From the particularistic to the universalistic: National narratives in Israel's mainstream press, 1967-97

The aim of this article is to study the development of the Jewish-Zionist national idea as expressed in the national narrative as it appeared in Israel's mainstream press during the years 1967-97, against the background of five critical events in the Israeli collective experience as well as in the wake of the Holocaust Memorial Days. This development is studied as a case of the immanent tension between nationalism's universalistic message and its particularistic application. The Jewish-Zionist narrative in Israel is found to be 'shifting' from its particularistic towards its more universalistic pole. This development is discussed as a transition from a 'purely national' to a 'post-national' narrative, and is positioned in its local and global contexts.