Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel : New Introduction by Norton Mezvinsky (Pluto Middle Eastern Studies S.)

Rating:
Summary: misinformation
Review: "When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them." Koran 9:5

"Oh, Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters." April 2002 sermon by Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi, a Palestinian Authority Imam.

It would be simple to compile a lengthy book filled with similar quotations, thereby "proving" that Islam is a murderous, hate-filled religion. Such a book would, of course, be grossly unfair, but it would be no more unfair than "Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel" by Norton Mezvinsky and Israel Shakak.

Mezvinsky is professor of history at Central Connecticut State College. He teaches the lone course offered by Central Connecticut in Jewish history, as well as two courses on contemporary Middle Eastern politics. Shahak is deceased.

Mezvinsky claims that his focuses in this book on Jewish fundamentalists, is because they threaten to take power in Israel as Islamic Fundamentalists did in Iran. This should concern Americans, he says, because Israel is "a powerful state... that wields great influence in the United States." The threat that fundamentalists pose to Israeli democracy is similar in Mezvinsky's view, to our domestic situation in which "Christian fundamentalism (is) a real threat to democracy in the United States."

It escapes Mezvinsky that Jewish and Christian fundamentalists, unlike Islamists, are peaceful groups and are but tiny fractions of the populations they live in while Islamists in many places are a large and growing segments of theirs. The truth is that in the United States as well as Israel, fundamentalists who espouse replacing democracy with theocracy constitute only a tiny voiceless fringe and bear no resemblance to the looming menace portrayed in "Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel."

In Mezvinsky's view, the threat posed by observant Jews goes beyond their impending destruction of democracy, because he holds that Judaism is an evil faith. Judaism, a religion of racism "comparable to the worst form of anti-Semitism" has produced adherents so immoral that they believe "the blood of non-Jews has no intrinsic value." he says blithely. Furthermore, "Jews killing non-Jews does not constitute murder according to the Jewish religion and the killing of innocent Arabs for reasons of revenge is a Jewish virtue." This is the stuff that makes this book dangerous and is comparable to much of the anti-semitic stuff coming out of the Middle East media today.

If his portrayal of Judaism does not sound like the Jewish religion that you know, Mezvinsky has an explanation. Rabbis and scholars have been keeping the truth from us. They are "supreme hypocrites" who have hidden from other Jews "The actual fact that the cabbalistic texts, as opposed to talmudic literature, emphasize salvation only for Jews."

Mezvinsky, of course, misses two important points. The first is that the Kabbalah, like the Talmud, is not a single book but a veritable ocean of scholarship and commentary. In such an ocean, it is possible to find a quotation to prove almost any point, although even Mezvinsky has to admit that the evil he sought is not in the Talmud, but only in the Kabbalah.

The second point is that the Kabbalah, that vast sea of mystical lore and wisdom, is not normative Judaism. Kabbalah is for Jews an option and an acquired taste, like Sephardi music or Ashkenazi cooking. It is also, of course, a complex if chaotic body of thought that by no fair interpretation deserves Mezvinsky's epithet of "Jewish Nazism."

Beyond the malicious absurdity of its premise, Mezvinsky's work is riddled with undocumented slurs and falsehoods presented as fact.

* "No Orthodox rabbi" has criticized the posthumous glorification of Baruch Goldstein.

* "The Israeli government induced Jewish immigration from Iraq by bribing the government of Iraq to strip most Iraqi Jews of their citizenship and to confiscate their property."

* "Before the advent of the modern state, Jewish communities were mostly ruled by rabbis who employed arbitrary and cruel methods as bad as those employed by totalitarian regimes."

In Norton Mezvinsky, the state of Connecticut is paying the salary of a professor of Jewish history who has a limited understanding of that history and substitutes his bias for knowledge. Moreover, Mezvinsky is a professor of history who is unacquainted with "the arbitrary and cruel methods" employed by totalitarian regimes around the world, but that doesn't stop him from ascribing them to the subject he knows so little about.

Diana Muir is the winner of the 2001 Massachusetts Book Award, and a professional book reviewer for the Boston Globe and the Christian Science Monitor.

This review was published in the Connecticut Jewish Ledger in 2002.

Rating:
Summary: shoddy scholarship
Review: Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters.' April 2002 sermon by Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi, a Palestinian Authority Imam.

It would be simple to compile a lengthy book filled with similar quotations, thereby 'proving' that Islam is a murderous, hate-filled religion. Such a book would, of course, be grossly unfair, but it would be no more unfair than 'Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel' by Norton Mezvinsky and Israel Shakak.

Mezvinsky is professor of history at Central Connecticut State College. He teaches the lone course offered by Central Connecticut in Jewish history, as well as two courses on contemporary Middle Eastern politics. Shahak is deceased.

Mezvinsky claims that his focuses in this book on Jewish fundamentalists, is because they threaten to take power in Israel as Islamic Fundamentalists did in Iran. This should concern Americans, he says, because Israel is 'a powerful state... that wields great influence in the United States.' The threat that fundamentalists pose to Israeli democracy is similar in Mezvinsky's view, to our domestic situation in which 'Christian fundamentalism (is) a real threat to democracy in the United States.'

It escapes Mezvinsky that Jewish and Christian fundamentalists, unlike Islamists, are peaceful groups and are but tiny fractions of the populations they live in while Islamists in many places are a large and growing segments of theirs. The truth is that in the United States as well as Israel, fundamentalists who espouse replacing democracy with theocracy constitute only a tiny voiceless fringe and bear no resemblance to the looming menace portrayed in 'Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel.'

In Mezvinsky's view, the threat posed by observant Jews goes beyond their impending destruction of democracy, because he holds that Judaism is an evil faith. Judaism, a religion of racism 'comparable to the worst form of anti-Semitism' has produced adherents so immoral that they believe 'the blood of non-Jews has no intrinsic value.' he says blithely. Furthermore, 'Jews killing non-Jews does not constitute murder according to the Jewish religion and the killing of innocent Arabs for reasons of revenge is a Jewish virtue.' This is the stuff that makes this book dangerous and is comparable to much of the anti-semitic stuff coming out of the Middle East media today.

If his portrayal of Judaism does not sound like the Jewish religion that you know, Mezvinsky has an explanation. Rabbis and scholars have been keeping the truth from us. They are 'supreme hypocrites' who have hidden from other Jews 'The actual fact that the cabbalistic texts, as opposed to talmudic literature, emphasize salvation only for Jews.'

Mezvinsky, of course, misses two important points. The first is that the Kabbalah, like the Talmud, is not a single book but a veritable ocean of scholarship and commentary. In such an ocean, it is possible to find a quotation to prove almost any point, although even Mezvinsky has to admit that the evil he sought is not in the Talmud, but only in the Kabbalah.

The second point is that the Kabbalah, that vast sea of mystical lore and wisdom, is not normative Judaism. Kabbalah is for Jews an option and an acquired taste, like Sephardi music or Ashkenazi cooking. It is also, of course, a complex if chaotic body of thought that by no fair interpretation deserves Mezvinsky's epithet of 'Jewish Nazism.'

Beyond the malicious absurdity of its premise, Mezvinsky's work is riddled with undocumented slurs and falsehoods presented as fact.

* 'No Orthodox rabbi' has criticized the posthumous glorification of Baruch Goldstein.

* 'The Israeli government induced Jewish immigration from Iraq by bribing the government of Iraq to strip most Iraqi Jews of their citizenship and to confiscate their property.'

* 'Before the advent of the modern state, Jewish communities were mostly ruled by rabbis who employed arbitrary and cruel methods as bad as those employed by totalitarian regimes.'

In Norton Mezvinsky, the state of Connecticut is paying the salary of a professor of Jewish history who has a limited understanding of that history and substitutes his bias for knowledge. Moreover, Mezvinsky is a professor of history who is unacquainted with 'the arbitrary and cruel methods' employed by totalitarian regimes around the world, but that doesn't stop him from ascribing them to the subject he knows so little about.

Diana Muir is the winner of the 2001 Massachusetts Book Award, and a professional book reviewer for the Boston Globe and the Christian Science Monitor.

Rating:
Summary: Jewish fundamentalism exposed!
Review: As is well known, western media solely focuses on Islamic fundamentalism and totally ignores Jewish extremists. Shahak and Mezvinsky have written a "forbidden" book and for that they deserve praise. It is ironic that as soon as any criticism is directed at Jews, the author is called an anti-semitist. Needless to say, this is an extremely calculated strategy employed to escape and avoid constructive criticism. Shahak and Mezvinsky claim that Jewish fundamentalists believe that they are the chosen people, that they have the right to settle wherever they want and that they are superior to other people. Furthermore, according to Shahak and Mezvinsky, these Jewish extremists aim to create a state comprising of Jews only. All other religions are considered fallible and inferior. Judaism, on the other hand, is considered flawless and superior to all. How can anyone believe that they are the "chosen" people, that they are superior and omnipotent? This is extremely discriminatory! Another important point made by the authors is that there has never been any mention of Jewish fundamentalism in the American media. This is extremely unfair. Needless to say, the american media is more than ready to criticize Moslems. Any reasonable human being considers this unjust and discriminatory. The authors further assert that powerful Jewish lobbyists prevent this view of the Jews to be presented in the american media. After all, mainstream media is largely controlled by these Jewish elites. This is an important book that should be read by every American. Strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: You have got to be kidding
Review: I know little of Judaism and therefore must rely on the expertise of the writers to evaluate the book's worth. On that basis, the quality of the book must be uneven.

Mezvinsky was trained as a historian but his publication list is poor indeed. Most of his writing seems to be for popular magazines like the "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs." He has very few publications of a truly scholarly nature and many of those were collections of other people's work that he had edited. I have read a fair number of books written by scholars of the Middle East and can't remember a single one ever citing Mezvinsky's work.

There is nothing in Mezvinsky's list of publications that even remotely suggests that he has any expertise on Judaism as a religion.

Incidentally, years ago, Moshe Menuhin wrote a book entitled Jewish Critics of Zionism. In his book, he described Mezvinsky as a "clever but arrogant and presumptuous fellow."

Rating:
Summary: If the Jews did not exist, the Anti-Semite would invent them
Review: I paraphrased a line from Jean Paul Sartre for the title of my review to make a point: If someone is inclined towards anti-Semitism, then almost anything they read can encourage them. Everything from "The Believer" to the Bible itself, if you read the right passages. If someone is not, however, then even the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and "Mein Kampf" won't change their mind.

There's also a large pool inbetween, by which I mean people who don't feel the need to go out of their way to express themselves as either anti- or pro-Semitic. I'm not a Jew; Judaism is not part of my idenity. Neither is Hinduism or Sikhism, for that matter. Therefore, I don't go out of my way to show that I have an opinion on the matter. Instead, I tried to learn as much as I can with an open mind.

If you truly believe anti-Semitism is wrong as its core, not because you happen to be the target of its vileness, but because it is demonstratably WRONG, then my approach shouldn't trouble you. Nor should this book.

I give it four stars because it is well written and very interesting. It is 100% correct? I have no idea. I intend to read more, as much as I possibly can in this life. It will contribute to my understanding of the issues, whether I find more evidence to support it or disprove it.

An anti-Semite doesn't need this book, but it will fuel his misguided views the same any other book would. A dedicated Jew doesn't need this book, but it might inspire him to attempt to disprove its thesis. I look forward to reading that book when it comes out as well, particularly if its written in the spirit of enlightening its readers, not demonizing its opposition.

Rating:
Summary: Guarded Praise
Review: No religious community is monolithic. Many people who consider themselves devout dissent from certain aspects of their religions. One cannot assume that because some sage wrote something thousands of years ago that modern adherents necessarily act on those passages.

The failure to make the above point clear, especially in light of two thousand years of anti-Semitic persecution, is a serious flaw in an otherwise good book. The reader unfamiliar with Judaism might erroneously conclude that all observant Jews agree with the more extreme passages cited by Shahak and Mezvinsky but, in fact, many do not.

The authors have done an excellent job dissecting one part of the spectrum that is Judaism. Yes, ther are observant Jews who are racist, discriminatory, and advocate violence. I was reminded of that when talking to a formerly secular friend who has become observant. He returned home from a West Bank Yeshiva and openly laughed about settlers who shot Arabs guilty only of quarrying stone for their houses.

Still, these fanatics do not represent all of Judaism.

On a personal note, I have met both Shahak and Mezvinsky. The world has never seen a finer human being than the late Israel Shahak. His years of suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto and Bergen Belsen left him with a deep sensitivity for the oppressed. He was a secular saint.

Mezvinsky is another person altogether, but I really can't comment.

Jessica Ramer





Rating:
Summary: misinformation
Review: The book, co-authored Shahak is grounded in the assumption that Judaism is inherently bad. Shahak, a chemistry professor was better known for his condemnation of Israel and Jews. Among Shahak's many tidbits of misinformation are false allegations that Jews don't use "+" symbols in arithmetic because they are "crosses," and the false allegation that observant Jews ritually defile Christian cemeteries. They also provide misinformation on the Talmud and Kabbalah. Although one can find excellent English translations in context of Talmud and much of the Kabbalah and even online information, most people may well rely on a published book like this. Those that do will be grossly misinformed.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Insider Story (from the other side of the fence)
Review: The great Israel Shahak offers here a vast review of the various fundamentalist forces, all of them rooting pretty deep in historical traditions, that are still very much at play in the intrinsically complicated arcanes of modern-day political Israel.

Many of his sources, although very well-known to the average Israeli, remain for the most part totally unknown to the occidental public.

By publishing such an in-depth analysis and overview of religious fundamentalism in Israel and the very active role it plays in everyday Israeli politics, Israel Shahak makes an attempt to warn non-informed audiences of the potentially devastating effects for Israeli secular Jews, the Palestinian people and the middle East in general, of a too strong influence of Israel's religious parties such as Agudat Israel, Degel Ha'Torah, Shas, including some of the most extremistic (messianic) tendancies of NRP, Emunim and Gush Emunim, the religious settlers that believe to be harbouring the messianic redemption through settlements in Gaza and on the West Bank -- BTW, if you happen to believe that Zionism has an indisputable religious and talmudic foundation, which it obviously clearly has not (cf. Bab. Talmud, Ketouvot, Tractate 111a), please check out the Neturei Karta web-site, or "Battle for God" by Karen Armstrong, which does highly accurately depict this religious movement and its staunch position towards Zionisms of all sorts by Yoel Teitelbaum, Amram Blau, and so forth...

In his attempt at providing unbiased information to what he regards as the resurgence of a potentially dangerous form of modern-day Hebrew "Khomeinism", Israel Shahak proposes to enumerate (or repeat) a few (strongly racial, or ethnocentric, if you wish) factors of some Kabalistic lores and Talmudic traditions, the majority of which are most of the time either totally unknown, or just galantly ignored by occidental press/media/public.

After a description of the Israeli Haredi culture and its religious traditional roots, intended for the average traditional occidental ignoramus, Israel Shahak goes on to depict the public perception in Israel of such tragedies as the Baruch Goldstein massacre (relating the fact that he was of Chabadian background), and a few other less known (but no less tragic) episodes, such as the attempted bombing of the Dome, attempted terrorist bombings of Jerusalem autobuses used by secular Jews on Shabbath, and other activities of the Jewish underground.

The book ends with a rather vast historical and religious background of the political assasination of Itzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir, by analyzing some of its talmudic and traditional rabbinic roots, giving a rather vast historic overview of the "redef" and "moser" incriminations and the condemnations that have thereby repetitively happened throughout European Jewry.

By reading this book, one is also able to glean a great deal of other interesting historical informations (very often obscured, censured or shunned by traditional self-flattering Jewish historians) on various historical topics.

Maimonides, for example, the great and often virulent condemner of heresies, was actually considered to be himself a heretic by a few of his contemporary Rabbis, and could still today be considered as an heretic, at least by his own definition of heresy.

One also learns that European intra-Jewish persecutions (sometimes based on either religious, financial, totally irrational reasons, or a combination of these) have often rivalled, if not exceeded, persecutions incurred by Jews through non Jews... One finally tends to give credit to the author's view that traditional Judaism (which is often rather naively depicted as a return to a "golden age"), did indeed imply many harsh persecutions, unjustices and irrationalities, as democracy hardly seems to be a Jewish invention, as was bitterly experienced by many liberal thinkers and reformers, such as Baruch Spinoza given the Anathema-Excomunication (Kherem) in Amsterdam by a contemporary Rabbinical court (as to its effectiveness, it is today still not known whether Spinoza ever talked to a Jew again since his Excomunication-Ban, which happened in his early twenties). Let it be said that Spinoza himself found himself relatively lucky to live in a relatively modern and progressive city such as Amsterdam, as many of his liberal predecessors, contemporaries and followers, in other countries such as Spain, Germany, Poland, Russia, etc. did not have that luck, and did not fare that well, as history evidenced some extreme cruelty amongst Jews, which only Gentile influence was able to dampen and limit... One is finally left with the impression that having been a Jew in Germany was an altogether totally different thing than having been a Jew in Poland, or in France, or in the Netherlands, or in Great-Britain, intra-Jewish persecutions appearing to have been virtually nill in the latter (the history time-frame, just as in the USA, was there of course also much shorter).

Shahak, among a few other interesting questions and enquiries (such as whether Kabalah can still be considered as monotheism, and whether Judaism, as a practised religion, has had any fixed tenets throughout its history), also debunks the Masada myth by showing that its alleged heroes (the Masada episode and its actors have in fact not once been named in the vast amount of talmudic and post-talmudic literature) were nothing less than murderous Sarkarikin (vulgar dagger-assassins or terrorists, that committed most of their vile actions upon peacefull peasant, and sometimes even pious, fellow-Jews). The Masada Sarkarikins are unfortunately still regarded as Jewish heroes by many contemporaries.

Israel Shahak was a courageous and highly ethical man that stood up for ethics, human concern, clearsighted rationality, historic authenticity, and the belief that some things need to be told the way they are, and remains for me some kind of a very remarkable individual, a humble and decent heroe in his own time.

Rating:
Summary: "Anti-Semitism?"....How about Jewish anti-Gentilism??
Review: This book is divided into four parts after the preface and introduction: it discusses the ultra-orthodox Haredim, Gush Emunim and the Israeli National Religious Party (NRP), Baruch Goldstein, and Yigal Amir and the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin.

First of all, the record is set straight on how the Haredi Jews regard the texts of the Scriptures/Bible. Except for the Pentateuch, they are not studied or even known except within the context of the Talmudic passages and the Cabala. Judaism is not based on the Bible but rather on its skewed interpretations by past Rabbis.

The authors expose the phenomenon of Jewish fundamentalism, especially its messianic beliefs and thought. The horrors of Christian and Islamic fundamentalism are well documented in the mass media, but Jewish fundamentalism is ignored, as Shahak and Mezvinsky detail. The goal of these movements is the restoration of the past, ideal Jewish society, comparable to Eastern European Jewry in the 16th-19th centuries. Their basic doctrine is that Jews are superior to non-Jews, derived from the teachings of the Cabala as developed by Issac Luria. The foremost teacher of this doctrine in modern times is the spritual founder of Gush Emunim, Rabbi Kook, the Elder. The belief is that the messiah will come and establish Jewish rule over non-Jews through military force, followed by another messiah who will perform miracles and wonders. The authors point out that the Bible teaches that there will be only one messiah, while the Cabala says there will be the two messiahs, who are supposed to be specific individuals.

Rabbi Kook went further and taught his followers that the Gush Emunim party ('Block of the Faithful') is both of the messiahs and that the messianic passages refer to a collective group of people rather than individuals. They believe they are infallible; destined to make the State of Israel the Kingdom of Israel with a king and ruling Sanhedrin, and that Israel will become "heaven on earth," and "God's throne." Jewish fundamentalists look to the day when all of the churches are destroyed in Israel and all the Arab Palestinians uprooted form "Jewish land." Furthermore, they quote Biblical passages in order to justify a Jewish Middle Eastern empire that would dominate the Sinai, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Hebron massacre committed by Baruch Goldstein and assassin Yigal Amir based their actions on precepts taken from Jewish fundamentalist teaching, from such revered figures as Moses ben Maimon. The last chapter of the book is about how some of Judaism's more controversial teachings are intentionally ommited from English language sources because they cast an unfavorable light upon Israel, Jews, and Judaism that many Jews in political positions and influence would wish to avoid. This is the reason why Shahak and Mezvinsky devoted a whole chapter at the end on why they refused to provide a bibliography of English language sources on Judaism and the topics they brough to light. Magic, amulets and spells are very popular in Israel and books in these subjects often make it into the best-seller lists. There are a great number of fascinating topics described in this book that should shock readers of any backround, if they can get over their prejudices regarding this type of subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Jewish Religious Intolerance In Israel.
Review: _Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel_ by Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky is a problematic book which nonetheless provides some important insights into the political situations of ultra-religious Jews in Israel. For one thing there is the abuse of the term "fundamentalism". Fundamentalism properly understood refers to a group of Protestant Christians who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible which must be interpreted literally. Jews and Muslims do not refer to themselves as fundamentalists. Secondly, the book is rather poorly written and contains quite a bit of left wing goofiness, which distracts from an otherwise interesting subject matter. The issue of intolerance among religious Jews in Israel is particularly disturbing. This book details much of that level of intolerance, particularly for the Palestinian population living in the land of Israel, but also for Gentiles in general and fellow Jews deemed heretics. Perhaps the most famous case of persecution of heresy among religious Jews is that of the philosopher Baruch (Benedict, Latinized) Spinoza who was excommunicated for going against the rabbinate. The authors try to make the claim that similar occurrences have happened throughout history (see _Jewish History, Jewish Religion_ by Israel Shahak) and continue to happen in Israel dominated by religious forces. The authors spend a great deal of time discussing various political parties including the Haredim and Gush Emunim. The conflict between secular Jews and the orthodox and ultra-orthodox sects becomes apparent in such issues as the conscription of Israeli youth to the military, where those studying for the rabbinate do not have to participate and are supported by the state. An even more radical viewpoint is expressed by the followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who moved to Israel from New York. Kahane advocated a radical form of Jewish supremacism and racism, basing his chauvinistic views on the arrogant myth of "the chosen". One follower of Kahane took his views seriously and gunned down a group of Arabs praying in a mosque at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Baruch Goldstein. The authors show how the Jewish response to the Goldstein rampage was less than honest, many outright supporting what Goldstein had done. The authors also discuss the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was perceived as a moderate willing to concede lands to the Arabs by the Israeli "far right". Another disturbing issue involves religious idolatry of the Temple Mount, on which sits a mosque which many claim must be destroyed to bring about the Messiah. (An interesting discussion of this issue in full and how it relates to Christian evangelicals may be found in the book _The End of Days_ by Gershom Gorenberg.) In sum, this book brings up some disturbing issues about the political parties in the land of Israel and should not be dismissed as mere "anti-Semitism".