ABSTRACT
This book is about the production and management of public memory in Israel. Specifically, it examines the struggle for inclusion in the domain of military commemoration by those barred from its patrimony. A policy of exclusion, originating in the government's orientation to losses incurred by those who fought for the defence of the newly formed Jewish state, is the reverse side of this contentious confrontation. The struggle is exposed through the lens of the politics of bereavement and remembrance, as well as concomitant efforts to fashion a ranking order of heroism and sacrifice through various means of memorialization. Chronologically, the events and debates studied here embrace two periods: the era of Labour movement hegemony under the leadership of the Mapai Party from 1948 to 1977; the Revisionist/Herut movement ascendancy to power in 1977 under the direction of the Likud Party and its tenure of rule until the turn of the century. The two periods were dominated by charismatic figures, David BenGurion in the Labour movement followed by Menahem Begin in the Herut movement.
