Keeping a distance-Israel at 50

Fifty years after independence, Israel and Israelis are attempting to assess identities. The long period of statist nation-building has ended, only partially succeeding in the attempt to create a new, all-encompassing, Israeli identity, both Jewish and secular. Former identities, reinforced by institutionalized separation and new freedoms of choice provided by 'market forces', have been reinvented, nullifying decades of effort. The partial success in creating a new Israeli identity has been sufficient, however, to create distinctions between Israeli and Diaspora Jews. These strong centrifugal forces operate today as Israel is in the midst of a crucial period in which it is being cajoled into finding an appropriate place in the region and the world.