This is the first monograph devoted to the system of community benefaction practised by Jews in Palestine from the second century BCE to the sixth century CE. Principal is the evidence from synagogue inscriptions erected to patrons and donors from the second century CE onwards. All these inscriptions are reviewed, together with a re-examination of how they are to be translated.Sorek is especially interested in the motivation for benefactions, and concludes that the Jewish system attested in the inscriptions is specific to the Jewish community. It was not merely a copy of the well-known Graeco-Roman system of euergetism, in which rich citizens contributed from their wealth to public expenses. But neither was the Jewish system properly an expression of charity, as has often been thought. Sorek argues that the benefaction system is best understood as an expression of hesed, the meaning of which she explores in detail.

This is the first book to examine the causes, events and consequences of a major conflict in ancient Palestine, and assess the accounts of its star witness, Josephus. The Jewish war, culminating in the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, can be called the most significant event in Roman military history. The war demanded a massive concentration of forces and was the longest siege in the whole of the Imperial period. Lasting roughly five months it took four legions, twenty infantry cohorts, and eighteen thousand men supplied by four independent kings to affect a victory. In fact, the forces committed to the siege, were larger than those deployed for the invasion of Britain in AD 43. The Jewish revolt was not inspired by any ideological objection on the part of the Jews toward Rome, nor any Roman anti-Semitism: instead a variety of underlying causes helped spark the revolt including social tensions, the divisions amongst the ruling class, the rise of banditry and poor harvests, and, perhaps most significantly, the apocalyptic storm brewing over 1st century Palestine. All revolutions change history, whether they are successful or not, and the Jewish war against Rome in AD 66-73 was no exception - the ramifications were enormous and still have an impact on the world today. The revolt had a profound influence on the development of Judaism and Christianity. If this revolt had not occurred, two major religions would simply not exist, certainly not in their present forms. The other exceptional fact about the Jewish war is the extraordinary amount of information that has survived. For that we have to thank one man, Flavius Josephus, a Jew of Pharisaic origin and eyewitness to the events he describes. Born Joseph ben Mattiyahu, he held a command in Galilee during a pivotal stage of the revolt and was captured by the Romans. Eventually, through his skillful manipulation of events, he became a client and friend to the future Roman emperors, Vespasian and Titus and worked as a translator and mediator during the fateful siege of Jerusalem. To the Jews, he became a traitor.>

Coastal aquifers serve as major sources for freshwater supply in many countries around the world, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. Many coastal areas are also heavily urbanized, a fact that makes the need for freshwater even more acute. Coastal aquifers are highly sensitive to disturbances. Inappropriate management of a coastal aquifer may lead to its destruction as a source for freshwater much earlier than other aquifers which are not connected to the sea. The reason is the threat of seawater intrusion. In many coastal aquifers, intrusion of seawater has become one of the major constraints imposed on groundwater utilization. As sea water intrusion progresses, existing pumping wells, especially those close to the coast, become saline and have to be abandoned. Also, the area above the intruding seawater wedge is lost as a source of natural replenishment to the aquifer. Despite the importance of this subject, so far there does not exist a book that integrates our present knowledge of seawater intrusion, its occurrences, physical mechanism, chemistry, exploration by geo physical and geochemical techniques, conceptual and mathematical modeling, analytical and numerical solution methods, engineering measures of combating seawater intrusion, management strategies, and experience learned from case studies. By presenting this fairly comprehensive volume on the state-of-the-art of knowledge and ex perience on saltwater intrusion, we hoped to transfer this body of knowledge to the geologists, hydrologists, hydraulic engineers, water resources planners, managers, and governmental policy makers, who are engaged in the sustainable development of coastal fresh ground water resources."

While the scholarly study of culture as a politically contested sphere in Palestine/Israel has become an established field over the past two decades, this volume highlights some particular understudied aspects of it: the relations between Arab identity, Mizrahi identity, and Israeli nationalism; the nightclub scene as a field of encounter, appropriation, and exclusion; an analysis of the institutional and political conditions of Palestinian cinema; the implications of the intersectional relationship between gender, ethnicity and national identity in the field of popular culture, and the concrete relations between particular aesthetic forms and symbolic power. The authors come from diverse disciplines, including anthropology, architecture, ethnomusicology, history, sociology, and political science. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Collective memory transforms historical events into political myths. In this book, Tamir Sorek considers the development of collective memory and national commemoration among the Palestinian citizens of Israel. He charts the popular politicization of four key events-the Nakba, the 1956 Kafr Qasim Massacre, the 1976 Land Day, and the October 2000 killing of twelve Palestinian citizens in Israel-and investigates a range of commemorative sites, including memorial rallies, monuments, poetry, the education system, political summer camps, and individual historical remembrance. These sites have become battlefields between diverse social forces and actors-including Arab political parties, the Israeli government and security services, local authorities, grassroots organizations, journalists, and artists-over representations of the past. Palestinian commemorations are uniquely tied to Palestinian encounters with the Israeli state apparatus, with Jewish Israeli citizens of Israel, and by their position as Israeli citizens themselves. Reflecting longstanding tensions between Palestinian citizens and the Israeli state, as well as growing pressures across Palestinian societies within and beyond Israel, these moments of commemoration distinguish Palestinian citizens not only from Jewish citizens, but from Palestinians elsewhere. Ultimately, Sorek shows that Palestinian citizens have developed commemorations and a collective memory that offers both moments of protest and points of dialogue, that is both cautious and circuitous.

Obelisks, originally associated with sun cult, had their heyday between 2000 and 1500 BCE, when they adorned the Nile's banks and proclaimed the splendour of the pharaohs. Yet today there are more of them (13) surviving in Rome than in Egypt. They were brought there in the first four centuries CE by successive Roman emperors, each with there own agenda for doing so. Fascination with these spectacular monuments continued into modern times: in transporting 'Cleopatra's Needle' to London in the 19th century six sailors died and the stone was almost lost at sea; another was more securely transported to New York. And it was during these exercises that the skills of the Egyptian engineers who constructed, transported and erected obelisks became apparent, and that the study of them, including eventually their hieroglyphic inscriptions, began. This unique book traces the history of the obelisk and has its emphasis very much on the role played by Rome in their preservation.

Tawfiq Zayyad (1929–94) was a renowned Palestinian poet and a committed communist activist. For four decades, he was a dominant figure in political life in Israel, as a local council member, mayor of Nazareth, and member of the Israeli parliament. Zayyad personified the collective struggle of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, challenging the military government following the creation of the state of Israel, leading the 1976 nationwide strike against land confiscation, and tirelessly protesting Israeli military occupation after 1967. With this book, Tamir Sorek offers the first biography of this charismatic figure. Zayyad's life was one of balance and contradiction—between his revolutionary writings as Palestinian patriotic poet and his pragmatic political work in the Israeli public sphere. He was uncompromising in his protest of injustices against the Palestinian people, but always committed to a universalist vision of Arab-Jewish brotherhood. It was this combination of traits that made Zayyad an exceptional leader—and makes his biography larger than the man himself to offer a compelling story about Palestinians and the state of Israel.

Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-94) was a renowned Palestinian poet and a committed communist activist. For four decades, he was a dominant figure in political life in Israel, as a local council member, mayor of Nazareth, and member of the Israeli parliament. Zayyad personified the collective struggle of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, challenging the military government following the creation of the state of Israel, leading the 1976 nationwide strike against land confiscation, and tirelessly protesting Israeli military occupation after 1967. With this book, Tamir Sorek offers the first biography of this charismatic figure. Zayyad's life was one of balance and contradiction-between his revolutionary writings as Palestinian patriotic poet and his pragmatic political work in the Israeli public sphere. He was uncompromising in his protest of injustices against the Palestinian people, but always committed to a universalist vision of Arab-Jewish brotherhood. It was this combination of traits that made Zayyad an exceptional leader-and makes his biography larger than the man himself to offer a compelling story about Palestinians and the state of Israel.

Collective memory transforms historical events into political myths. In this book, Tamir Sorek considers the development of collective memory and national commemoration among the Palestinian citizens of Israel. He charts the popular politicization of four key events-the Nakba, the 1956 Kafr Qasim Massacre, the 1976 Land Day, and the October 2000 killing of twelve Palestinian citizens in Israel-and investigates a range of commemorative sites, including memorial rallies, monuments, poetry, the education system, political summer camps, and individual historical remembrance. These sites have become battlefields between diverse social forces and actors-including Arab political parties, the Israeli government and security services, local authorities, grassroots organizations, journalists, and artists-over representations of the past. Palestinian commemorations are uniquely tied to Palestinian encounters with the Israeli state apparatus, with Jewish Israeli citizens of Israel, and by their position as Israeli citizens themselves. Reflecting longstanding tensions between Palestinian citizens and the Israeli state, as well as growing pressures across Palestinian societies within and beyond Israel, these moments of commemoration distinguish Palestinian citizens not only from Jewish citizens, but from Palestinians elsewhere. Ultimately, Sorek shows that Palestinian citizens have developed commemorations and a collective memory that offers both moments of protest and points of dialogue, that is both cautious and circuitous.

Coastal aquifers serve as major sources for freshwater supply in many countries around the world, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. Many coastal areas are also heavily urbanized, a fact that makes the need for freshwater even more acute. Coastal aquifers are highly sensitive to disturbances. Inappropriate management of a coastal aquifer may lead to its destruction as a source for freshwater much earlier than other aquifers which are not connected to the sea. The reason is the threat of seawater intrusion. In many coastal aquifers, intrusion of seawater has become one of the major constraints imposed on groundwater utilization. As sea water intrusion progresses, existing pumping wells, especially those close to the coast, become saline and have to be abandoned. Also, the area above the intruding seawater wedge is lost as a source of natural replenishment to the aquifer. Despite the importance of this subject, so far there does not exist a book that integrates our present knowledge of seawater intrusion, its occurrences, physical mechanism, chemistry, exploration by geo physical and geochemical techniques, conceptual and mathematical modeling, analytical and numerical solution methods, engineering measures of combating seawater intrusion, management strategies, and experience learned from case studies. By presenting this fairly comprehensive volume on the state-of-the-art of knowledge and ex perience on saltwater intrusion, we hoped to transfer this body of knowledge to the geologists, hydrologists, hydraulic engineers, water resources planners, managers, and governmental policy makers, who are engaged in the sustainable development of coastal fresh ground water resources."

Over the last two decades soccer has become a major institution within the popular culture of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. They have attained disproportionate success in this field. Given their marginalization from many areas of Israeli society as well as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such a prominent Arab presence highlights the tension between their Israeli citizenship and their belonging to the Palestinian people. Bringing together sociological, anthropological and historical approaches, Sorek examines how soccer can potentially be utilized by ethnic and national minorities as a field of social protest, a stage for demonstrating distinctive identity, or as a channel for social and political integration. Relying on a rich combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, he argues that equality in the soccer sphere legitimizes contemporary inequality between Jews and Arabs in Israel and pursues wider arguments about the role of sport in ethno-national conflicts. Ideal for researchers and graduate students.

Sport in the Middle East has become a major issue in global affairs. The contributors to this timely volume discuss the intersection of political and cultural processes related to sport in the region. Eleven chapters trace the historical institutionalisation of sport and the role it has played in negotiating 'Western' culture. Sport is found to be a contested terrain where struggles are being fought over the inclusion of women, over competing definitions of national identity, over preserving social memory, and over press freedom. Also discussed are the implications of mega-sporting events for host countries, and how both elite sport policies and sports industries in the region are being shaped. Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East draws on academic disciplines from the humanities and social sciences to offer in-depth, theoretically grounded, and richly empirical case studies. It employs diverse research methodologies, from ethnography and in-depth interviews to archival research, to make a lasting contribution to this critical subject.

Over the last two decades soccer has become a major institution within the popular culture of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. They have attained disproportionate success in this field. Given their marginalisation from many areas of Israeli society as well as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such a prominent Arab presence highlights the tension between their Israeli citizenship and their belonging to the Palestinian people. Bringing together sociological, anthropological and historical approaches, Sorek examines how soccer can potentially be utilised by ethnic and national minorities as a field of social protest, a stage for demonstrating distinctive identity, or as a channel for social and political integration. Relying on a rich combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, he argues that equality in the soccer sphere legitimises contemporary inequality between Jews and Arabs in Israel and pursues wider arguments about the role of sport in ethno-national conflicts. Ideal for researchers and graduate students.

This is an accessible and concise overview of Greek and Roman history writing. The ancient historians were not always objective or accurate, and their intentions for writing were very different from those of modern historians. This introductory guide helps to unravel some of the difficulties involved in dealing with ancient source material, placing the work of ancient historians in its political, social and historical context for the contemporary reader. The chapters survey all of the major historians whose works are encountered most often by students during their period of study, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Sallust and Livy, as well as more minor Greek and Roman historians. Further chapters assess works of biography and literature as historical source material. "Alexander the Great", the subject of multiple works of history, biography and fiction, provides an enlightening case study in ancient historiography. Timelines of major historical events will place the writers within their historical context, and each chapter includes a full bibliography for ease of reference.

Dvorak's second set of Slavonic Dances was composed in response to a request from his German publisher, N. Simrock, in the wake of the tremendous popularity of the first set (Op. 46). The brilliant orchestration of the melodious, folk-inspired dances did much to establish Dvorak's reputation as a major orchestral composer. The new study score offered here is a digitally-enhanced reprint of the score first issued in 1955 as part of the Dvorak complete works by the Czech State publishing house SNKLHU, edited by Otakar Sourek. Available now for the first time in an affordable, easy-to-read size.

Dvorak's "Stabat Mater" is a work deeply inspired by personal tragedy in the composer's life. Originally sketched between February and May of 1876 as a delayed response to the death of his daughter Josefa, the work was not completed in definitive form until late 1877, in the wake of the passing of two other children (daughter Ruzena and son Otakar). The work was finally premiered on 23 December 1880 in Prague, with vocalists and chorus from the Czech Provisional Theatre conducted by Adolf Cech. The work was first published early the following year by Simrock, with the vocal featuring the piano reduction of Josef Zubaty. The score reproduced here has been edited by Otakar Sourek and was first issued by the Czech State Publishing concern as part of the complete works of Dvorak. As with all PLP scores a percentage of each sale is donated to the amazing online archive of free music scores and recordings, IMSLP - Petrucci Music Library.