Ethos and Logos in Israeli Citizenship: Discourse Analysis of Civic Studies Textbooks

Abstract

This study examines the notion of citizenship as a form of political identity in a multi-national and multi-ethnic state such as Israel. In an effort to understand the strategies by which citizenship of Palestinians and Jews in Israel is defined, this research analyses civic studies textbooks currently used in Israeli public schools. The study asks whether the notion of citizenship is drawn from universal or particularistic- ethnic principles; what the boundaries of the demos are, and how citizens' economic, social, political and civil rights are defined. It focuses on the analysis of the ethos of citizenship and the internal Logos that sustain it as a coherent discourse in civic studies textbooks. Theoretically, the study examines basic concepts of citizenship and nationhood in a multi-ethnic society such as Israel. It re-examines ethnic groups' right to self-determination against individual and collective minority rights based on universal principles. This case adds to the understanding of the complex relationship between the particularistic and the universal forms of political identity, nationalism and citizenship.