Manfred Gerstenfeld on The Anti-Jewish Riots in Oslo, by Eirik Eiglad
2009: Norway’s Most Violent Anti-Semitic Riots Ever
The Anti-Jewish Riots in Oslo, by Eirik Eiglad, Communalism, 2010, 103 pp.
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Wolfgang G. Schwanitz on Nazis on the Run: How War Criminals Escaped Overseas via Italy
Nazis on the Run
Nazis auf der Flucht. Wie Kriegsverbrecher über Italien nach Übersee entkamen (Nazis on the Run: How War Criminals Escaped Overseas via Italy), by Gerald Steinacher, StudienVerlag, 2008, 380 pp. [German]
Reviewed by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz
Manfred Gerstenfeld on Pius XII and the Destruction of the Jews
A Controversial Pope on the Way to Beatification
Pius XII: en de vernietiging van de joden (Pius XII and the Destruction of the Jews), by Dirk Verhofstadt, Houtekiet, 2008, 510 pp. [Dutch]
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Manfred Gerstenfeld on The Romantic Bookkeeper
Dutch Minister Reviews Renewed Holocaust-Assets Restitution
De Romantische Boekhouder (The Romantic Bookkeeper), by Gerrit Zalm, Uitgeverij Balans, 2009, 402 pp. [Dutch]
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Wolfgang G. Schwanitz on Die Deutschen und der Iran. Geschichte und Gegenwart einer verhängnisvollen
Germans, Nukes, and Mullahs
Die Deutschen und der Iran. Geschichte und Gegenwart einer verhängnisvollen
Freundschaft (The Germans and Iran: The History and Present Status of a Fateful Friendship), by Matthias Küntzel, Siedler, 2009, 320 pp. [German]
Reviewed by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz
Mikael Tossavainen on They’ll Die Anyway: Ten Years in the Swedish Intelligence Service
An Anti-Israelism Rooted in Terror
De ska ju ändå dö: tio år i svensk underrättelsetjänst (They’ll Die Anyway: Ten Years in the Swedish Intelligence Service), by Gunnar Ekberg, Fischer, 2009, 407 pp. [Swedish]
Reviewed by Mikael Tossavainen
Interested in Football, Reading about the Holocaust
Ajax, a leading Amsterdam soccer team, was Dutch champion many times and winner of the European Club Championship on several occasions. However, discussion of the soccer club and game in Simon Kuper’s book is, for the most part, a means by which to tell the story of the Jews in Dutch society before, during, and after the Holocaust. This is a clever marketing exercise. A book with a title focusing only on the Holocaust in the Netherlands would probably have attracted far fewer readers.
Benedict XVI, the Lefebvrians, the Jews, and the State of Israel
This article explores the relations between the Catholic Church and the Jews from the middle of the previous century until the present day. It will focus on how the Catholic Church has dealt with memory of the Shoah and how this has affected the Church’s relations with the Jews. It will look at the most recent developments in dialogue between the Church and the Jews under Pope Benedict XVI and the impact of his visit to Israel in May 2009.
The Jewish Community in Germany: Living with Recognition, Anti-Semitism and Symbolic Roles
This article deals with the diverse images of Jews in Germany: which roles they take upon themselves and which symbolic roles German society sees in the Jewish community. The author tries to unfold the origins and the meaning of these roles including Jews as victims, as sensors toward anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism.
Jews in the Psyche of America
The American Jewish experience is unique. Singularly different from other Diaspora encounters, one struggles to understand all of the historical, political, and social factors that have contributed to this exceptional national phenomenon. Yet it is as much an individualized encounter with this society as it is a formal connection to the nation called "America." Just as American society has embraced Jews, American Jewry has fully identified with this nation’s core values, thereby creat
The Field of Canadian Jewish Studies and Its Importance for the Jewish Community of Canada
The Canadian Jewish community has emerged recently as one of the more interesting and culturally creative centers of contemporary Jewish life. This article explores an aspect of that development: the evolution of Canadian Jewish studies from something almost wholly internal within the Canadian Jewish community to a phenomenon of interest to academics and community members alike.
Fifty years of MASHAV activity
In 2008 MASHAV (the Hebrew acronym for the Center for International Cooperation) marked 50 years of activity as a division of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since its establishment in 1958 it has provided professional guidance for 230,000 course participants from 140 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where it has sent thousands of experts to launch projects. This article will deal with its activity in Africa, and will also touch on a question discussed in official
The Opening of the Haredi Educational System to the Secular and Its Transformation from a Peripheral Factor to a Central Factor in Israeli Society
This article analyzes the metamorphosis that occurred within Haredi education, transforming it from a single stream, limited both in scope and its affinity to the state, into two dominant streams that seek to influence the Israeli state and society. Within this framework the long march that the veteran Independent educational stream has made will be presented. From a policy of selectivity and "isolation" in the admission of Ashkenazi Haredim during the 1950s, it moved initially toward
Halachic Challenges Emerging From Stem Cell Research
As a partner with God in the creation process,[1] human beings have developed innovative technologies to treat and cure disease, to enhance human living conditions, and to protect or improve the environment. In concert with the development of new technologies, the halachic (Jewish legal) process has elaborated specific mechanisms to incorporate and integrate these emerging technologies.
The Audit in Hebrew Law
A fundamental study of major Judaic adjudication sources concerning public trustees reflects a trend of discomfort along with a demand for transparency and rendering an account by the trustee. This trend does not co-exist with such control and review mechanisms.
However, a scrutiny of various sources reveals a more complex picture:
Many biblical and Talmudic sources reflect the view that transparency is an important requirement for various reasons.
