Who Is A Jew?

Description

Jewish identity is a perennial concern, as Jews seek to define the major features and status of those who “belong,” while at the same time draw distinctions between individuals and groups on the “inside” and those on the “outside.” From a variety of perspectives, scholarly as well as confessional, there is intense interest among non-Jewish and Jewish commentators alike in the basic question, “Who is a Jew?”

This collection of articles draws diverse historical, cultural, and religious insights from scholars who represent a wide range of academic and theological disciplines. Some of the authors directly address the issue of Jewish identity as it is being played out today in Israel and Diaspora communities. Others look to earlier time periods or societies as invaluable resources for enhanced and deepened analysis of contemporary matters.

All authors in this collection make a concerted effort to present their evidence and their conclusions in a way that is accessible to the general public and valid for other scholars. The result is a richly textured approach to a topic that seems always relevant. If, as is the case, no single answer appeals to all of the authors, this is as it should be. We all gain from the application of a number of approaches and perspectives, which enrich our appreciation of the people whose lives are affected, for better or worse, by real-life discussions of this issue and the resultant actions toward exclusivity or inclusivity.

Acknowledgments

Editor’s Introduction

Contributors

Traces of Race: Defining Jewishness in America, by Sarah Imhoff

It’s All in the Memes, by Leonard Levin

Judging and Protecting Jewish Identity in Shaare Tefila Congregation v Cobb, by Annalise E Glauz-Todrank

Who Is a Jew? Reflections of an American Jewish Lawyer on the British Supreme Court Ruling Invalidating Jewish Religious Law, by Steven J Riekes

Inventing Jewish History, Culture, and Genetic Identity in Modern New Mexico, by Judith Neulander

“Jewish Genes”: Ancient Priests and Modern Jewish Identity, by Wesley K Sutton

Conversion in Transition: Practical, Conceptual, and Halachic Changes in Israel, by Naftali Rothenberg

Who Is a Jew in Israel?, by Netanel Fisher

Who Should Be a Jew? Conversion in the Diaspora and in the Modern Nation-State, by Michael J Broyde and Mark Goldfeder

Who Is a Samaritan?, by Menachem Mor

The Bene Israel and the “Who Is a Jew” Controversy in Israel, by Joseph R Hodes

Have We Ever Known What a Jew—or Judaean—Is?, by Ori Z Soltes

Will the “Real” Jew Please Stand Up! Karaites, Israelites, Kabbalists, Messianists, and the Politics of Identity, by Aaron J Hahn Tapper

German-Jewish Identity: Problematic Then, Problematic Now, by Steven Leonard Jacobs

“I Sometimes Think That I Grew Up on a Different Planet”: The Assimilated Jewish Community of the Warsaw Ghetto in the Letters of Wanda Lubelska and Hala Szwambaum, by Katarzyna Person

Creating a Community: Who Can Belong to the Reform Synagogue?, by Mara W Cohen Ioannides

The Birthright Israel Generation: Being a Jewish Young Adult in Contemporary America, by Matthew Boxer and Leonard Saxe

Sujets

• Jewish Studies
• Social Science

Informations

• Publié par: Purdue University Press
• Date de parution: 15 avril 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781612493466
• Langue: English

Extrait

Who Is a Jew? Reflections on History, Religion, and Culture
Studies in Jewish Civilization Volume 25
Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Symposium of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and the Harris Center for Judaic Studies
October 28–29, 2012
Other volumes in the Studies in Jewish Civilization Series Distributed by the Purdue University Press
2010 – Rites of Passage:
How Today’s Jews Celebrate, Commemorate, and Commiserate
2011 – Jews and Humor
2012 – Jews in the Gym: Judaism, Sports, and Athletics
2013 – Fashioning Jews: Clothing, Culture, and Commerce
Who Is a Jew? Reflections on History, Religion, and Culture
Studies in Jewish Civilization Volume 25
Editor: Leonard J. Greenspoon
The Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization
Purdue University Press West Lafayette, Indiana
Copyright © 2014, by Creighton University
Published by Purdue University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Paper ISBN: 978-1-55753-692-1
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-61249-345-9
ePUB ISBN: 978-1-61249-346-6
No part of Studies in Jewish Civilization (ISSN 1070-8510) Volume 25 may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Editor’s Introduction
Contributors
Traces of Race: Defining Jewishness in America
Sarah Imhoff
It’s All in the Memes
Leonard Levin
Judging and Protecting Jewish Identity in Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb
Annalise E. Glauz-Todrank
Who Is a Jew? Reflections of an American Jewish Lawyer on the British Supreme Court Ruling Invalidating Jewish Religious Law
Steven J. Riekes
Inventing Jewish History, Culture, and Genetic Identity in Modern New Mexico
Judith Neulander
“Jewish Genes”: Ancient Priests and Modern Jewish Identity
Wesley K. Sutton
Conversion in Transition: Practical, Conceptual, and Halachic Changes in Israel
Naftali Rothenberg
Who Is a Jew in Israel?
Netanel Fisher
Who Should Be a Jew? Conversion in the Diaspora and in the Modern Nation-State
Michael J. Broyde and Mark Goldfeder
Who Is a Samaritan?
Menachem Mor
The Bene Israel and the “Who Is a Jew” Controversy in Israel
Joseph R. Hodes
Have We Ever Known What a Jew—or Judaean—Is?
Ori Z. Soltes
Will the “Real” Jew Please Stand Up! Karaites, Israelites, Kabbalists, Messianists, and the Politics of Identity
Aaron J. Hahn Tapper
German-Jewish Identity: Problematic Then, Problematic Now
Steven Leonard Jacobs
“I Sometimes Think That I Grew Up on a Different Planet”: The Assimilated Jewish Community of the Warsaw Ghetto in the Letters of Wanda Lubelska and Hala Szwambaum
Katarzyna Person
Creating a Community: Who Can Belong to the Reform Synagogue?
Mara W. Cohen Ioannides
The Birthright Israel Generation: Being a Jewish Young Adult in Contemporary America
Matthew Boxer and Leonard Saxe
Acknowledgments
The 25th Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium took place on October 28 and October 29, 2012, in Omaha, Nebraska. The title of the symposium, from which this volume takes its title, is “Who Is a Jew? Reflections on History, Religion, and Culture.”
As it happened, several symposium participants did not submit papers for this volume. Although their absence is regrettable, three scholars—Annalise E. Glauz-Todrank, Judith Neulander, and Ori Soltes—contributed papers that we would otherwise not be able to include in this collection.
Among our honored guests was Menachem Mor, University of Haifa, the first holder of the Klutznick Chair. A number of friends from his days as Klutznick Chair attended a special luncheon for him on the Sunday of the symposium.
This symposium attracted substantial, enthusiastic audiences consisting of students, Creighton University faculty and staff, members of the Jewish community, and other scholars. To put it another way, we may never settle on an answer (if there is one) to the question, “Who Is a Jew,” but everyone in town knew where to go for the best discussion and analysis of this perennial issue.
As in past years, the success of this symposium owed much to the generosity, wisdom, and patience of two of my colleagues, Ronald Simkins, director of the Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton University; and Jean Cahan, director of the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We were once again happy to have the knowledgeable support of Pam Yenko, who worked with both Ron and me. We did not know it at the time, but this was to be Pam’s last symposium; she was subsequently hired by our college’s dean.
Colleen Hastings, whom we hired from among several strong candidates as our new administrative assistant, has been invaluable in the preparation of this volume. Were this not a volume of Jewish studies, I would be tempted to say that Colleen has acquitted herself well in this initial “baptism by fire.” Equally efficient was Mary Sue Grossman, who is affiliated with the Center for Jewish Life (part of the Jewish Federation of Omaha).
This volume is the fifth in our ongoing collaboration with the Purdue University Press, the staff of which, under director Charles Watkinson, continues to make us feel welcome in every possible way.
In addition to the Harris Center, the Kripke Center, and the Jewish Federation of Omaha, this symposium is supported by the generosity of the following:

The Ike and Roz Friedman Foundation
The Riekes Family
The Center for Jewish Living
The Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith
Creighton University Lectures, Films, and Concerts
The Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
Gary and Karen Javitch
The Dr. Bruce S. Bloom Memorial Endowment and others.
Although we do not have a formal dedication page for this volume, it nonetheless seems appropriate—in celebration of our presenting a quarter century of Jewish studies at its best—to dedicate this volume to us, to everyone who has made these twenty-five years of accomplishment possible.
Leonard J. Greenspoon
Omaha, Nebraska
June 2014
[e-mail]
Editor’s Introduction
When, sometime in late 2011, we considered possible topics for the next Klutznick-Harris Symposium, we all knew that we were coming up on a milestone: 2012 would be the twenty-fifth year that Creighton University’s Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization sponsored the event. Menachem Mor, the first holder of the chair, devised and convened the initial symposium in 1988. In accordance with Menachem’s vision, each subsequent meeting has centered on a different topic related to Jewish studies, speakers have been invited from all over the world, presentations in Omaha have been geared to a general as much as an academic audience, and a volume has followed in a timely manner. As this formula has worked well, there was no reason for substantial change—all of this, we agreed, should be celebrated.
Working within this positive context, our colleagues offered numerous topic suggestions. We solicited ideas from the event’s academic sponsors, previous participants, and members of the Omaha community. I readily (if shamefacedly) admit it: when someone first suggested “Who Is a Jew,” I had many concerns. Who would respond to a call for papers on this topic? What kinds of presentations would be proposed? Would they be of sufficient interest to draw in the general public as well as other scholars?
These were, as I soon discovered, baseless grounds for my usual “symposium anxiety.” We received more than three times as many proposals as we did in a typical year. Because of this, we increased the number of speakers as much as our budget and schedule would allow. At the symposium itself, the audiences were large, the interactions stimulating, and the resultant volume, here published, satisfyingly full.
How could I have been so wrong? Why was I so slow to recognize what everyone else immediately grasped, namely, that issues related to Jewish identity are of perennial interest both for those who identify themselves as Jews and for those looking in from outside the Jewish community? There are few, if any, chronological eras or geographical locales where such questions have not arisen. The establishment of the State of Israel, where Jews uniquely occupy majority status, has led to the articulation and implementation of numerous stances and policies concerning Jewish identity. “Who Is a Jew” is a topic of litigation and controversy as well as a possible source for unity and continuity. Issues of personal identity have often involved conversion; entire groups who self-identify as Jews have had that status challenged.
And on it goes. In addition to all of these factors, how had I missed the rhetoric of race that often punctuates modern discussions? Or the related efforts to establish a genetic basis for Jews and Judaism—or Judaisms? By the time I got up to speed, we were well on our way to hosting one of our most successful and thought-provoking symposia.
I wish to raise another point about these articles. Most of them, I think, can correctly be descr