Divided we stand : a journey with Judge Israel Finestein QC / Colin Lang ; introduction by Todd M. Endelmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lang, Colin (Solicitor), author.

Endelmann,Todd M., author of introduction.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Finestein, I.

Jews--Great Britain--Identity.

Jews.

Jewish diaspora.

Jews--Great Britain--History.

Identity (Philosophical concept).

Great Britain.

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 262 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

English edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Vallentine Mitchell, 2017.

Summary:

Using the ideas of the celebrated Anglo-Jewish historian, the late Judge Israel Finestein QC as the intellectual framework for this original work, the author explores the history of division which has formed and fractured the modern Anglo-Jewish world. Lang invites the reader to consider Anglo-Jewish history in terms of Jewish identity, purpose, and survival. This book focusses on the Anglo-Jewish experience from the Emancipation at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day. It looks at the impact of the Reform, Liberal, and Masorti secessions, and asks 'whither orthodoxy?' It recounts the impossible search for pluralism in the face of unbridgeable religious divisions, and considers the stresses imposed on communal institutions, and on a leadership obsessed with unity. The author examines the divisive impacts of Zionism and the great immigration, which between them transformed the Jewish world. He looks at other areas of Jewish life affected by competing interests, such as the governance of the community, the rise to prominence of women in the secular (but not yet religious) world, the importance of the provinces, and the role of the secular Jew. What emerges is a convergence of totally separate, self-contained (often antagonistic) communities, with Israel at the center, both inspiring Jewish life in the Diaspora, and, at the same time threatening the cohesion of the Jewish world. The author concludes that, despite a history of fragmentation and ceaseless argument, what the Jews have in common far outweighs what divides them. And in some cases, as in Anglo-Jewry, the lack of unity and a greater pluralism has enabled the community to thrive. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Division 1

2 Emancipation 13

3 Agree to Differ 23

4 The Watchman 33

5 The God Within 43

6 Bleak Landscape 55

7 Holy War 65

8 Helping with Inquiries 76

9 The Mirage of Unity 85

10 In Whose Name? 93

11 The Velvet Revolution 103

12 Women of Worth 112

13 Peoplehood 122

14 Restoration 132

15 Zion 142

16 Secularity 153

17 Justice 162

18 The Board 171

19 Leadership 183

20 London and the Regions 194

21 Robinson Row 203

22 The New Community 213

23 Children of the Ghetto 224

24 In Conclusion 233.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 246-251) and index.

ISBN:

9781910383506

1910383503

OCLC:

995382563