Manfred Gerstenfeld on Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity, by Leonard Saxe and Barry Chazan
The Largest Jewish Communal Educational Experience Ever
Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity, by Leonard Saxe and Barry Chazan, Lebanon, NH: Brandeis University Press, 2008, 223 pp.
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Alexander Arndt on Die deutsch-israelischen Sicherheitsbeziehungen: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart, Zukunft [The German-Israeli security relations: Past, present, future], edited by Milena Uhlmann
Relationship Status: Special, but Complicated
Die deutsch-israelischen Sicherheitsbeziehungen: Vergangenheit, Gegenwart, Zukunft [The German-Israeli security relations: Past, present, future], edited by Milena Uhlmann, Berlin: Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008, 164 pp. [German/English]
Reviewed by Alexander Arndt
Manfred Gerstenfeld on The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion, by Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra
How American Textbooks Mislead on Jews and Israel
The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion, by Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 209 pp.
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
Manfred Gerstenfeld on Cartoons and Extremism: Israel and the Jews in Arab and Western Media, by Joël Kotek
Analyzing Cartoons to Capture the Essence of Anti-Semitism
Cartoons and Extremism: Israel and the Jews in Arab and Western Media, by Joël Kotek, Edgware: Vallentine Mitchell, 2009, 200 pp.
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld
“The Anti-Germans” – The Pro-Israel German Left
It is no secret that the German left’s outlook today is, and has been for some time, predominantly anti-Israel and anti-American. Far less well-known is the existence of a small but influential pro-Israel movement within the German left, a movement which challenges the existing anti-Israel consensus. The Anti-German Movement, as it is known, grew out of a communist student organization. In 1989 it finally emerged as a movement in its own right in opposition to German reunification.
The Supreme Court, Jewishness, and Democracy: Suggestions for a More Effective Balance
Under the leadership of Aharon Barak, the Israeli Supreme Court experienced a constitutional revolution, giving it the right to judge whether various public decisions respect the Jewish and democratic values of the state. This paper emphasizes that the Supreme Court is ill equipped to judge according to Jewish values, without reference to mishpat ivri, Jewish law.
“New” Anti-Semitism in Contemporary German Academia
It is one of the bitter ironies of the dialectics of modernity that the very sphere of science and academia, the purpose of which is to enlighten mankind, has provided intellectual cover to modern Jew-hatred. It was in Germany of all places that scientific discovery and academic discourse were subject to the utmost perversion, contributing intellectually and technically to the Holocaust.
Local Jewish Community Studies as Planning Tools for the American Jewish Community
More than 50 American Jewish Federations completed local Jewish community studies from 1993 to 2008. The principal purpose of this paper is to illustrate the utility of these studies. Part I cites examples of how the results of these studies have been utilized to guide Jewish community decision-making at the national and local levels. Part II forwards a series of additional arguments in support of completing local Jewish community studies.
Michelle Mazel on De Gaulle/Pétain Règlements de comptes [De Gaulle/Petain: Settling scores], by Herbert Lottman
The End of a Beautiful Friendship
De Gaulle/Pétain Règlements de comptes [De Gaulle/Petain: Settling scores], by Herbert Lottman, Paris : Le Grand Livre du Mois, 2008, 229 pp. [French]
Reviewed by Michelle Mazel
The Political Role of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate in the Temple Mount Question
The official Israeli Chief Rabbinate adopted a mostly conservative stance toward the new circumstances created. Halakhic factors interplayed with governmental pressure to avoid hostile reactions from the Muslim world.
Prejudice and Demonization In The Swedish Middle East Debate During The 2006 Lebanon War
Since the beginning of the new millennium increased anti-Semitism has been detected within the political left in some European countries. It is often said to be most pronounced in the media, where criticism of Israel is sometimes tainted by anti-Jewish sentiments. An analysis of the contents of eight different newspapers of the Swedish left, from mainstream Social Democratic to radical Marxist-Leninist, suggests that the situation in Sweden is no different.
Asaf Romirowsky on The Chosen: The History of an Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession
The Cost of Being the Favorite Son
The Chosen: The History of an Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession, by Avi Beker, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, 256 pp.
Reviewed by Asaf Romirowsky
Joel Fishman on Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World and Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization
Bunkum as History: The Revisionist Quest for Lost Innocence
Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, by Patrick J. Buchanan, New York: Crown, 2008, 518 pp.
Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, by Nicholson Baker, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008, 567 pp.
Reviewed by Joel Fishman
Winston Churchill – A Good Friend of Jews and Zionism?
Churchill’s career, the author encompasses virtually the whole of Churchill’s experience and interaction with Jews from his earliest days.
The Centrality of NGOs In Promoting Anti-Israel Boycotts And Sanctions
NGOs (non-governmental organizations) focusing on human rights are powerful actors in international politics in general, and in the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular. The NGO community has advanced anti-Israel agendas in the UN, including in the 2001 Durban conference, which adopted the strategy of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). NGO reports, press releases, and political lobbying campaigns constitute an important source of “soft power”.
