Introduction1 Jewish men and women in the United States have become characterized by a gender imbalance that differs from most Jewish communities historically and from many other Jewish communities around the world today. In liberal Jewish America, women have become … [Read More]
Category Archives: 2010
There is a conflict between personal interests and collective Jewish welfare. As private citizens, we seek the former; as Jewish leaders, however, our primary concern should be the latter. Jewish leadership is entrusted with strengthening the collective Jewish endeavor. The … [Read More]
In the mid-twentieth century, Marshall Sklare, the “dean of American Jewish sociology,” declared regarding Orthodoxy that “the history of their movement in this country can be written in terms of a case study of institutional decay.”1 Indeed, it was not only … [Read More]
Steven M. Cohen observes: “When discussing ‘identity’ of Jews the term ‘identity’ is misleading. When applied to Jews, its connotations are too individual, too static, and too attitudinal. ‘Jewish identity’ is—or should be seen as—a social identity, referring not only … [Read More]
“In the mid-1970s Daniel Elazar wrote a comprehensive and seminal book, Community and Polity, which analyzed the structure of organized Jewish life in the United States.1 Elazar documented ways in which American Jewry had successfully developed from being highly fragmented to … [Read More]
The condition and comfort level of Jews are influenced to a great extent by society at large. Hence, to assess the future of American Jewry attention must also be given to potentially major changes in the social, political, and economic … [Read More]
Published in American Jewry’s Comfort Level by Manfred Gerstenfeld and Steven Bayme, 2010 American Jewry, like the America of which it is a component, in the years following World War II perceived itself as poised to undertake global responsibilities. By far … [Read More]
As we approach the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, American Jewry faces daunting new challenges that demand fresh responses. The ever- accelerating pace of change renders policies of the past as obsolete as yesterday’s newspaper. The … [Read More]
Reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld Ajax, a leading Amsterdam soccer team, was Dutch champion many times and winner of the European Club Championship on several occasions. However, discussion of the soccer club and game in Simon Kuper’s book is, for the … [Read More]
Most Italians think there are many times more Jews in Italy than the thirty-one thousand paying members of the Italian community. Native Italian Jews probably number no more than fifteen thousand. There are sizable communities of Libyan (mainly in Rome) … [Read More]