An examination of political drama in modern Israel in relation to ongoing political and religious debates.Many political plays have been written in Israel over the past fifty years, and they are perceived, by audiences and critics, as major interventions in political debate. In this first full-length study Glenda Abramson shows that Israeli drama has been at the centre of public controversies on many topics, including the ethical basis of Zionism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the wars and the Holocaust. Hanokh Levin, Yehoshua Sobol, Yosef Mundi and Miriam Kainy are among playwrights examining Zionism as it affects contemporary Israeli society.Many political plays have been written in Israel over the past fifty years, and they are perceived, by audiences and critics, as major interventions in political debate. In this first full-length study Glenda Abramson shows that Israeli drama has been at the centre of public controversies on many topics, including the ethical basis of Zionism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the wars and the Holocaust. Hanokh Levin, Yehoshua Sobol, Yosef Mundi and Miriam Kainy are among playwrights examining Zionism as it affects contemporary Israeli society.Many political plays have been written in Israel over the past fifty years, and they are perceived, by audiences and critics, as major interventions in political debate. In this first full-length study Glenda Abramson shows that Israeli drama has been at the center of public controversies on many topics, including the ethical basis of Zionism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the wars and the Holocaust. Hanokh Levin, Yehoshua Sobol, Yosef Mundi and Miriam Kainy are among the playwrights examining Zionism as it affects contemporary Israeli society.Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The 'Enterprise' and its reinforcement in the drama of the 1950s; 2. Zionism on the stage: years of protest; 3. 'The Israeli-Palestinian War'; 4. Zionism on the stage: Sobol's case; 5. Hero's end; 6. The issue of religion; 7. TlC)