Tower and stockade: Dialogic narration in israeli settlement ethos

Abstract

This study explores the narrative construction of Israeli symbolism via a consideration of the tellings and re‐tellings of the heroic saga of Israel's pre‐state era. This operation, natively known as “Tower and Stockade,” spanned the years 1936–39 and has since become mythologized as part of Israel's modern cultural heritage. Contemporary contexts of narration or narrative allusion involve such public texts as pedagogical and commemorative materials on the one hand, and political debates concerning the present day West Bank settlement movement on the other. The study highlights the essentially dialogical process in which such high profile, multivocal national narratives participate and considers the rhetorical role they play in the larger cultural conversation.