The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel

The Hero and His Shadow uses the history of Israeli society to examine the psychological perspective of collective processes. Erel Shalit focuses on the actualization of the Zionist myth, which depended on a small group of individuals to transform the idea into matter by merging personal identity with collective idea. He finds that this process emanates from the close proximity of the life of the individual and the life of the collective in Israel. Shalit searches for the psychological relationships and motivations of the people of Israel as they evolved from a movement into a nation of people guided by similar ideals. Recognizing the use of the images of the pioneer-farmer, the guardsman, and the warrior, which became admired hero-ideals, he delves into the shadow side of the guiding myths of modern Israel. Here he found feelings of hubris, weakness, arrogance, and despair. Shalit exposes these aspects, normally repressed and left in the background, to fully explore the personal and collective ideas behind the Zionist myth.