Futurizing the Jews - (Hardcover)

About the Book

Bisk and Dror assert that the 21st Century can be the Jewish Century, that no other people is better prepared to face its challenges. However, to do so, a stress on the Jewish Future must replace a preoccupation with the Jewish Past. They offer a neo-Zionist ideological analysis of modern Jewish life as an alternative to both classical Zionism and post-Zionism. They conceptualize a Jewish Grand Strategy by clearly defining and delineating between ideology, policy, grand strategy, strategy and tactics, with compelling proposals for what such a revised Grand Straegy might entail.

They suggest a concept of reinvigorated Israel-Diaspora relations based on this new Grand Strategy and the potential of the Information Technology Revolution. They also offer a conception of Jewish spirituality that could be as appealing to secular as to religious Jews. They reject the concept of a Nation that Dwells Alone. Throughout the ages, Jews have affected and been affected by the world more than any other People they assert. They also reject the view that suffering is the dominant feature of Jewish history as this lachrymose perception cannot inspire needed Jewish ambitions in the young. They stress the needs of the Jewish person and insist that there can be no real significance to the continued existence of the Jewish People unless the real life, concrete needs of the individual are addressed. As former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and former Cabinent Minister Gad Yaacobi asserts in his foreword, The book is original, iconoclastic and in some ways revolutionary ... it challenges inherited assumptions and calls for positive action. I believe we have before us a book that must become a reference point for Jewish policy makers as quickly as possible.

Book Synopsis

Bisk and Dror assert that the 21st Century can be the Jewish Century, that no other people is better prepared to face its challenges. However, to do so, a stress on the Jewish Future must replace a preoccupation with the Jewish Past. They offer a neo-Zionist ideological analysis of modern Jewish life as an alternative to both classical Zionism and post-Zionism. They conceptualize a Jewish Grand Strategy by clearly defining and delineating between ideology, policy, grand strategy, strategy and tactics, with compelling proposals for what such a revised Grand Straegy might entail.

They suggest a concept of reinvigorated Israel-Diaspora relations based on this new Grand Strategy and the potential of the Information Technology Revolution. They also offer a conception of Jewish spirituality that could be as appealing to secular as to religious Jews. They reject the concept of a Nation that Dwells Alone. Throughout the ages, Jews have affected and been affected by the world more than any other People they assert. They also reject the view that suffering is the dominant feature of Jewish history as this lachrymose perception cannot inspire needed Jewish ambitions in the young. They stress the needs of the Jewish person and insist that there can be no real significance to the continued existence of the Jewish People unless the real life, concrete needs of the individual are addressed. As former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and former Cabinent Minister Gad Yaacobi asserts in his foreword, The book is original, iconoclastic and in some ways revolutionary ... it challenges inherited assumptions and calls for positive action. I believe we have before us a book that must become a reference point for Jewish policy makers as quickly as possible.

Review Quotes

"Few writers can match Bisk in his in-depth grasp of the situation of world Jewry yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Few have the creativity, the sensitivity, and the chutzpah to make spirit-stretching sense of it. Few are as helpful in enabling us to feel the urgency of the situation, know how high are the stakes, and resolve to do more to assure a 21st century for world Jewry that honors us all, Jew and Gentile alike."-Professor Arthur B. Shostak Sociologist Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

"Moshe Dror sees a future in which the Cyberworld becomes a new way of Torah adding new tools to make it effective in the emerging paradigm. The reader will discover with delight how an other level has been added to the written and oral Torah; Cyber Torah, the dimension that will dominate future Tikkun Olam."-Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, author of Paradigm Shift

"Writing a book about the future of Jews and Judaism is, was and always will be about survival. This book does that and more...It forced me to think about my own relationship to Israel and Judaism, clearly the intention of the authors...[t]he book thickens like a good stew...[t]he authors present the necessary historical background so that a wide range of readers will be able to understand their thoughts on the future...[w]ell written, understandable English and academic English. Those who distain academic writing style can just hop over a sentence or two and be assured that there will be another, more pedagogic explanation with examples or metaphors that can clear up the whole issue...For those futurists and really long range thinkers the authors present a vision of spirtualism that is in a time when the physical world no longer exsists...[t]he book gives way to the new information technology."-Exploring the Future of Religion

?Bisk and Dror offer a thought-provoking examination of where the Jewish people are at the beginning of the twenty-first century, how they got there, and where they should be going if they want to survive. The authors provide a comprehensive critique and a positive, even heroic, vision of the Jewish future. Topics include Zionism in the twenty-first century, the future of Arab-Jewish and Jewish-Christian relations, the future of Israeli culture, and the Jewish community in cyberspace.?-The Futurist

?Writing a book about the future of Jews and Judaism is, was and always will be about survival. This book does that and more...It forced me to think about my own relationship to Israel and Judaism, clearly the intention of the authors...[t]he book thickens like a good stew...[t]he authors present the necessary historical background so that a wide range of readers will be able to understand their thoughts on the future...[w]ell written, understandable English and academic English. Those who distain academic writing style can just hop over a sentence or two and be assured that there will be another, more pedagogic explanation with examples or metaphors that can clear up the whole issue...For those futurists and really long range thinkers the authors present a vision of spirtualism that is in a time when the physical world no longer exsists...[t]he book gives way to the new information technology.?-Exploring the Future of Religion

"Bisk and Dror offer a thought-provoking examination of where the Jewish people are at the beginning of the twenty-first century, how they got there, and where they should be going if they want to survive. The authors provide a comprehensive critique and a positive, even heroic, vision of the Jewish future. Topics include Zionism in the twenty-first century, the future of Arab-Jewish and Jewish-Christian relations, the future of Israeli culture, and the Jewish community in cyberspace."-The Futurist

About the Author

TSVI BISK is founder and director of the Strategic Educational Planning Institute.

RABBI/DR. MOSHE DROR is the Media Director and Futurist at The National Teachers Center for the Study of Judaica, Humanities and Society, an arm of the Israeli Ministry of Education.