The Hilltop Youth: A Stage of Resistance and Counter culture Practice

(Hardback)

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Description

For more than a decade Israeli society has been witness to the appearance of a new social group, the Hilltop Youth. In the years following the Israeli governments disengagement from the Gaza program in 2005 and the subsequent destruction of settlements in the Gaza Strip, youth and young families have set up settlements on the hilltops of Judea and Samaria and have demonstrated violent, anti-establishment resistance to the state, the IDF, and the police. The appearance of the Hilltop Youth marks a new chapter in the narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict The book studies the youth sub-culture and its ideological structure through an examination of its practices of protest and rebellion. It further explores how the extremist youth group presents a new structural process for border area development, as well as the effects it has on both the micro leveldisplaying violent and provocative behavior against the local society of the settlersand on the macro levelagainst Israeli society. The Hilltop Youth phenomenon is examined through comprehensive ethnographic presentation of the daily routine and activities of the youth.

Reviews

This project is a rare combination of anthropological fieldwork and political science analyses. In order to master the issue of "Hilltop Youth," the author lived among these groups of Jewish youngsters in their tiny villages on South Mount Hebron, and meticulously deciphered their human, social and ideological environment. Presenting a first-hand testimony about the social periphery of Jewish settler society within the wild regions of Judea, this study also challenges distorted myths often shaped by local and international reporters. Friedman's research, the first of its kind concerning this specific social group, is necessary for anyone who wishes to establish further knowledge of the subject, beyond its stereotypical manifestations in mass media. Hence, this book is essential for those who study the Arab-Israeli conflict and are honestly curious to deepen their comprehension of the various protagonists within the complex Middle Eastern vicinity. -- Eyal Lewin, Ariel University
Friedman touches upon the most sensitive and fragile issue of Israeli society and, by dismantling it with professional skill and sober vision, makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the marginal Israeli youth gang called Noar Hagvaot (the Hilltop Youth) not only in the context of youth in distress but also within the framework of geo-politics. Friedmans contribution to the field of anthropology-sociology is invaluable since this topic is potentially explosive which makes this book a crucially important contribution to the field of modern Israeli sociology. He opens up an aperture in this previously untouched field of research and adds the dimension of youth research dynamics, something that is especially important for the understanding of these youths who could easily affect the balance of power in the West Bank. -- Ronen A. Cohen, Ariel University

Author Bio

Shimi Friedman is professor of Sociology at Ariel University