Power, Deception and Comedy: The Politics of Exile in the Book of Esther by Alexander Green
Jewish Political Studies Review 23:1-2 (Spring 2011) The Book of Esther can be interpreted as a political work with its own inherent logic and integrity. While the existence of the divine is not denied in the narrative, it appears to be beyond the reach and understanding of a people struggling for survival. In this sense, […]
Michelle Mazel on Crossroads: Jewish Artists during the Holocaust, a catalog of the exhibition held at the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, October 2012
Jewish Political Studies Review 23:1-2 (Spring 2011) The exhibition held at the National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest is another milestone in the ongoing efforts to chronicle what happened during the Holocaust in that country. In the turbulent Romanian artistic scene on the eve of World War II, dozens of Jewish painters were […]
Michael Widlanski on the Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations by Lee Smith
Jewish Political Studies Review 23:1-2 (Spring 2011) What is the key to understanding the Middle East? Sometimes a perceptive outsider can grasp the political culture of a state or a region better than a native observer or an academic. Lee Smith is such a person, offering a revealing anecdote for each occasion. Smith is knowledgeable […]
Leslie Wagner on The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History Edited by William D. Rubinstein, Michael A. Jolles, and Hilary L. Rubinstein
Michelle Mazel on Le siecle identitaire ; la fin des Etats post-coloniaux (The century of identities : the end of post-colonial states by Ferhat Mehenni
Guido Weiss on Fighting For the Survival of the Jewish Nation: A New Voice For Israel by Jeremy Ben-Ami
Asaf Romirowsky on Deception: Betraying the Peace Process by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Yisrael Medad on The Founding Fathers of Zionism, Noble OK: Balfour Books and Jerusalem by Benzion Netanyahu
Johannes Gerloff on Zeal for Zion. Christians, Jews, & the Idea of The Promised Land by Shalom Goldman
Manfred Gerstenfeld on Never Again, Yet Again by Stephen D. Smith
Stephen D. Smith is a Christian theologian in his early forties. Together with his brother James, he founded the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre near Nottingham, England, which opened in 1995. Smith presently heads the Shoah Foundation Institute in Los Angeles where the Spielberg archives are located. These contain more than one hundred thousand hours of […]
Michelle Mazel on Jean-Marie Lustiger. le cardinal prophète (Jean-Marie Lustiger, the prophet- cardinal) by Henri Tincq
JTS Rabbis and Israel, Then and Now: The 2011 Survey of JTS Ordained Rabbis and Current Students by Steven M. Cohen
From Gaza to Pakistan: Targeted Killing and International Law by Justus Reid Weiner
Manfred Gerstenfeld on Joop den Uyl 1919-1987: Dromer en doordouwer (Joop den Uyl 1919-1987: Dreamer and Pusher) by Anet Bleich
As a rule book reviews deal with the author’s basic message. Nonetheless, a book may contain information seemingly of secondary importance which can turn out to be of considerable interest, particularly for a journal devoted to Jewish political studies. One such case is the biography of Joop den Uyl, the late Dutch prime minister, which includes personal and political information bearing on his relationship with Jews and Israel. Joop den Uyl was a leader of the Dutch Labor Party. From 1973 to 1977, he served as prime minister of the most left-wing coalition government the Netherlands has ever known. His biographer, Anet Bleich is a well-known Dutch Jewish journalist, and her book attracted significant attention in the Netherlands.
Michelle Mazel on l’Europe et le spectre du Califat (Europe and the Specter of the Caliphate) by Bat Ye’or
Jewish Political Studies Review 23:1-2 (Spring 2011) Some books receive many reviews, critical or otherwise; others are met by a deafening silence. Such is the case with Europe and the Specter of the Caliphate, Bat Ye’Or’s latest contribution in her ceaseless campaign to force Europe to wake up and take notice of what she believes is […]
