Drawing on a broad cultural and historical canvas, and weaving in the author's personal and professional experience, The Israeli Mind presents a compelling, if disturbing, portrait of the Israeli national character. Emerging from the depth of Jewish history and the drama of the Zionist rebellion against it, lsraelis are struggling to forge an identity. They are grand and grandiose, visionary and delusional, generous and self-centered. Deeply caring because of the history of Jewish victimization, they also demonstrate a shocking indifference to the sufferings of others. Saying no is their first, second and third line of defense, even as they are totally capable of complete and sudden capitulation. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the collective but also to sacrifice that very collective for a higher, and likely unattainable ideal. Dr. Alon Gratch draws a vivid, provocative portrait of the conflicts embedded in the Israeli mind. Annihilation anxiety, narcissism, a failure to fully process the Holocaust, hyper-masculinity, post-traumatic stress, and an often unexamined narrative of self-sacrifice, all clash with the nation's aspiration for normalcy or even greatness. Failure to resolve these conflicts, Gratch argues, will threaten Israel's very existence and the stability of the Western world.

It's not that men don't talk, says Dr. Alon Gratch, it's just that they speak a different language. Drawing on the stories of his male patients and on his own experiences as a man-as a son, husband, father, therapist, and friend—Dr. Gratch brilliantly illuminates the reasons why men think and act the way they do.

He breaks down male psychology into seven factors—Shame (boys don't cry), Emotional Absence (I don't know what I feel), Masculine Insecurity (I'm tired of being on top), Self-Involvement (see me, hear me, touch me, feel me), Aggression (I'll show you who's boss), Self-Destructiveness (I'm such a loser), Sexual Acting-Out (I want sex now)—and provides practical tools anyone can use to listen, to interpret, and to understand the inner world of men.

• I have some sexual anxieties. Translation: I can't get it up.
• It's hard for me to get close to a woman. Translation: I can't get it up.
• I had a horrible dream which I can't even talk about. Translation: I have sexual fantasies about men.
• I love women. Translation: I'm a sex addict.
• I may have a thing about getting old. Translation: I'm only attracted to sixteen-year-olds.
• I don't know how to put sex and love together. Translation: I love rough sex.
• I'm beginning to think I drink too much. Translation: I can't get it up.