The Dissidents’ Context

This chapter concludes my explication of the ‘problematic situation’ facing the dissidents, outlining the development of the ressentiment Zionist discourse from the establishment of Israel in 1948 to the present day. My core argument is that the dominant nationalist discourse inculcates Israeli Jews into a ressentiment schema wherein they belong to a virtuous Us under threat from an Evil Other. This schema simultaneously explains the structures of the ethnocratiser state, which make the threat from the Other real, since discriminatory practices exacerbate ressentiment. Accordingly, Israeli Jews generally view the state as their protector to defend at all costs, and not as a contributing factor to ongoing conflict.