10 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Hebrew shepherd-prophet from Tekoa who was the first of the 'writing prophets' — whose book of oracles attacks the social injustice of the Northern Kingdom (exploitation of the poor, luxury amid poverty, hollow ritual) and predicts the Assyrian destruction as divine punishment.
Prime Minister of Israel (1996–99, 2009–21, 2022–) — the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israeli history — MIT-educated — former Sayeret Matkal special forces officer — whose 30-year career has dominated Israeli politics.
American-Israeli Jungian analyst and medical anthropologist at Tel Aviv Medical School who writes on ritual, brothers, and the Jungian dimensions of Jewish culture — contributing to the Jungian analysis of religious and cultural anthropology.
Biblical military leader who led the Israelite conquest of Canaan following Moses's death — the book of Joshua depicts the systematic conquest of the Promised Land, the division of the land among the twelve tribes, and the renewal of the covenant at Shechem.
Israelite king who unified the tribes, captured Jerusalem, brought the Ark of the Covenant there, defeated the Philistines, and created the United Monarchy — whose flaws (Bathsheba, Uriah) are presented alongside his greatness — whose Psalms make him the greatest poet-king in Western literature.
Israelite king who built the First Temple in Jerusalem, whose wisdom became proverbial, who wrote (or was attributed with) Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs — whose reign represented the height of the united Israelite kingdom — and whose apostasy (foreign wives and foreign gods) is presented as the cause of the subsequent division.
Israeli-Soviet statesman — who spent 9 years in Soviet prisons as a dissident before being exchanged in 1986 — became a senior Israeli political figure — author of The Case for Democracy — whose framework (distinguishing free societies from fear societies) influenced George W. Bush's democracy promotion policy.
American legal and political scholar at Hoover Institution — former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department — author of Constitutional Conservatism and Virtue and the Making of Modern Liberalism.
Israeli historian and author — author of Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century — the best-selling popular historian of the last decade — who synthesizes big history with speculative futurism for global non-academic audiences.
Israeli intelligence official — former head of the Mossad's technology division — analyst on Israeli national security and intelligence matters.