#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution, by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs (JPPI).
An innovative study that explains the blended Israeli-Jewish identity that is becoming the majority culture in Israel; both traditional and modern, rooted in religion but also anchored in liberal Zionist nationalism.
Best books of 2019, Jerusalem Post, David Weinberg
Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs, #IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution has now come out in English. The authors use survey data and some wonderful stories to describe the changes that are occurring to the religion as it is actually practiced in the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. It’s
a fascinating portrait.
The Best Books of 2019, Mosaic, Elliott Abrams
#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs… thankfully eschews arcane academic verbiage or ideological polemic for the blunter and ultimately more revealing instrument of actually asking Israelis about their identity. The results are
vital reading for anyone interested in understanding both the character of the Israeli Jewish polity and the future of the broader Jewish people.
The Best Books of 2019, Mosaic, Haviv Rettig Gur
Rosner and Fuchs offer
important observations on differences between Israeli and American Judaism. As the authors correctly note, these are largely shaped by objective reality. For instance, Israeli Jews observe more traditions partly because doing so is easier in Israel. But the largest differences stem from the requirements of statehood. Thus while both communities agree that being a good Jew includes being a good person, they often differ on what that entails.
Evelyn Gordon, Commentary Magazine
This book is an
important contribution to understanding the values underlying current and past debates of policy and politics in Israel and in the Jewish world writ large. The authors are to be commended for undertaking this Herculean task.
Jeff Kobrin, Jerusalem Post
Book Reviews
The Jewsraeli Century
Yossi Shain and Michal Schwartz, The Jewish Review of Books
Jewsraelis and other Jewish people of Israel
Fred Reiss, Ed.D., San Diego Jewish World
Welcoming the Jewsraelis
Alan Rosenbaum, The Jerusalem Post
Who Are the (Jewish) Israelis
Steve Kramer, The Times of Israel
How the New Israeli Judaism Was Born
Tomer Persico, Haaretz
After Seventy Years, Israeli Judaism Is Settling In and Getting Comfortable
Ari Hoffman, Mosaic
‘Israeli Judaism’ Is Taking Root in the Homeland
Jonathan Kirsch, The Jewish Journal
Not Your Grandmother’s Judaism
Rivkah Lambert, Jewish Values Online
Trying to distill the various identities of the citizens of Israel
Jeff Kobrin, The Jerusalem Post