Below is a rewritten and unified proposal—originally titled “Future Tensed: Hebrew Dystopian Literature and the Undoing of Zionist Redemption”—that replaces all instances of “pre-PTSD” or “pre-PTSd” with the term “anticipatory trauma.” It also integrates Avivit Mishmari, expands on “circular temporality,” and references the October 7 terror attacks in Israel as an acute example of cyclical tragedy. The concluding section briefly outlines the remaining chapters.

Future Tensed: Hebrew Dystopian Literature and the Undoing of Zionist Redemption

“What is horrible I will see as horrible, and not as part of some blandly beneficent whole.”
—Bertrand Russell

Introduction: Israel’s Turn of 2000—Ontological and Epistemological Upheaval

This book argues that the year 2000, punctuated by the Second Intifada, provoked a profound ontological and epistemological transformation in Israel. Ontologically, the state adopted a posture of “forever war,” embedding militarized occupation into its fundamental character and relinquishing the earlier aspiration that conflict might soon end. Epistemologically, an official promise of a two-state horizon dissolved under uncompromising declarations from Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would “always live by the sword,” effectively shattering the Zionist redemption narrative—once framed as a linear journey (LaCapra’s “redemption narrative”) from Holocaust catastrophe to heroic sovereignty (i.e., statehood as redemption).

Within this context, Hebrew dystopian fiction assumed new prominence. Far from peripheral or escapist, these novels function as counter-histories that spotlight unprocessed catastrophes—biblical destructions, the Shoah, and the Nakba—all unfolding in cyclical conflict. By emphasizing unresolved moral debts, religious fervor, and an unsettling “collective anticipatory trauma,” Future Tensed contends that these dystopias reveal a society spiraling away from redemptive closure, challenging the comforting notion that the Zionist founding trauma was ultimately redeemed by statehood.

1. Rationale and Aims

For much of the twentieth century, Zionism was anchored in utopian ideals, personified by Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland (1902) and the kibbutz movement’s collectivist vision. Yet by the 1980s—after the Yom Kippur War (1973) and the Lebanon War (1982)—authors like Amos Kenan (The Road to Ein Harod, 1984) inverted that optimism, depicting an inwardly authoritarian Israel “devouring its own citizens.” This left-wing melancholia presaged the post-2000 flood of dystopian narratives, each weaving indefinite occupation, heightened religious radicalism, and social fragmentation into foreboding near-futures—an unsettling break from the progressive-redemption thesis once tied to Israeli statehood.

Over four decades, Future Tensed demonstrates how these works grapple with repressed or “mal-confronted” calamities: the Shoah, the Nakba, and biblical devastations. By projecting current crises into speculative near-futures (“temporal estrangement”), they subvert any neat teleological sequence, contending that failing to address fundamental traumas perpetuates fresh disaster rather than securing moral renewal.

2. Ontological Shift: The State as “Forever War”

Following the collapse of Oslo-era hopes and intensifying conflict around 2000, the Israeli state reshaped its ontological framework: rather than pursuing conflict resolution, it normalized both the occupation and a permanent war footing. Hebrew dystopias dramatize this metamorphosis, exposing the gap between a once-anticipated peace and the entrenchment of militarism. If Holocaust-era calamity was presumed redeemed by statehood, these texts reveal “forever war” as Israel’s new existential default—a stark pivot that uproots the myth of near-term normalcy.

3. Epistemological Breakdown: Fractured Redemption Narrative

In tandem with this ontological shift, the Zionist redemption narrative itself fractured. Leaders’ pronouncements that Israel would “live by the sword” indefinitely shattered the belief in a “redeemed future.” Contemporary dystopias underscore cyclical calamities—biblical or modern—that re-surface because Israeli society has never fully confronted them. From Nakba denial to reflexive Holocaust invocations, these novels lay bare a loop of moral evasion fueling unending tensions. Many adopt “Temple-centric” or “Kingdom of Judea” plots, demonstrating how biblical prophecy, intertwined with real-world power, can kindle extremist politics that sideline any stable path to redemption.

4. Theoretical Frameworks and Key Concepts

4.1 Fredric Jameson’s “Cognitive Mapping” and Archaeologies of the Future

  • Exposing Contradiction: Hebrew dystopian texts serve as imaginative maps of Israel’s foundational tensions—occupation, radical religion, class friction—projected into near-future collapse.
  • Tracing the Dystopian Impulse from Herzl: Echoing Jameson’s idea of “archaeologies of the future,” we can track how an initially utopian impetus (Altneuland) degenerates into cautionary dystopias when contradictions remain unresolved.

4.2 Tom Moylan’s “Critical Dystopia”

  • Satire and Subversion: Though bleak, many modern Hebrew dystopias (e.g., works by Orly Castel-Bloom or Avivit Mishmari) feature comedic or satirical angles that prevent total despair.
  • Moral Reflection: By integrating black humor or minor enclaves of hope, these writers spur readers to question social norms and imagine alternatives—an example of Moylan’s notion that “critical dystopias” carry a residual utopian spark.

4.3 Dominick LaCapra and Trauma Studies

  • From Founding Trauma to Narrative Fetish: The Holocaust, framed as a pivotal trauma within Zionist self-definition, can become a “narrative fetish”—repeated references that sidestep genuine ethical confrontation.
  • Anticipatory Trauma: Rather than culminating in moral redemption, such unprocessed history fosters a forward-looking dread—Israeli society perpetually braces for the next war, intensifying the condition of anticipating future catastrophe.

4.4 Political Theology (Leibowitz, Scholem, etc.)

  • Temple-Focused Dystopias: Borrowing from Gershom Scholem’s “apocalyptic sting,” these novels depict revived biblical promises devolving into theocratic dominance.
  • Yeshayahu Leibowitz’s Warning: Echoing Leibowitz, dystopian writers caution that unbridled religious-national fervor can undermine democratic values, further locking Israel into a “forever war” reality.

5. October 7 Attack and “Circular Temporality”

Gil Hochberg describes Hebrew dystopias as constructing a “circular temporality” (2020, p. 20) in which ancient Jewish tragedies—Temple destructions, diaspora pogroms—recur in futuristic form. The October 7 Hamas massacre resonates with this cycle. Israelis saw it as yet another iteration of targeted pogrom-like violence, reminiscent of biblical and modern catastrophes (the 1929 Hebron massacre, the Shoah, repeated wars). By dramatizing new catastrophes that echo old traumas, these dystopias illustrate how Israel’s sense of anticipatory trauma runs in loops: each unaddressed horror re-triggers the fear that the cycle cannot be broken, overshadowing illusions of final redemption.

6. Key Chapter Summaries (Brief)

  1. Chapter 1: 1980s – Early Warning and Left-Wing Melancholia

    • Amos Kenan’s The Road to Ein Harod (1984) as the starting point for modern Hebrew dystopia.
    • Foreshadows the shift from heroic pioneer myth to moral breakdown.

  2. Chapter 2: The Oslo Turn and Its Collapse

    • Orly Castel-Bloom (e.g., Dolly City, 1992; Human Parts, 2002) satirizes a city/country on the verge of perpetual conflict.
    • Sayed Kashua’s vantage complicates “exclusively Jewish meltdown,” highlighting Palestinian subjugation.

  3. Chapter 3: The Netanyahu Years – Messiah in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism

    • Igal Sarna’s 2023 (if verified), Avivit Mishmari’s The Old Man Lost His Mind, and Idan Seger’s VeHiggi’anu la-Zman haZeh.
    • The comedic meltdown in Mishmari’s text underscores personal senility mirroring national moral drift.

  4. Chapter 4: Temple and Apocalyptic Fervor

    • Dror Burstein’s Tit (Muck) merges climate catastrophe with biblical prophecy;
    • Yishai Sarid’s Ha-Shlishi (The Third) warns of theocratic zeal.

  5. Conclusion

    • Synthesizes the “forever war” posture, how October 7 accentuates cyclical tragedy, and whether any utopian seed remains amid the gloom.

Evaluation

Strengths:

  • Anticipatory trauma lens: Re-centers analysis on future dread, explaining how repeated tragedies condition an ongoing “not-yet-occurred but imminent” mindset.
  • Integration of new vantage points (Avivit Mishmari’s comedic–tragic meltdown, the October 7 reference) brings contemporary urgency.
  • Clear structural flow: from 1980s dystopian “warnings” to 2000–2023 meltdown, weaving biblical cycles (Hochberg’s “circular temporality”) with real events.

Refinements:

  • Explore feminist angles or minority authors systematically.
  • Deepen global comparisons (with Middle Eastern or Western dystopias).
  • Devote a final methodological reflection clarifying personal biases.

Overall, Future Tensed frames Hebrew dystopian literature as a mirror for Israel’s unresolved past and anxious future—shaped by cyclical tragedy, unassimilated trauma, and a theology overshadowing practical peace. The synergy of “anticipatory trauma,” “circular temporality,” and “forever war” reveals a powerful, if bleak, reimagining of Zionist redemption undone by the present’s unending crises.