Description:
In this insightful interpretation of Zionism, Ofer Idels reveals that, while Hebrew culture often celebrated strong "muscular Jews," it distanced itself from modern sports during the interwar years. Embodying the Revolution fills a gap in the literature on the globalization of the sporting spectacle and explores how Zionist revolutionary ideals challenge neoliberal views of ideology as an elitist myth.
Review Quotes: "Ofer Idels offers the first historically grounded and philosophically argued answer to the question about the specific--and indeed exceptional marginal--position of sports in contemporary Israeli culture. His book marks an incisive threshold both for readers with a scholarly agenda and with a broader typological interest."--Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht "Albert Guérard Professor in Literature emeritus at Stanford University"