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Taking Back the Z-word:
With Depth, Humor and Intensity, Watershed Anthology from “Renowned” (The Forward) Jerusalem Academic Institute Upholds the Moral, Philosophical and Historical Underpinnings of the Jewish State
NEW ESSAYS ON ZIONISM,
NEW ESSAYS ON ZIONISM powerfully and provocatively seeks to compete and prevail in the war of ideas in which the world is currently engaged. Vital reading for anyone seeking to dispel “the fog of pessimism that has recently settled over the Zionist enterprise,” as contributor Professor Ruth Gavison puts it, a top tier group of thirteen respected authors examine the moral, historical and religious influences that created the Jewish state, and look at how those influences continue to exert themselves.
From a passionate defense of the concept of a national state, to the influence of the Kabbalists of Sfad – from the idea of Jewish power to the political legacy of Theodor Herzl, these smartly written essays defend the continued existence of Israel in the 21st century philosophically and historically. Each of the fifteen essays edited by David Hazony, Yoram Hazony and Michael B. Oren were written during the last decade and thirteen of them were previously published in the Shalem Center’s influential quarterly journal Azure. The Shalem Center is a Jerusalem-based, non-profit institute that gives support to scholars conducting research in areas of the public interest.
Each essay illuminates the Jewish state’s historical background, its justification and direction for the future and covers terrain as diverse as the Israeli trance scene and the experiences of the Russian immigrant community. Daniel Polisar, President of the Shalem Center, forcefully highlights the need for an anthology such as this in his contribution, Making History:
Scholars of “Zionist and Israeli history” he writes, need to “concentrate on producing original works that reflect the full range of significant events of Israel’s history.” In doing so, he argues, they will give the “noblest aspects of Zionism their due, without whitewashing the failures that are part of every major historic enterprise…the future of the Jewish state may well depend on their success.”
With contributions from best-selling authors, Michael Oren and Natan Sharansky, internationally renowned Shalem scholars, Yossi Klein Halevi and David Hazony, NEW ESSAYS ON ZIONISM is a must read for anyone looking for bold new thinking from Israel. We hope this book will become a primer for those engaged in the war of ideas, and that it will spread to become a handbook for those seeking an intellectual framework from which to defend the contribution Israel makes, and continues to make to the world.
About the editors:
Michael B. Oren is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center. He holds degrees in Middle East history from Columbia University and Princeton University and has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard University and Yale University. His latest book, Power, Faith and Fantasy, America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present is a New York Times best-seller. His previous book, Six Days of War was winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
David Hazony is editor-in-chief of Azure, a quarterly journal of Jewish and Israeli public affairs, public philosophy, and religion, published by the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. Published in English and Hebrew, Azure is the most widely read journal of public affairs in Israel. Hazony is also the author if numerous essays and editorials on religion and public life, most of which have appeared in the pages of Azure and can be accessed at http://www.azure.org.il/.
Yoram Hazony is the founder and former president of the Shalem Center, where he is presently a Director of the Institute for Philosophy, Politics and Religion (PPR) and a Senior Fellow. Hazony is author of The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul (Basic Books and the New Republic, 2000) and The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther (Shalem Press, 2000), and has written numerous Articles for newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The New Republic, Commentary, and Ha'aretz. Previous to establishing the Center in 1994, he was a member of the Jerusalem Post editorial staff, and served as a member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference.
TITLE: NEW ESSAYS ON ZIONISM ISBN: 965-7052-44-0 EDITORS: David Hazony, Yoram Hazony, Michael B. Oren PRICE: $23.95 PUBLICATION DATE: February 27th 2007 |
