Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age - by Rachel Z Feldman (Paperback)

About the Book

In this groundbreaking ethnographic study of the transnational Third Temple and Children of Noah movements, Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age highlights the intimate effects of political theologies in motion, new forms of digital missionizing, and the birth of a new Judaic faith.

Book Synopsis

Judaism in the twenty-first century has seen the rise of the messianic Third Temple movement, as religious activists based in Israel have worked to realize biblical prophecies, including the restoration of a Jewish theocracy and the construction of the third and final Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Through groundbreaking ethnographic research, Messianic Zionism in the Digital Age details how Third Temple visions have gained considerable momentum and political support in Israel and abroad .

The role of technology in this movement's globalization has been critical. Feldman skillfully highlights the ways in which the internet and social media have contributed to the movement's growth beyond the streets of Jerusalem into communities of former Christians around the world who now identify as the Children of Noah (Bnei Noah). She charts a path for future research while documenting the intimate effects of political theologies in motion and the birth of a new transnational Judaic faith.

Review Quotes

"Brilliant anthropologist Rachel Feldman delves into the dynamic and surprising landscape of Judaism in the twenty-first century, unveiling the rise of the messianic Third Temple movement in Israel. This book reveals the movement's ambitious pursuit of biblical prophecies and explores the transformative influence of the internet and social media in propelling its visions and shaping a new transnational Judaic faith."

--Nurit Stadler "head of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel"

"What happens when Orthodox Judaism becomes a universal religious movement? Feldman's pioneering work tries to answer that question and opens up the global terrain of post-liberal Zionism and Judaism. This is a must-read for anyone concerned about or interested in knowing what might come next in Jewish history."--Eliyahu Stern "professor of Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History, Yale University"

About the Author

RACHEL Z. FELDMAN is an assistant professor of religious studies at Dartmouth College and recipient of the 2023 Jordan Schnitzer First-Book Prize awarded by the Association for Jewish Studies. She is the coeditor of Settler Indigeneity in the West Bank with Ian McGonigle.