Buy the article on CAIRN websiteAbstract

The Israeli society, since the failure of last summer's war in Lebanon to reach its political goals, has plunged into a deep crisis of confidence. Today, the Israeli environment ”Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and the bogging down of the 'American friend's in Iraq” seems more frightening than ever. The Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government have an image of impotency and, more than that, of corruption. Hence, disorientation is all around. No leader has replaced general Sharon, who gave his people the feeling that he knew how and where to lead them. This 'Sharonostalgia' generates two phenomena: the quest for a new 'providential man', and a growing mentality of 'everyman for himself.'Sylvain Cypel has a degree of international relations from the Hebraic university of Jerusalem and manage the 'Focus' pages in the daily Le Monde. Former Chief Editor of the weekly magazine Courrier international, he is the author of Les Emmurés. La société israélienne dans l'impasse (Paris, La Découverte, 2005).