Jews and Power by Ruth R. Wisse - ISBN: 9780805242249
Hardcover
It is Wisses bracing theory that the Jewish people have been corrupted–not by power but by powerlessness. She argues that in displaying the resilience necessary to survive in exile, the Jews left too much to God thereby increasing their vulnerability to scapegoating and violence.

$46.47

  • Hardcover

    256 pages

  • Release Date

    15 February 2008

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Summary

Part of the Jewish Encounter seriesPart of the Jewish Encounter seriesTaking in everything from the Kingdom of David to the Oslo Accords, Ruth Wisse offers a radical new way to think about the Jewish relationship to power. Traditional Jews believed that upholding the covenant with God constituted a treaty with the most powerful force in the universe; this later transformed itself into a belief that, unburdened by a military, Jews could pursue their religious mission on a purely moral plain. W…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780805242249
ISBN-10:0805242244
Author:Ruth R. Wisse
Publisher:Schocken Books
Imprint:Schocken Books
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:256
Edition:1st
Release Date:15 February 2008
Weight:322g
Dimensions:198mm x 132mm x 23mm
Series:Jewish Encounters Series
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Praise for Ruth Wisse’s Jews and Power “In an era of deepening political and moral confusion, Ruth Wisse supplies a voice that is both clarion and courageous. Hers is a vital message for anyone who cares about Israel’s fate and the future of the Jewish people. Jews and Power is a book for our times and a cogent call for clarity.” –Michael Oren, author of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present “Wisse’s brilliantly discerning analysis supplies insights so historically striking, and so currently indispensable, that no honest thinker can do without them.” –Cynthia Ozick, author of Heir to the Glimmering World “A book … that celebrates the Jewish return to sovereign power, in all its promise and complexity, is as unusual as it is welcome. Wisse has written such a book … [Jews and Power is] a good, fighting book that contains much information in few pages.” —New York Times Book Review “Challenging, erudite and penetrating… Wisse shows no fear in these pages in saying exactly what she thinks, and you can’t help but be impressed with her chutzpah, even if you totally disagree with her … Jews and Power makes no claim for objectivity, but it is an elucidating book. It will cause liberals to question their self-consciousness about Israel, since Wisse’s argument about Jewish apologism challenges liberal ideas of victimhood. For conservatives, the book offers an intellectual understanding of what otherwise might seem to be only tribalistic loyalties. —Los Angeles Times

About The Author

Ruth R. Wisse

RUTH R. WISSE is Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. Born in Czernowitz (now part of Ukraine) and raised in Montreal, she was the first professor to offer courses in Yiddish literature at McGill University, where she helped found the Department of Jewish Studies in the late 1960s. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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