Napoleon’s invasion of the Middle East and Palestine marks the beginning of the modern era in the region. The aim of this book is to trace the developments that led to the making of a new and separate geographical-political entity in the Middle East known as Eretz Israel, and to the establishment of the State of Israel within its boundaries. Thus, the time frame of this study spans from Napoleon’s invasion of Eretz Israel/Palestine in 1799 to 1948-1949, the years in which Israel was established. 'Eretz Israel' as the formal term for a separate geographical territory in the modern era first appeared in the early translations into Hebrew of the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, while in the original document the country was referred to as 'Palestine'. During the period of Ottoman rule the territory that would in time be called Eretz Israel/Palestine was not a separate political unit. For hundreds of years it was known as Terra Sancta, the Holy Land, or Palestine, a historical name stemming from that of the Roman province of Palaestina. Among Jews, the most widespread name during the first eight decades of the nineteenth century was 'Eretz Hakodesh' (the Holy Land). Use of 'Eretz Israel' increased only after the beginning of Zionist Aliyot. Had the Zionist movement not arisen, it is doubtful whether the development to which this study is devoted would have occurred at all. The motivating force behind that process is without doubt the Jewish Zionist element. That explains why Jews are the major protagonists in this book. Based on many written sources, it focuses on the major developments and events during a 150-year period that culminated in the establishment of Israel. Click here for the English edition, published by De Gruyter in collaboration with Magnes Press

In this book, written in the aftermath of the Second World War, Heidegger deals mainly with the question of the meaning of human existence. He rejects the humanist traditional thinking on the essence of the human, and instead reinterprets human existence in terms of directedness toward Being. By doing so, he also introduces his opinions on language, history and ethics.

Kierkegaard: Between Authentic Faith and Self-Deception approaches Kierkegaard through a refreshing combination of Jewish and non-Jewish philosophies. It deals with Kierkegaard/Hegel's debate and offers valuable insights into questions of self-deception, grace, and Kierkegaard's relation to Judaism and to Jews.

The struggle between philosophy and theology in the middle ages has been a central topic for historians of ideas. The Clash of Paradigms claims that this struggle can be fully explained by scientific paradigms. Aristotelian and Neoplatonic paradigms in the Jewish world confronted the kalam paradigm at their early stage, and magic and experimental science in the following stage.

Martin Luther, the initiator of the Protestant Reformation, presents the principles of his theological and political theory in the four treatises before us. In the first essay from 1917, also known as Ninety-Five Theses , Luther condemns the Catholic custom of selling plenary indulgences, already expressing insinuated criticism against the Catholic Church and Pope for their pretentions attempts to mediate between the believer and God. In the three essays he wrote in 1520, Luther undermines the foundations of the Catholic Church and its medieval development. This approach had a tremendous influence on all countries that later became Protestant.

Un véritable courant de vie parcourt ces pages que Perspectives consacre au cinéaste Marcel Ophuls. La vie, le vivant dominent. Il n’est pas étonnant qu’une des contributions de ce numéro s’intitule “Liberté, vitalité, spectacle” (Sophie Brunet). Dès lors, la division du volume s’est faite d’elle-même: 1-Un homme vivant; 2-Une oeuvre vivante. Au départ, le portrait d’un homme se dessine. Dans une “interview imaginaire.” On savoure son franc-parler, non que l’on adhère à toutes ses idées – en particulier en ce qui concerne Israël – mais on admire l’aisance et la liberté totale qui anime ses propos. Le comportement professionnel du cinéaste, son comportement tout court, trouvent leur place dans cette première partie. Parfois même, l’homme est saisi dans le feu de l’action. Les grands problèmes qui occupent le coeur et la pensée d’un homme de notre temps se retrouvent dans la seconde partie du volume. Là encore, au plus près de la vie . Le cinéaste interpelle les spectateurs lorsqu’il traite de la Shoah, de l’Occuption, ou de la Résistance, de la place que ces sujets tiennent dans la mémoire d’un Français ou d’un Allemand. On s’interroge avec le cinéaste : se doit-il d’être objectif? Mais “dès le début de sa carrière, remarque Pierre Beylot, un style documentaire original fondé sur la parole de témoignage et le montage des sources dont il assume de plus en plus ostensiblement le caractère subjectif” marque son oeuvre. C’est dire aussi que souvent le regard s’attarde sur le traitement esthétique des sujets abordés. Ecoutons François Niney:“Cette remise en question de nos manières de voir et de nos dilemmes, à la fois politiques et personnels, par le jeu et le poids des mots, différencie radicalement le documentaire selon Marcel, du panel d’opinions tel que l’expose en permanence l’étal médiatique”. L’important est que son public réfléchisse. Il s’agit, selon Valérie Carré, de “mettre en mouvement la réflexion du spectateur”. Qu’attendre de l’avenir? Encore une oeuvre surprenante? Vincent Lowy, à l’écoute, note: “Boulimique de projets virtuels, l’infatigable MO junior annonce déjà les quatre titres d’ […] improbables best-sellers…” [futurs romans policiers }. Il convient enfin de souligner le rôle déterminant qu’a joué Stéphane Kerber dans l’élaboration de ce numéro de Perspectives. Nos vifs remerciements vont à lui. Laissons-lui maintenant la parole.

In the few years after his retirement from public life and before he was sentenced to suicide, the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote the majority of his texts, which included over one hundred letters of wisdom ( espistulae morales) sent to his friend Lucilius. These letters are considered the first appearance of literary letters in Roman prose. The letters are philosophical essays written by a very wise and witty old man concluding his life, an autobiography of our spiritual world. The issues that interested Seneca are eternally relevant.

The essay Lettre à d'Alembert sur les spectacles , first published in 1758, was written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a response to the essay Geneva by Jean d'Alembert which appeared in the Encyclopédie. d'Alembert proposed to establish a theatre in Geneva. Rousseau opposed the idea, arguing that the move would harm the city’s delicate social fabric.

Baruch Kimmerling (1939-2007) was one of Israel's outstanding critical sociologists. In this volume, Israeli and Palestinian scholars of several disciplines and generations offer a series of studies on Israel and Palestine, past and present, in dialogue with the research agenda Kimmerling has advanced. Essays discuss Zionism and militarism, frontier and colonization, social protest and the limits of democracy, the sociology of fear and the politics of home -- and Kimmerling's own trajectory.

Israeli Religious Zionism underwent dramatic changes following the Six-Day War. The authors of this title argue that the war generated a trend of maturity that destabilized the fundamental ethe and myths of the traditional Religious Zionism ideas.

Dr. Mozes presents a reflection of his own personal 25-year journey through the fields of clinical practice, clinical epidemiology, and history and philosophy of medicine. His journey passes through 20 stations. Most of the chapters deal with problems that are at the focus of contemporary public debate, such as cholesterol and heart disease, screening for early detection of breast cancer, hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause symptoms, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, vaccination, obesity and bariatric surgery, depression and dementia. At the same time Mozes tries to open a skylight on the personal experiences, motives and desires that drove him to delve into the various topics, and select his particular point of view. "Benjamin Mozes easily refutes many prejudices, touching upon the connections between fears, motivations, beliefs and anxieties, while being attentive to the state of the contemporary man - lending a wise and compassionate ear to patients." (from a review by Ariel Hirschfeld).