'The book is a significant attempt at a nonpartisan intervention in an important but highly contentious discussion. Meydani argues that the problems of implementing human rights in contemporary Israel are rooted in a systematic problem of nongovernability, a fundamentally nonliberal political culture, and a general orientation towards short-term, goal-oriented legal and judicial solutions. Making effective use of a wide variety ... Read moreof case studies (including torture, gender segregation, the security fence, organ transplants, and the failure to create a human rights commission) Meydani depicts an Israel that is structurally unable to implement fully its human rights obligations - yet remains deeply if imperfectly committed to struggling to do so.' Jack Donnelly, Andrew Mellon Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 'This is a crisp and eye-opening account on the generation of human rights policies and the realities of their implementation. Though it concerns Israel and its specific political culture, readers from other countries will be overwhelmed by the similarities.' Andras Sajo, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg 'In this innovative study, Professor Meydani analyzes the politics and strategies of defending human rights by integrating analytical tools from public choice theory with a unique institutionalist and learning perspective that is formal as well as informal, local and international in scope. This excellent and important book may prove as a foundational resource for Israel studies students as well as for those engaging in comparative research and work in the field of Human Rights.' David Nachmias, Professor of Government and Public Policy, Interdisciplinary Center, Israel 'Using the scope of domestic policy, Meydani takes his reader through a guided tour in the maze of Israeli politics with its close civil-military relations, religious-democratic tensions and economic games. For anyone wishing to acquaint themselves with the intricacies of the Israeli social and political environment, this book should prove an important stepping stone.' Noga Glucksam, Cambridge Review of International Affairs Show Less