Ruth Shamir Popkin’s latest book, Jewish Identity: The Challenge of Peoplehood Today, is a fascinating, erudite study of Jewish national self-identity. Popkin provides a thorough step-by-step analysis of the many factors that have shaped Jewish nationalism since the time of ancient Israel.
Popkin is a wonderful storyteller; each chapter provides a gripping account of factors affecting the development of peoplehood. One of the most interesting chapters is “Identity Struggles within Israel,” in which Popkin provides a clear analysis of the writings of the “New Historians” and their views of the War of Independence in 1948. Benny Morris is one of the most famous New Historians. According to Popkin, his work became a “major watershed in the historiography of the Israel-Palestine conflict” because it was the “first comprehensive scholarly inquiry into the problem of the Palestinian refugees based on recently opened Israeli archives.” The Arab states have consistently refused to open their archives to researchers.
The description of the different phases of the Palestinian Arab exodus makes for riveting reading. Both Jews and Arabs were expelled in some cases and voluntarily chose to flee in others. For example, fearful Palestinians left mixed neighborhoods in Haifa and Jaffa of their own accord. Jews were forced out of certain areas, such as the Jewish Quarter in the Old City, and often fled areas with large Arab populations. Popkin goes on to provide a particularly cogent analysis of the work of various postmodern and “post-Zionist” writers who demand the debunking of Zionist ideals and national self-identity.
This brief review cannot do justice to the complexity of the issues described in Jewish Identity: The Challenge of Peoplehood Today. Popkin demonstrates that since early Temple times, Jewish national identity has been continually evolving. To sustain the Diaspora and a strong and healthy Israel, Popkin suggests that Jews internalize the “core ideas of multiculturalism — pluralism and diversity.” The Jewish sense of identity needs to be “multifaceted, all inclusive,” and must positively reflect the freedom of the world today.
Index, notes, references.
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