Jews and Human Rights: Dancing at Three Weddings

Galchinsky, Michael

ISBN 10: 0742552675 / ISBN 13: 9780742552678

Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007

About this Item

Analyzes the role of Jews in the formation of international human rights efforts throughout the US, Israel, and the Former Soviet Union. This work examines this human rights work as part of a total system of Jewish political commitments, a system shaped by both human rights history and Jewish history. Num Pages: 368 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: JFSR1; JPVH. Category: (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 228 x 154 x 19. Weight in Grams: 404. . 2007. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780742552678

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Jews and Human Rights: Dancing at Three Weddings
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0742552675
• ISBN 13: 9780742552678
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The history of human rights is intricately intertwined with the history of Jews. Drawing inspiration from their tradition and history, Jews have played a role in the human rights drama as victims, advocates, violators, and judges. Whether working to free persecuted Jews, prevent and intervene in genocides, defend Israel in human rights forums, or strengthen Israel's democracy, Jews have stood for_and stood up for_human rights. In Jews and Human Rights: Dancing at Three Weddings, Michael Galchinsky states that Jews around the world have tried simultaneously to 'dance at three weddings,' celebrating their commitments to international human rights, Jewish nationalism, and domestic civil rights. After World War II, all three of these commitments seemed to be aligned, but now many Jews perceive them as distinct, or even opposed. Michael Galchinsky investigates the contributions of Jewish non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the formation of international human rights, analyzing how they responded to the emerging tensions among their political commitments. He explores the cooperation and conflict among elite and grassroots organizations, the relationships among Jewish governmental officials and Jewish human rights activists, and examines the goals, strategies, and scope of Jewish human rights activism. Making extensive use of previously unknown archival documents and interviews with key activists, Galchinsky recounts how Jews' initial optimism about human rights turned to pessimism and ambivalence-and argues that a reverse process may still be possible. Jews and Human Rights: Dancing at Three Weddings is intended for scholars, students and general readers of: modern Jewish history, Israeli international/transnational studies, human rights activists, diplomats, and international lawyers, history and politics, international law, UN history, cultural sociology, and genocide studies.

About the Author

Michael Galchinsky is associate professor of English and director of the Jewish Studies program at Georgia State University. He co-edited (with David Biale and Susannah Heschel) Insider/Outsider: American Jews and Multiculturalism and is the author of The Origin of the Modern Jewish Woman Writer: Romance and Reform in Victorian England.