Book Reviews

Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law

By
Simon Rabinovitch
Review by
Jo-Ann Mort
Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law (HUC Press) is a dense, essential volume for anyone who wants to unpack the maze of documentation and thought at the heart of the foundation of the State of Israel. Since its founding in 1948, the state has not had a

In Ishmael’s House: A History of Jews in Muslim Lands

By
Martin Gilbert
Review by
Bonny V. Fetterman
How did Jews and Muslims interact in lands under Muslim rule, from Afghanistan to Morocco? Historian and Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert answers this question with a definite point of view—always referring back to the legal status of Jews as dhimmis , an officially tolerated minority under Islamic law. “The

American Rabbis: Facts and Fiction

By
Rabbi David J. Zucker
Review by
Marcia R. Rudin
This second edition of Rabbi David J. Zucker’s American Rabbis: Facts and Fiction (Wipf & Stock) chronicles the role of rabbis in Jewish life, past and present.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know

By
Dov Waxman
Review by
Rabbi Reuven Greenvald
The title of Professor Dov Waxman’s new book, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know, hides an important tension that gets explained in the course of reading this book, which addresses a most complex and confusing topic.

Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century

By
Sarah Abrevaya Stein
Review by
Marcia R. Rudin
Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), by prominent historian of the Sephardic community, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, tells the riveting story of a large family descended from Sa’adi Besalel Ashkenazi a-Levi, a prominent resident of Salonica (now Thesaloniki, Greece) when it was part of

Pain: A Novel

By
Zeruya Shalev (translated from Hebrew by Sondra Silverston)
Review by
Marcia R. Rudin
In Pain (Other Press) gifted writer Zeruya Shalev explores human pain amid heightened emotional awareness as the protagonist Iris finds herself in a second-chance love affair in middle age.

A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion

By
Tom Segev (translated from Hebrew by Haim Waltzman, Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Review by
Rabbi A. James Rudin
Tom Segev’s voluminous biography, A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion, gives new meaning to the Latin phrase – carpe diem – seize the day. That is just what David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) did when he proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948.

Karl Marx: Philosophy and Revolution

By
Shlomo Avineri
Review by
Rabbi A. James Rudin
Karl Marx! The name conjures up an intimidating bearded revolutionary intent on violently overthrowing society. Shlomo Avineri, professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University, shatters that conception in his superb new biography.