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada) postdoctoral researcher at the Centre on Gender and Forced Displacement under the Gender and Development Studies programme at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok.

• Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations. Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Ideology, democracy and the Jewish state: The shifts within Chapter 3: Homogenising the heterogeneous: Construing the ethnic fabric of the Israeli nation Chapter 4: Gender in a Jewish state: Identity and power Chapter 5: Quest for space: Marginalised voices from Israel Chapter 6: Conclusion. Index.

‘This work is a highly commendable attempt at interrogating the myth of the Israeli state being the political organisation erected atop, and for, a monochrome Jewish society. The "Jewish democracy of Israel" is and always has been a highly fragmented entity, where even the categories of "Jewish" and "Israeli" are not susceptible of uncontested understanding. This has been the subject of a vigorous debate right from the time of its birth in 1948, and possibly even before. The work explores deep into those component frames within the larger "Jewish" identity, teasing out the nuances that are often missed by outsiders, but frequently leave considerable impact on the state and society of Israel. Ms Singh has discussed threadbare an astonishingly complete range of debates within the Israeli society about the various aspects of political, social and cultural life in the state of Israel. The book has the potential of being an essential item on the reading list wherever Israel is studied without either favour or prejudice.’Professor Kingshuk Chatterjee, Department of History, University of Calcutta; Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Middle East and Global Order, Berlin; Author of Ali Shari’ati and the Shaping of Political Islam in Iran (2011)

Priya Singh is associate director at Asia in Global Affairs (AGA), Kolkata. She has held research positions as fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, and as IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada) postdoctoral researcher at the Centre on Gender and Forced Displacement under the Gender and Development Studies programme at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok.

• Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations. Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Ideology, democracy and the Jewish state: The shifts within Chapter 3: Homogenising the heterogeneous: Construing the ethnic fabric of the Israeli nation Chapter 4: Gender in a Jewish state: Identity and power Chapter 5: Quest for space: Marginalised voices from Israel Chapter 6: Conclusion. Index.

‘This work is a highly commendable attempt at interrogating the myth of the Israeli state being the political organisation erected atop, and for, a monochrome Jewish society. The "Jewish democracy of Israel" is and always has been a highly fragmented entity, where even the categories of "Jewish" and "Israeli" are not susceptible of uncontested understanding. This has been the subject of a vigorous debate right from the time of its birth in 1948, and possibly even before. The work explores deep into those component frames within the larger "Jewish" identity, teasing out the nuances that are often missed by outsiders, but frequently leave considerable impact on the state and society of Israel. Ms Singh has discussed threadbare an astonishingly complete range of debates within the Israeli society about the various aspects of political, social and cultural life in the state of Israel. The book has the potential of being an essential item on the reading list wherever Israel is studied without either favour or prejudice.’Professor Kingshuk Chatterjee, Department of History, University of Calcutta; Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Middle East and Global Order, Berlin; Author of Ali Shari’ati and the Shaping of Political Islam in Iran (2011)

Priya Singh is associate director at Asia in Global Affairs (AGA), Kolkata. She has held research positions as fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, and as IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada) postdoctoral researcher at the Centre on Gender and Forced Displacement under the Gender and Development Studies programme at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok.

• Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations. Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Ideology, democracy and the Jewish state: The shifts within Chapter 3: Homogenising the heterogeneous: Construing the ethnic fabric of the Israeli nation Chapter 4: Gender in a Jewish state: Identity and power Chapter 5: Quest for space: Marginalised voices from Israel Chapter 6: Conclusion. Index.

‘This work is a highly commendable attempt at interrogating the myth of the Israeli state being the political organisation erected atop, and for, a monochrome Jewish society. The "Jewish democracy of Israel" is and always has been a highly fragmented entity, where even the categories of "Jewish" and "Israeli" are not susceptible of uncontested understanding. This has been the subject of a vigorous debate right from the time of its birth in 1948, and possibly even before. The work explores deep into those component frames within the larger "Jewish" identity, teasing out the nuances that are often missed by outsiders, but frequently leave considerable impact on the state and society of Israel. Ms Singh has discussed threadbare an astonishingly complete range of debates within the Israeli society about the various aspects of political, social and cultural life in the state of Israel. The book has the potential of being an essential item on the reading list wherever Israel is studied without either favour or prejudice.’Professor Kingshuk Chatterjee, Department of History, University of Calcutta; Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Middle East and Global Order, Berlin; Author of Ali Shari’ati and the Shaping of Political Islam in Iran (2011)