Themes of Dissident Dissonance: Historicisation and Identification

The next two chapters examine discontinuity within the dissidents’ narratives, explaining how we might perceive the dissidents as constrained by the state, ressentiment Zionism and the hostile relations these have generated with the Other. As the dissidents are well-intentioned individuals in a difficult situation, I emphasise that dissonance is a manifestation of their dilemma rather than a personal failing. We can observe dissonance across multiple narratives, so I organise the dissidents’ responses into themed sections, which run through both chapters. Each section begins with a brief elaboration, then employs illustrative examples, and not every dissident is included in each section. This chapter specifically focuses on the dissidents’ identification and engagement with historical narratives.