Chaim Weizmann, steeped in the folk culture of the East European shtetl and the humanistic science of Central and Western Europe, was the ambassador of the Jewish people to the English-speaking world. Louis D. Brandeis, on the other hand, was known as the true exponent of Anglo-American civic culture who gave his leadership at a critical moment to the American and world Jewish community. A Clash of Heroes studies the conflict between these two dominant personalities, each of whom has been hailed by devoted followers as the hero of a crucial era in recent Jewish history....

Israel is a modern state whose institutions were clearly shaped by an ideological movement. The declaration of independence in 1948 was an immediate expression of the fundamental Zionist idea: it gave effect to a plan advocated by organized Zionists since the 1880s for solving the Jewish Problem. Thus, major Israeli political institutions, such as the party structure, embody principles and practices that were followed in the World Zionist Organization.

In this respect, Israel is similar to other new states whose political institutions directly derive from the nationalist movements that...