This book examines the nature of citizenship in Israel as pertaining to particular group demands and to the dynamics of political life in the public arena. Focusing on a wide range of social groups from the military, through ethnic minorities, religious groupings, and the gay and lesbian community, contributors explore different aspects of citizenship through the needs, demands and struggles of minority groups to provide a comprehensive picture of the dynamics of Israeli citizenship and the dilemmas that emerge at the collective, group and individual levels.

Guy Ben-Porat is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Ben-Gurion University. He has written widely on Israel and conflict resolution, and his research focuses on conflict resolution, ethnic relations, globalization, public policy and multiculturalism.

Bryan S. Turner is Presidential Professor in the Ph.D. Program in Sociology at the City University of New York's Graduate Center and Professor of Social and Political Thought at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. One of the world's leading sociologists of religion, he has also devoted significant attention to sociological theory, the study of human rights, and the sociology of the body.

1. Introduction: The Contradictory Character of Citizenship Bryan 2. Collective Identities, Public Spheres, Civil Society and Citizenship in the Contemporary Era 3. Military Hierarchies and Collective Action: The Case of Israel 4. Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Israeli Welfare State: State Building and Political Economy 5. Corporatism and Multiculturalism as Responses to Ethnic Claims and Socio-economic Inequality: The Case of Shas 6. Citizenship and Ethnic Mobilization in Israel: The Case of Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow 7. Fundamentalist Citizenships: The Haredi Challenge 8. NGOization of the Israeli Feminist Movement: Depoliticizing or Redefining Political Spaces? 9. Parading Pridefully into the Mainstream: Gay and Lesbian Immersion in the Civil Core 10. Inward Turns: Citizenship, Solidarity and Exclusion 11. Civic Associations, Empowerment and Democratization: Arab Civil Society in Israel 12. All by Myself? The Paradox of Citizenship Among the FSU Immigrants in Israel 13. The Rise and Fall of Liberal Nationalism