Power & powerlessness in Jewish history / David Biale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Biale, David, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jewish diaspora.

Jews--Politics and government.

Jews.

Jews--History--Philosophy.

History.

Philosophy.

Power (Social sciences).

Israel--International status.

Israel.

Sovereignty.

Jews--United States--Politics and government.

United States.

Politics and government.

United States--Ethnic relations.

Ethnic relations.

International law.

Jewish philosophy.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 244 pages ; 21 cm

Other Title:

Power and powerlessness in Jewish history

Place of Publication:

New York : Schocken Books, 1987, ©1986.

Summary:

In this radical reinterpretation of Jewish history, David Biale tackles the myth of Jewish political passivity between the fall of an independent Jewish Commonwealth in 70 C.E. and the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948. He argues that Jews throughout history demonstrated a savvy understanding of political life; they were neither as powerless as the memory of the Holocaust years would suggest nor as powerful as the contemporary state of Israel would imply.

Contents:

Introduction: The Crisis of Jewish Ideology 3

I. Sovereignty and Imperialism in Antiquity 10

II. The Political Theory of the Diaspora 34

III. Corporate Power in the Middle Ages 58

IV. Absolutism and Enlightenment 87

V. Between Haskalah and Holocaust 118

VI. Israel and the Meaning of Modern Sovereignty 145

VII. American Jews and Contemporary Diaspora Power 177

Epilogue: The Political Legacy of Jewish History 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-237) and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - Jewish History, Winner, 1987

Local Notes:

Acc.#203141

ISBN:

0805240152

9780805240153

0805208410

9780805208412

OCLC:

18283721