The Star and the Stripes : A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews / Michael N. Barnett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barnett, Michael N., author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (363 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How do American Jews envision their role in the world? Are they tribal-a people whose obligations extend solely to their own? Or are they prophetic-a light unto nations, working to repair the world? The Star and the Stripes is an original, provocative interpretation of the effects of these worldviews on the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews since the nineteenth century. Michael Barnett argues that it all begins with the political identity of American Jews. As Jews, they are committed to their people's survival. As Americans, they identify with, and believe their survival depends on, the American principles of liberalism, religious freedom, and pluralism. This identity and search for inclusion form a political theology of prophetic Judaism that emphasizes the historic mission of Jews to help create a world of peace and justice.The political theology of prophetic Judaism accounts for two enduring features of the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews. They exhibit a cosmopolitan sensibility, advocating on behalf of human rights, humanitarianism, and international law and organizations. They also are suspicious of nationalism-including their own. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that American Jews are natural-born Jewish nationalists, Barnett charts a long history of ambivalence; this ambivalence connects their early rejection of Zionism with the current debate regarding their attachment to Israel. And, Barnett contends, this growing ambivalence also explains the rising popularity of humanitarian and social justice movements among American Jews.Rooted in the understanding of how history shapes a political community's sense of the world, The Star and the Stripes is a bold reading of the past, present, and possible future foreign policies of American Jews.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One. Heine's Law and Jewish Foreign Policies

Chapter Two. The Making of a Prophetic People (pre-1914)

Chapter Three. Prophets Mugged by Reality (1914-1945)

Chapter Four. The Cosmopolitan and the National (1945-1967)

Chapter Five. The New Tribalism (1967-1990)

Chapter Six. Back to the Future? (1990-present)

Chapter Seven. The Foreign Policies of an Uncertain People

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-334) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9781400880607

1400880602

OCLC:

936462919