America in JeruSALEm: Globalization, National Identity, and Israeli Advertising

Anat First; Eli Avraham

doi:10.5771/9780739133279

Summary

In America in JeruSALEm, the authors examine the effects of globalization and Americanization on the national identity of small nations. Using Israel as a case study, First and Avraham analyzed the changes in Israeli advertising over the past two decades. They found that since the '90s, Israeli advertisers began using American symbols, values, sights, and heroes to promote diverse products without any consideration of the place they were actually made. The perspective offered in this book_a consideration of advertising as a locus of the tension between national identity and globalization/Americanization_is an innovative one, generating a model that can be used to analyze national identity through advertising in the age of globalization/Americanization. Although many books have focused on numerous aspects of Israeli society, America in JeruSALEm offers a new and accessible perspective on the changes in Israeli identity.