How The Jewish Left Evolved On Zionism
“The Lions’ Den” offers readers reasons to conclude that Noam Chomsky does not know what he is talking about.
How Judaism Can Survive Amid A Gazillion Contradictions
Wertheimer’s book should command the attention of anyone interested in Judaism in the United States in the 21st century.
For Israelis and Palestinians, A Solution Is Nowhere In Sight
Two new provocative books, by Micah Goodman and Anziska, examine the historical and ideological underpinnings of the never-ending conflict.
How Jewish Rights Became Human Rights
The 1960s witnessed the beginning of the end of the grand romance between Jews and human rights.
Why The Census Should Matter To Jews — And Everyone Else
The modern Jewish lobby emerged at the turn of the century to help shape immigration law.
Living the American Ethos
Commissioned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the American Jewish Archives and the 10th anniversary of Gary Zola as the AJA’s current executive director, “New Essays in American Jewish History” is testimony to the variety — and vitality — of scholarship in Jewish Studies.
A Quiet Man to Explosive Effect
A new book draws on trial transcripts, memoirs, interviews and recently released KGB documents to portray Harry Gold, the son of Jewish immigrants from Kiev, who was a spy and courier for the Soviet Union.
A Director’s Director
As Elia Kazan wrote in preparation for a book on his craft, a director should “avoid being a nice guy, a decent guy, a conforming guy.” He should show no shame when accused of being arrogant, and he should say what he thinks, no matter whom it might offend. After all, he’s not about “to guide a children’s summer camp.” More likely, he’s “related to a zoo-keeper.”
Skeletons in the Closet
Steve Luxenberg’s mother kept her institutionalized sister a secret until she died. In a new book, Luxenberg reveals a poignant tale of Depression-era Jewish immigrants and mental institutions in the 1930s and ’40s.
J’accuse America
Convicted in 1894 of selling secrets to Germany, French army captain Alfred Dreyfus, the only Jewish officer trainee on the General Staff, was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in a fortified enclosure on Devil’s Island, a rocky formation near French Guyana. Six weeks before his exile began, as he cried out that he was innocent and a French patriot, Dreyfus was forced to participate in “the Judas parade,” marching around the courtyard while just outside, a huge mob screamed, “Death to the traitor, the dirty Jew.”