The Jewish Enigma: An Enduring People

Essays examine how the Jewish culture has survived in the face of persecution, dispersal, pogroms, and the Holocaust

These lucid, highly readable essays by seven scholars address the central question of how the Jews, stateless for millennia, have endured as a people. According to the contributors, who include Jacob Lassner and Robin Spiro, the continuous interaction between the Jews and other citizens of the countries where they settled ensured their survival. One essay identifies the Jews' captivity under Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C.E. as a model for later Jewish survival. Another piece offers a lively account of the Americanization of colonial Jews and of Jewish prominence in the nation's arts and entertainment. The most provocative essay argues that modern, secular anti-Semitism is an updated version of early Christian and pagan anti-Judaism. Muslim-Jewish interaction in the Middle Ages, the emancipation of European Jewry after the Enlightenment, and the persecution of Eastern European Jewry receive thoughtful treatments. The concluding historical overview of Zionism argues that a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation holds out the best hope for Israel's security. The book is handsomely illustrated with photographs, paintings and maps. Englander is senior lecturer in European Humanities at the Open University in England.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Everyone knows that the Jews were taken captive to Babylonia and dispersed from there over the next 2000 years to almost every country on Earth; that they were hated and persecuted in every host country; that they survived as a people; and that they are now returning from the four corners of the globe to their original homeland. However, no one can come up with a definitive explanation of this phenomenon. Here, seven scholars, mostly British and Israeli, delineate the Jewish migration, examine the influence of the Jews on other religions, and probe into reasons that might have kept this multinational, multicolored, polyglot group bonded. This excellent work treats an awesome subject well. It is well illustrated and sensibly mapped, and, as an extra bonus, it reads like an adventure story. Highly recommended.
- Gerda Haas, Holocaust Human Rights Ctr. of Maine
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.