Carnival in Tel Aviv ― Purim and the Celebration of Urban Zionism

An ethnographic exploration of Purim celebrations in Tel Aviv, Israel, this volume seeks to uncover the ideological elements of the celebrations as facets of urban Zionism from the days before the establishment of the state of Israel to the contemporary era. Over seven chapters, the author addresses issues of continuity and rupture in Tel Aviv's Hebrew culture, depictions of the carnivaleque in representations of the festival, the "meaning-network" revealed by the key Judaic biblical figures that figure heavily in the festival, the meanings of certain character traditions in relation towards Zionist views of non-Jews, and the sexual-political implications of representations of Queen Esther. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Hizky Shoham is a cultural historian of Israel and Zionism. He is a research fellow in the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Program for Hermeneutics and Cultural Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel.