Topics: Diaspora, Ethnography, Jewish Renewal, Jewish Revival, Outreach, Baal Teshuvah, Orthodox Judaism, NGOs, Young Adults / Emerging Adulthood, Religious Observance and Practice, Main Topic: Other
Abstract: Against the gloomy forecast of “The Vanishing Diaspora”, the end of the second millennium saw the global emergence of a dazzling array of Jewish cultural initiatives, institutional modalities, and individual practices. These “Jewish Revival” and “Jewish Renewal” projects are led by Jewish NGOs and philanthropic organizations, the Orthodox Teshuva (return to the fold) movement and its well-known emissary Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism, and alternative cultural initiatives that promote what can be termed “lifestyle Judaism”. This range between institutionalized revival movements and ephemeral event-driven projects circumscribes a diverse space of creative agency. Indeed, the trope of a “Jewish Renaissance” has become both a descriptive category of an increasingly popular and scholarly discourse across the globe, and a prescriptive model for social action. This article explores the global transformations of contemporary Jewishness, which give renewed meaning to identity, tradition, and politics in our post-secular world in two different sociopolitical contexts. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, we interrogate the relations between “diaspora” and “homeland” by analyzing two case studies: the Jewish revival movement in Budapest, Hungary, and the Jewish renewal initiatives in Israel. While the first instantiates a diasporic movement anchored in a post-denominational and post-secular attempt to reclaim Jewish tradition for a new generation of Jew-llennials (Millennial Jews), the second group operates against the Orthodox hegemony of the institutional Rabbinate by revisiting religious ritual and textual study. By proposing new cultural repertoires, these movements highlight the dialectic exchange between center and periphery. The ethnography of religious revival decenters the Israeli Orthodoxy as “the homeland” and positions the diaspora at the core of a network of cultural creativity and renewal, while remaining in constant dialog with Israel and other diasporic communities.
Topics: Jewish Identity, Jewish Renewal, Jewish Revival, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Continuity, Post-1989, Educational Tours, Birthright (Taglit), Interviews, Jewish Leadership, Young Adults / Emerging Adulthood
Abstract: After the 1968 emigration, very few Jews remained in Poland, and even more miniscule was the number of “Jewish Jews.” Since then the number has grown somewhat, and much of it is due to the process of de-assimilation; i.e., some people with Jewish ancestors raised in completely Polonized families began to recover, reclaim, and readapt their Jewish background. An analysis of this phenomenon is offered with a series of putative reasons for its occurrence. The individuals constituting the “products” of de-assimilation are the majority of Polish Jews today and form much of the current leadership. While individuals everywhere can strengthen their ties to the Jewish people and can experience teshuvah or another kind of “Judaization,” the process of de-assimilation does not seem to be reducible to those moves. It begins with no Jewish identity, and is highly dependent on the attitudes and cultural trends in the majority society. It does not remove the de-assimilationists from the majority culture. The phenomenon is general and deserves to be studied as a sociological mechanism working in other cases of assimilation to a majority culture. In the Jewish case, it is especially dramatic. Probably the first example can be found in the evolution of the Marrano communities settled in Holland. The presence of de-assimilation seems to differentiate some European, first of all East European, communities from the globally dominant American and Israeli ones. Probably this rather new concept is needed to describe a significant part of the world of the Jews of twenty-first century Europe.
Abstract: After the decades of discrimination against organized Jewish life in the Soviet Union, the present period shows creation and rapid development of Jewish national organizations and institutional infrastructure of Jewish communities in most of the post-Soviet states, especially in Russia and Ukraine. Not a few of these organizations were rooted in history of Jewish life in the USSR after World War II, including the experience of the creation and existence of legal (state-sponsored), illegal (underground national and human rights organizations), and quasi-legal (religious communities) Jewish social institutions in a hostile social and political environment. The Jewish organizations, including local/sectarian institutions, municipal/regional federations, as well as nationwide «umbrella» structures, that were established in the USSR successor states, had to meet the challenge of new conditions of Jewish life in post-communist countries which included a demand for services normally provided by a Jewish community (education, welfare, synagogues, cultural activities, etc.) and a need for an adequate institutional framework which reflected local Jewish identity (whether ethnic nationalism or cultural/religious affiliation)...
Topics: Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Antisemitism, Holocaust, Holocaust Survivors, Holocaust Survivors: Children of, Holocaust Commemoration, Memory, Memorial, Post-War Reconstruction, Post-1989, Jewish Renewal, Post-War Jewish History
Abstract: После крушения государственного социализма в Украине начинают происходить драматические трансформации религиозного ландшафта. В данной статье анализируется влияние религиозного возрождения на еврейское население Одессы. Рассматриваются различные стратегии поворота к вере, мотивация новообращенных, их попытки вжиться в иудаизм, те обсуждения традиции, в которые они в ходе этих процессов вовлекаются, а также влияние новой религиозности на внутри- и межсемейные взаимоотношения. Утверждается, что по большей части новособлюдающие иудеи восприняли иудаизм как новый способ быть евреем, а не как возвращение к своим семейным традициям. В целом она характеризует постсоветскую религиозность в Одессе как формирование режима «религиозной приверженности» в смысле особого состояния ума и пространства для выстраивания духовной жизни. Эта «религиозная приверженность» приводит к новым или несколько иным направлениям иудейской идентичности, уже не связанным с «полнотой» соблюдения набора правил. «Религиозная приверженность» может включать в себя полную, частичную, кратковременную или долговременную практику иудаизма, приобщение к нему в дополнение или в замещение прежних убеждений.
Abstract: This paper shortly summerizes the history of jewish religious education in Poland – from the beginning in the XV century on the Polish lands, its growth during the XIX period, its domination between First and Second World War and finally total destruction in 1968. It took 28 years before it was possible to open a Jewish secular elementary school in Warsaw (1996), thanks to the assistance from the Ronald Lauder Foundation. Four years later, on initiative of Jews in Wrocław the Lauder Etz-Chaim elementary school was founded in this city. Democratization of social life in Poland after 1989 contributed to the change in Jews attitudes to their national descent. For many, their ‘Jewishness’, which now can be spoken about openly, has become the object of profound interest, intellectual search or the way to stress one’s individuality. As a result, we can also observe the process of rebuilding Jewish religious life and forming sunday’s schools, cheders and “Talmud academies” at Jewish Community in Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Gdansk and Wrocław (rather as a part of informal education, non- orthodox, more or less religious and adapted to modern jewish life-style in European diaspora).
Abstract: Jüdische Gemeinden sind mehr als religiöse Gemeinschaften, sie stellen das jüdische Kollektiv in einzelnen Ländern und Orten dar. Das Erscheinungsbild dieser Kollektive wird einerseits durch ihre Umwelt, andererseits durch innerjüdische Entwicklungen bestimmt. Die in diesem Band ersammelten Essays zeigen, daß die Juden durch Emanzipation, Akkulturation und Säkularisierung zum integralen Bestandteil ihrer Umwelt wurden, was zu neuen Formen religiösen, kulturellen und politischen Lebens geführt hat.
Inhalt
Ariel Muzicant (S. 11–13), 150 Jahre Wiener Kultusgemeinde
Eleonore Lappin (S. 15–20), Vorwort der Herausgeberin
I. Das Erbe der Habsburger Monarchie
Lois C. Dubin (S. 23–42), The Jews of Trieste: Between Mitteleuropa and Mittelmeer, 1719–1939
Mykola Kuschnir (S. 43–52), Czernowitz – Stadt ohne Juden? Das Bukowiner Judentum zwischen Mythos und Realität
Juraj Sedivy (S. 53–62), Im Schatten der großen Geschichte? – Die heutige Gemeinde in Pressburg/Bratislava
Géza Komoróczy (S. 63–101), Israeliten / Juden in ihrer Gemeinde. Juden in der ungarischen Gesellschaft der Nachkriegszeit, 1945–2000
II. Israelitische Kultusgemeinden in Österreich
Marsha L. Rozenblit (S. 105–130), From Habsburg Jews to Austrian Jews: The Jews of Vienna, 1918–1938
Evelyn Adunka (S. 131–137), Die Wiener jüdische Gemeinde
Michael John (S. 139–178), Gebrochene Kontinuität – Die Kultusgemeinde Linz nach 1945
Helga Embacher, Albert Lichtblau (S. 179–198), Die Jüdische Gemeinde in Salzburg seit 1867 – Ein Neubeginn nach 369 Jahren Verbannung
Niko Hofinger (S. 199–210), Eine kleine Gemeinde zwischen Erinnerung und jüdischem Alltag: Die Israelitische Kultusgemeinde für Tirol und Vorarlberg in Innsbruck nach 1945
Dieter A. Binder (S. 211–241), Jüdische Steiermark - Steirisches Judentum
III. Juden auf Wanderschaft
Haim Avni (S. 245–265), „Insular Jewish Communal Life:“ Russian Jews in Argentina and German Jews in Bolivia
Edna Brocke (S. 267–281), Jüdisches Leben in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Michel Abitbol (S. 283–294), From an „Israelite“ Identity to a „Jewish“ Identity and Back – French Jewry Forty Years After the Jewish Immigration from North Africa
Mira Katzburg-Yungman (S. 295–319), The New Synagogue in the New World
Renate Meissner (S. 32–345), „Auf den Schwingen des Adlers“ Von Jemen nach Zion
Sergio DellaPergola (S. 347-364), World Jewish Population at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Trends, Prospects and Implications
AutorInnen (S. 365–357)
Abstract: Germany today boasts the fastest growing population of Jews in Europe. The streets of Berlin abound with signs of a revival of Jewish culture, ranging from bagel shops to the sight of worshipers leaving synagogue on Saturday. With the new energy infused by Jewish immigration from Russia and changes in immigration and naturalization laws in general, Jeffrey M. Peck argues that we must now begin considering how Jews live in Germany rather than merely asking why they would choose to do so.
In Being Jewish in the New Germany, Peck explores the diversity of contemporary Jewish life and the complex struggles within the community-and among Germans in general-over history, responsibility, culture, and identity. He provides a glimpse of an emerging, if conflicted, multicultural country and examines how the development of the European Community, globalization, and the post-9/11 political climate play out in this context. With sensitive, yet critical, insight into the nation's political and social life, chapters explore issues such as the shifting ethnic/national makeup of the population, changes in political leadership, and the renaissance of Jewish art and literature. Peck also explores new forms of anti-Semitism and relations between Jews and Turks-the country's other prominent minority population.
In this surprising description of the rebirth of a community, Peck argues that there is, indeed, a vibrant and significant future for Jews in Germany.
Abstract: By circumstances of history The Popular Movement of Ukraine, more frequently referred to simply as Rukh, became a critical part of the effort to consolidate Ukraine's early independence. A broad, grassroots coalition established in 1989 to support Gorbachev's policies to revitalize Soviet society, Rukh's original appeal called for respect and friendship among ethnic and national groups and the development of deep understanding between them, values that guided the work of Rukh's Council of Nationalities. This account focuses particular attention on the Council's involvement with the nascent Jewish revival in Ukraine. The original strength of Rukh was its emphasis on inclusion. However, competing interests intervened and Rukh was transformed from a popular coalition into a center-right political party. By 1993, the Council of Nationalities had ceased to exit. This firsthand account by the former chair of the Council of Nationalities recounts the interplay from 1989 to 1993 between the aspirations of Rukh, its Council of Nationalities, the Jewish community, the rapidly developing events that led to Ukraine's independence and their immediate aftermath for Rukh and the Council.
Topics: Citizenship, Jewish Renewal, Jewish Revival, Jewish Community, Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Diaspora, Immigration, LGBT, Post-1989, Russian-Speaking Jews, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The politics of Israeli governments in recent years and a drift to neo-conservatism among segments of Diaspora Jewry have substantially polarised the Jewish community abroad. Among many other Jews however, we observe a new insistence on the centrality of Diaspora life and we see re-inventions of Diaspora. These re-inventions are coming from the Jewish periphery: new visibility of women in Jewish affairs with new creative energy regarding religious services and community work at large; a rise of egalitarian religious services, Gay-Lesbian Jewish life, acceptance of intermarried couples, non-halachic (patrilineal) Jews and converts to Judaism who are seeking full acceptance via Reform Judaism or other, local, frameworks. These developments are especially pronounced in Germany, and this book addresses some of its characteristics: the transnational character of German Jewry, its relationship to the state and to other minorities, particularly Moslems, the astonishing revival of Jewish studies and Jewish culture especially also among non-Jews, and most of all, the massive influx of Russian speaking Jews after 1989 who are often at the forefront of redefining Jewish life in Germany. In these respects, Germany has become a laboratory of the ways in which Jewish life in Europe might develop in the future.
Contents:
Introduction: The Return of the European Jewish Diaspora; Y.M.Bodemann
PART I: A EUROPEAN JEWISH SPACE?
Can One Reconcile the Jewish World and Europe?; D.Pinto
Residues of Empire: The Paradigmatic Meaning of Jewish Trans-Territorial Experience for an Integrated European History; D.Diner
PART II: THE NEW DIASPORIC FIELD
Can the Experience of Diaspora Judaism Serve as a Model for Islam in Today's Multicultural Europe?; S.Gilman
Learning Diaspora: German Turks and the Jewish Narrative; Y.M.Bodemann & G.Yurdakul
PART III: GERMAN-JEWISH LIMINALITIES
Jewish Studies or Gentile Studies? A Discipline in Search of its Subject; L.Weissberg
How Jewish is it? W.G. Sebald and the Question of "Jewish" Writing in Germany Today: L.Morris
PART IV: RUSSIAN SPEAKING JEWS AND TRANSNATIONALISM
Homo Sovieticus in Disneyland: The Jewish Communities in Germany Today; J.Kessler
Fifteen Years of Russian-Jewish Immigration to Germany: Successes and Setbacks; J.H.Schoeps & O.Glöckner
In the Ethnic Twilight: The Paths of Russian Jews in Germany; Y.M.Bodemann & O.Bagno
Afterword; J.M.Peck
Abstract: Papers based on a conference convened by the United Jewish Israel Appeal in London in spring 2002. Contents include: Introduction: The sovereign and the situated self: Jewish identity and community in the 21st century – Jonathan Boyd; D’var Torah – Shalom Orzach; Exploring the challenges confronting the contemporary Jewish world – Irwin Cotler, Steven M. Cohen; A case of new identity: detecting the forces facing Jewish identity and community – Steven M. Cohen, Kate Loewenthal; A case of new identity: what should all Jews know? – Hanah Alexander, Aviezer Ravitsky; Looking in, looking out: the role of the Jew in the contemporary world – David Cesarani, Alan Hoffman; Looking in, looking out: on what should our educational efforts be focused? – Michael Rosenak, Irwin Cotler; Educating our children: exploring the role of the Jewish day school- Hanah Alexander, Barry Kosmin; Educating our children: imagining the Jewish day school of the future – Barry Chazan, Beverly Gribetz; Creating community: is the synagogue doing what is needed? – Margaret Harris, Michael Rosenak; Creating community: envisaging the synagogue of the 21st century – Charles Liebman, Robert Rabinowitz; Judaism and the contemporary world: foundation principles of Jewish identity and community for the 21st century - Aviezer Ravitsky, Jonathan Sacks; D’var Torah – Angela Gluck Wood; Exploring our general context: the impact of national and global trends on identity, community and education – Barry Kosmin, Steven M. Cohen; Exploring our Jewish context: trends in the Jewish world, and how to utilise them for our benefit – Jonathan Ariel, Tony Bayfield; Struggling for Israel: what happens when the classroom becomes dangerous? – Barry Chazan; Reaching out to others: the role of a social action agenda in Jewish education – Edie Friedman, Reuven Gal; Spiritual exploration: following my head or my heart? – Zvi Beckerman, Michael Shire; Civics: should British Jews swear allegiance to Britain? – Clive Lawton, Robert Rabinowitz; D’var Torah – Raphael Zarum; The role of vision in 21st century education – Jonathan Arield, Michael Rosenak; Case study 1: Texts and Values Project of the UJIA Makor Centre for Informal Jewish Education – Raphael Zarum; Case study 2: Limmud – Jacqueline Nicholls; Case study 3: Synagogue transformation – Julian Resnick; Case study 4: King Solomon High School – Alastair Falk; Case study 5: The Saatchi Synagogue – Pini Dunner
Abstract: It is unusual to find the words “revival” and “British Jewry” in the same sentence. Several decades ago, the title of this paper would have come as a surprise to the many critics of British Jewry. For example, in 1989, Professor Daniel Elazar observed that “the powers that be in British Jewry are content with the status quo and do not seek change.” Author Steven Brook (1990) scathingly remarked that the leadership of British Jewry “revels in its mediocrity, shallowness and philistinism.” And, in 1996, in the conclusion of his study, entitled Vanishing Diaspora: The Jews of Europe Since 1945, Professor Bernard Wasserstein stated that the Jews of Britain are “slowly but surely … fading away. Soon nothing will be left but a disembodied memory.”
The current claim that a revival of British Jewry has taken place is supported mainly by the excellent work of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) in London. The JPR has carried out an important analysis of the UK national census data of 2011 and supplemented it with its own more recent community studies, in particular, its 2013 National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) and its 2016 Jewish Schools report. To be sure, as with all sociological studies, particularly concerning Jews, there are less encouraging data that emphasize the challenges, failures and threats that confront the British Jewish community.
This essay, however, argues that the vibrancy of a community should not be judged by the threats that it faces. While threats and danger form an existential part of Jewish life, they do not necessarily determine the strength or weakness of a particular community. It is important that a community understands the nature of such threats and can organize to overcome them successfully. In doing so, the Jewish community in the U.K. provides evidence that it is vibrant and undergoing a revival. This study focuses on four aspects that show the revival of British Jewish life: demography; religious identity; educational and cultural activity; and confronting antisemitism.
