David Ben‐gurion on Plato

David Ben-Gurion's Teleological Westernism

“…There was no "tension" between these two forms of citizenship, as implied by Bareli and Katz. 40 On the contrary, for Ben-Gurion this double concept was the essence of the free and democratic society that could flourish precisely because its citizens were part of the state, as well as individuals. He was dedicated to the idea of statism or republicanism, which he expressed in the term mamlalkhtiut, alongside the ability of the civilian to be a free individual.…”

“…48 Another advantage of military service in Ben-Gurion's view was that it was the great equalizer, and gave new immigrants the opportunity to become members of the Israeli state and of "forming a collective common denominator for the diverse populations that had gathered within the state." 49 This was the essence of the sociological concept of a melting Pot: "The idea that societies formed by immigrants from many different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, will produce new hybrid social and cultural forms." 50 Ben-Gurion, however, was not trying to find a common denominator between the diverse Jewish communities living in Israel, or to create a synthesis between new immigrants from the East and European Jews.…”