Living with contradictions: The taken-for-granted in Israeli political discourse

Two apparently contradictory ideas are closely linked in Israeli political discourse: Israel is powerful and independent and Israel is vulnerable and dependent. This study used content analysis and focus groups, as well as ex isting survey data analyzed by others, to explore how this paradox has been reflected in newspapers and conversations during six different time period s from 1948 to 1996. The goal was not to explain the paradox but to examine its consequences for Israeli perceptions of U.S. policy in the Middle East -and, in the process, to explore Israeli self-images. The nature of U.S. st rategic interests was originally treated as problematic and in need of poli tical discussion, but in the past 25 years these interests have become take n for granted. Surprisingly, even after the end of the Cold War a critical discourse moment in which a reexamination of U.S. interests in the Middle E ast would seem inevitable, the U.S. role remains taken Sor granted and larg ely unexamined The strong/vulnerable paradox explains this absence of discu ssion: Examining U.S. interests too closely upsets the delicate balance tha t keeps the sense of vulnerability in check.