122 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 19:3 

Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel 

Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky 

London: Pluto Press, 1999. 149 pages. 

In their book Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Shahak and Mezvinsky 
document the nature of Jewish fundamentalism and argue that it is a grow­

ing threat to Israeli society. As a work of activist scholarship, the authors 
point out that their aim is not to present new scholarship but to document, 
in English, literature that is normally available only in Hebrew, and to make 
the links between Jewish fundamentalism and Israeli politics clearer. 

As such, this is a fascinating, informative, and easy-to-read book for 
anyone interested in Israeli politics, Judaism, and its relation to Israeli poli­
cies toward Palestine. It presents facets of Orthodox Judaism (particularly 
messianic, which they consider most dangerous) and Israeli politics not usu-