To Be a Jewish State - by Yaacov Yadgar (Hardcover)

About the Book

"What does it mean for Israel to be a Jewish state? What is Zionism's relation to Judaism? And what happens to Judaism when it is "nationalized", i.e., read, interpreted, and practiced in a manner that serves the interests of the modern, sovereign nation-state? These questions and others that derive from them are at the center of To Be a Jewish State"--

Book Synopsis

Questions what it means for Israel to be a Jewish state

In one of the first books to ask head-on what it means for Israel to be a Jewish state, Yaacov Yadgar delves into what the designation "Jewish" amounts to in the context of the sovereign nation-state, and what it means for the politics of the state to be identified as Jewish. The volume interrogates the tension between the notion of Israel as a Jewish state--one whose very character is informed by Judaism--and the notion of Israel as a "state of the Jews," with the sole criterion the maintenance of a demographically Jewish majority, whatever the character of that majority's Jewishness might or might not be.

The volume also examines Zionism's relationship to Judaism. It provocatively questions whether the Christian notion of supersessionism, the idea that the Christian Church has superseded the nation of Israel in God's eyes and that Christians are now the true People of God, may now be applied to Zionism, with Zionism understood by some to have taken over the place of traditional Judaism, rendering the actual Jewish religion superfluous.

To Be a Jewish State deeply informs the democratic crisis in Israel, discussing whether Jewish laws put into effect by the state or political moves made to ensure a Jewish majority can be seen as undermining democracy. In our current era, with nationalism resurging, To Be a Jewish State urges a critical re-assessment of the very meaning of modern Jewish identity.

Review Quotes

"In our current era, with nationalism resurging, To Be a Jewish State urges a critical re-assessment of the very meaning of modern Jewish identity."-- "Reading Religion"

"Powerfully pushes the analysis of what the Jewish tradition has to do with the Jews' State, which is not the same as the 'Jewish State.' Yadgar brilliantly interprets Zionism's supersessionist logic and how it unfolds within Jewish Israeli theopolitics. This book transcends Israel Studies. It is a must-read for those interested in religion and the production of political meanings, modernity, and the cutting edges of political theology."--Atalia Omer, author of Decolonizing Religion and Peacebuilding

"Yadgar's new book is subtle, lucid, and full of insight. His argument that part of the current crisis of `Israeli democracy' can be traced to a link between those for whom Israel's 'Jewishness' has become essentially statist and those for whom the maintenance of demographic dominance has long been the primary goal constitutes a significant contribution to the study of the political theology of the state, the study of Middle East politics, and Israel studies."--Jonathan Boyarin, author of Yeshiva Days: Learning on the Lower East Side

About the Author

Yaacov Yadgar is the Stanley Lewis Professor of Israel Studies at the University of Oxford and the author of several books including Israel's Jewish Identity Crisis: State and Politics in the Middle East.