Members of the Tribe

The great diversity of American Jewry comes to light in a cross-country study that includes the country's last Cajun Jews, a gay synagogue, Jewish Texan cowpokes, orthodox Black Jews, and other manifestations of Jewish faith

American Jews may be "members of the tribe" by virtue of their birthright, but they are also complacent, overly obsessed with the Holocaust and in danger of self-extinction through assimilation. These are some of the forthright opinions arrived at by Chafets, himself a Jew, as he crisscrossed the United States after a 20-year absence. He lives in Israel and grew up in Pontiac, Michigan. This outsider status gives him a unique vantage point, and his entertaining, breezy, impressionistic travelogue grapples with important issues. He also ventures down seldom-traveled roads as he visits the Jews of the Louisana bayou, a gay synagogue in San Francisco, Jewish prayer services in a Pennsylvania prison, Jews trapped in poverty in a welfare hotel. Author of Heroes and Hustlers, Hard Hats and Holy Men , Chafets takes an opinionated stance whether he is discussing the Jewish Defense League, rivalry between Chasidic sects or American Jews' relationship to Israel.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Curious about "the variety and complexity of American Jewish life and the unpredictable ways it affects individuals," Chafets, an American-born Israeli journalist, spent six months traveling through "Jewish America" in 1986. Here, he introduces us to the fascinating array of characters he metSouthern Jews, gay Jews, rich Jews, poor Jews, black Jews, radical Jews, old Jews, young Jews, Jewish prisoners, Holocaust survivors, and more. Chafets favors the strange and exotic, emphasizes assimilation and intermarriage, ignoring evidence of American Jewish revival and renewal, and makes no claim to be objective or comprehensive. He does, however, have an engaging and sprightly style. For most libraries.Jonathan D. Sarna, Hebrew Union Coll. - Jewish Inst. of Religion, Cincinnati
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.