Giving voice to the plurality of Israeli opinion, Jewish Identity in Modern Israel is a collection of articles based on conferences held by the Framework for Contemporary Jewish Thought and Identity at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. The contributors come from both Arab and Jewish backgrounds and include authors, educators, members of the Israeli Knesset, and rabbis. Among the subjects they address are being an Arab citizen in a Jewish state, teaching Judaism to secular Jews, Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and the integration of state and religious law. Published for the first time in English, these articles offer readers the opportunity to grapple with some of the fundamental problems of Israeli identity and citizenship, with the aim of revitalizing Jewish thought and extending dialogue beyond the borders of Israel.
Naftali Rothenberg is a senior research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, where he is the chair of Jewish Culture and Identity and the editor of Identities: Journal for Jewish Culture and Identity. Eliezer Schweid is a professor of Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.