Yossi Shain
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195307221
- eISBN:
- 9780199785513
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195307221.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the relationship between the American Jewish community and Israel from the perspective of a transnational struggle over Jewish pluralism. The question of Jewish identity in ...
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This chapter examines the relationship between the American Jewish community and Israel from the perspective of a transnational struggle over Jewish pluralism. The question of Jewish identity in Israel and in the United States, the continuing insistence of many Jewish Americans on perceiving Israel as a critical source of their own identity, and Israel's direct or indirect involvement in the lives of all Jewish communities create a dynamic in which reciprocal influences mutually constitute Jewish identity. The new modes of Jewish American participation in Israeli affairs — domestic and international, on the one hand, and Israeli rethinking of its own position vis-à-vis the Diaspora in terms of legitimacy, status, power, and identity, on the other — has opened the way for greater negotiation over, and coordination of, the meaning and purpose of Judaism in our time.Less
This chapter examines the relationship between the American Jewish community and Israel from the perspective of a transnational struggle over Jewish pluralism. The question of Jewish identity in Israel and in the United States, the continuing insistence of many Jewish Americans on perceiving Israel as a critical source of their own identity, and Israel's direct or indirect involvement in the lives of all Jewish communities create a dynamic in which reciprocal influences mutually constitute Jewish identity. The new modes of Jewish American participation in Israeli affairs — domestic and international, on the one hand, and Israeli rethinking of its own position vis-à-vis the Diaspora in terms of legitimacy, status, power, and identity, on the other — has opened the way for greater negotiation over, and coordination of, the meaning and purpose of Judaism in our time.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the Jewish American sport experience in the U.S. since World War II. While the interwar years represented something of a peak for Jewish professional athletes, the 1970s ...
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This chapter examines the Jewish American sport experience in the U.S. since World War II. While the interwar years represented something of a peak for Jewish professional athletes, the 1970s witnessed a decline in sports participation among the Jews. Analysts and historians attribute this decline to the trek of second- and third-generation Jewish families from the city to the suburbs. Sport no longer serves the same purpose today as it once did.Less
This chapter examines the Jewish American sport experience in the U.S. since World War II. While the interwar years represented something of a peak for Jewish professional athletes, the 1970s witnessed a decline in sports participation among the Jews. Analysts and historians attribute this decline to the trek of second- and third-generation Jewish families from the city to the suburbs. Sport no longer serves the same purpose today as it once did.
David A. Hollinger
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158426
- eISBN:
- 9781400845996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158426.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish ...
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This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish history: to what extent is that field properly focused on communal Jewry and to what extent might its focuses be expanded to take full account of what persons of Jewish origin have done in the world, regardless of the degree of Jewish identity they, themselves, proclaim? The chapter pulls together arguments that the author has offered over the course of thirty-five years of writing about the Jewish experience in twentieth-century America. Thus, it connects After Cloven Tongues of Fire with an earlier collection, Science, Jews, and Secular Culture. A theme of several essays in each of these two volumes is the disruptive effect Jews have had on the cultural hegemony of Protestants in American life.Less
This chapter develops an analogy between post-Protestant and post-Jewish cultural situations. It does so in the context of identifying and clarifying a vital issue in the study of American Jewish history: to what extent is that field properly focused on communal Jewry and to what extent might its focuses be expanded to take full account of what persons of Jewish origin have done in the world, regardless of the degree of Jewish identity they, themselves, proclaim? The chapter pulls together arguments that the author has offered over the course of thirty-five years of writing about the Jewish experience in twentieth-century America. Thus, it connects After Cloven Tongues of Fire with an earlier collection, Science, Jews, and Secular Culture. A theme of several essays in each of these two volumes is the disruptive effect Jews have had on the cultural hegemony of Protestants in American life.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the college life and college sport participation of Jewish Americans in the U.S. prior to World War II. Jewish college students who participated in intercollegiate athletics ...
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This chapter examines the college life and college sport participation of Jewish Americans in the U.S. prior to World War II. Jewish college students who participated in intercollegiate athletics played a special role in this college experience by serving a spectrum of contradictory interest. The accomplishments of these athletes gave hope to the Jewish people that it was possible for them achieve real success without abandoning or denying ethnic attachments.Less
This chapter examines the college life and college sport participation of Jewish Americans in the U.S. prior to World War II. Jewish college students who participated in intercollegiate athletics played a special role in this college experience by serving a spectrum of contradictory interest. The accomplishments of these athletes gave hope to the Jewish people that it was possible for them achieve real success without abandoning or denying ethnic attachments.
Melvin I. Urofsky
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195134681
- eISBN:
- 9780199848652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195134681.003.0040
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
A review of the books, The Israeli-American Connection: Its Roots in the Yishuv, 1914–1945 by Michael Brown and Envisioning Israel: The Changing Ideals and Images of North American Jews by Allon Gal, ...
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A review of the books, The Israeli-American Connection: Its Roots in the Yishuv, 1914–1945 by Michael Brown and Envisioning Israel: The Changing Ideals and Images of North American Jews by Allon Gal, (ed.) is presented. These two books purport to explore the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community, one successfully and the other far less so.Less
A review of the books, The Israeli-American Connection: Its Roots in the Yishuv, 1914–1945 by Michael Brown and Envisioning Israel: The Changing Ideals and Images of North American Jews by Allon Gal, (ed.) is presented. These two books purport to explore the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community, one successfully and the other far less so.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish Americans in professional sports in the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s. These were especially troubled times in the U.S. because of the Great ...
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This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish Americans in professional sports in the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s. These were especially troubled times in the U.S. because of the Great Depression, increasing anti-Semitism at home and Nazi oppression. Despite this several Jewish athletes managed to make names for themselves in professional sports, even in baseball which was considered a sport not suited for the Jews. Some of the more prominent Jewish athletes during this period include Jimmy Reese, Sid Gordon and Buddy Myer.Less
This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish Americans in professional sports in the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s. These were especially troubled times in the U.S. because of the Great Depression, increasing anti-Semitism at home and Nazi oppression. Despite this several Jewish athletes managed to make names for themselves in professional sports, even in baseball which was considered a sport not suited for the Jews. Some of the more prominent Jewish athletes during this period include Jimmy Reese, Sid Gordon and Buddy Myer.
Brian C. Etheridge
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166407
- eISBN:
- 9780813166636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166407.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter shows how coalitions formed around different understandings of Germany in the early postwar period. Once decided upon a policy of rehabilitation toward Germany, the American government ...
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This chapter shows how coalitions formed around different understandings of Germany in the early postwar period. Once decided upon a policy of rehabilitation toward Germany, the American government promoted a Cold War narrative of Germany that legitimized America's struggle against the Soviet Union. With the prestige and stature that the U.S. government enjoyed after victory in World War II, the dawning of a new ideological struggle with the Soviet Union, and a widespread fear of communist subversion, an era of consensus settled in that discouraged dissent. While some actors, such as the Federal Republic of Germany and the American Council on Germany, promoted the Cold War narrative based on their respective self-interests, major Jewish groups like the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League offered their support, or at least refused to dissent, out of fear of being labeled anti-American or sympathetic to Bolshevism. The only organization that remained faithful to the world war narrative and resolved to stand against the power of the state was the Society for the Prevention of World War III. It was marginalized in the larger society and abandoned by its erstwhile allies.Less
This chapter shows how coalitions formed around different understandings of Germany in the early postwar period. Once decided upon a policy of rehabilitation toward Germany, the American government promoted a Cold War narrative of Germany that legitimized America's struggle against the Soviet Union. With the prestige and stature that the U.S. government enjoyed after victory in World War II, the dawning of a new ideological struggle with the Soviet Union, and a widespread fear of communist subversion, an era of consensus settled in that discouraged dissent. While some actors, such as the Federal Republic of Germany and the American Council on Germany, promoted the Cold War narrative based on their respective self-interests, major Jewish groups like the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League offered their support, or at least refused to dissent, out of fear of being labeled anti-American or sympathetic to Bolshevism. The only organization that remained faithful to the world war narrative and resolved to stand against the power of the state was the Society for the Prevention of World War III. It was marginalized in the larger society and abandoned by its erstwhile allies.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the popularity of boxing among Jewish Americans during the period between 1910 and 1940. During this period, Jewish boxers more than held their own in the professional ranks. ...
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This chapter examines the popularity of boxing among Jewish Americans during the period between 1910 and 1940. During this period, Jewish boxers more than held their own in the professional ranks. Before 1916, most title contenders in the eight weight divisions ranging from heavyweight to flyweight were either Irish, German, or Italian, but by 1928, Jewish fighters comprised the largest total. Some of the most notable Jewish boxers at this time were Al Singer, Maxie Rosenbloom and Barney Ross.Less
This chapter examines the popularity of boxing among Jewish Americans during the period between 1910 and 1940. During this period, Jewish boxers more than held their own in the professional ranks. Before 1916, most title contenders in the eight weight divisions ranging from heavyweight to flyweight were either Irish, German, or Italian, but by 1928, Jewish fighters comprised the largest total. Some of the most notable Jewish boxers at this time were Al Singer, Maxie Rosenbloom and Barney Ross.
Leonard B. Glick
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176742
- eISBN:
- 9780199835621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019517674X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
During the 20th century, circumcision became increasingly popular, promoted as protection against cancer of the penis, prostate, and cervix. Although Jewish-American physicians were especially ...
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During the 20th century, circumcision became increasingly popular, promoted as protection against cancer of the penis, prostate, and cervix. Although Jewish-American physicians were especially prominent advocates, probably the most important development was medicalization of childbirth and the introduction of circumcision in hospitals as a routine procedure following delivery. A seemingly endless controversy continued into the later decades of the century, with some physicians rejecting circumcision as both worthless and harmful, while others continued to maintain that this “hygienic” practice protected against numerous diseases, including urinary tract infection and HIV. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued statements probably unique in medical history: recommending against routine circumcision but granting the right of parents to request the surgery to accord with “cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions”.Less
During the 20th century, circumcision became increasingly popular, promoted as protection against cancer of the penis, prostate, and cervix. Although Jewish-American physicians were especially prominent advocates, probably the most important development was medicalization of childbirth and the introduction of circumcision in hospitals as a routine procedure following delivery. A seemingly endless controversy continued into the later decades of the century, with some physicians rejecting circumcision as both worthless and harmful, while others continued to maintain that this “hygienic” practice protected against numerous diseases, including urinary tract infection and HIV. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued statements probably unique in medical history: recommending against routine circumcision but granting the right of parents to request the surgery to accord with “cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions”.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the professional baseball career of Jewish American Andy Cohen in the U.S. It explains that none of Cohen's childhood sports heroes were Jewish and that not until Cohen himself ...
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This chapter examines the professional baseball career of Jewish American Andy Cohen in the U.S. It explains that none of Cohen's childhood sports heroes were Jewish and that not until Cohen himself received national attention as the first prominent Jewish major leaguer did Jewish fans proudly identify with Jewish major leaguers as symbols of their own struggle for American acceptance. Before 1900, only occasionally did a Jewish ballplayer appear on the roster of a major-league club and between 1900 and 1930, an average of four Jewish ballplayers made it to the majors each year. Aside from Cohen, other prominent Jewish baseball players include Silent George Stone, Johnny Kling and Phil Cooney.Less
This chapter examines the professional baseball career of Jewish American Andy Cohen in the U.S. It explains that none of Cohen's childhood sports heroes were Jewish and that not until Cohen himself received national attention as the first prominent Jewish major leaguer did Jewish fans proudly identify with Jewish major leaguers as symbols of their own struggle for American acceptance. Before 1900, only occasionally did a Jewish ballplayer appear on the roster of a major-league club and between 1900 and 1930, an average of four Jewish ballplayers made it to the majors each year. Aside from Cohen, other prominent Jewish baseball players include Silent George Stone, Johnny Kling and Phil Cooney.
Leonard B. Glick
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176742
- eISBN:
- 9780199835621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019517674X.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
While some Jewish Americans have criticized ritual circumcision in magazine articles and proposed substituting a rite without genital cutting, others have defended it passionately, insisting that it ...
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While some Jewish Americans have criticized ritual circumcision in magazine articles and proposed substituting a rite without genital cutting, others have defended it passionately, insisting that it is an essential component of Jewish tradition and identity. Jewish feminists seem unable to develop a forthright critique of the obvious male-centered nature of ritual circumcision; this is even reflected in children’s books portraying circumcisions. Jewish-American fiction, by such authors as Philip Roth and Bernard Malamud, again reveals underlying perplexity with the role of circumcision in contemporary Jewish identity. Television sitcoms repeat the theme of Jewish discomfort when portraying infant circumcision, while programs dealing with adult circumcision are characterized by outright denigration of the foreskin.Less
While some Jewish Americans have criticized ritual circumcision in magazine articles and proposed substituting a rite without genital cutting, others have defended it passionately, insisting that it is an essential component of Jewish tradition and identity. Jewish feminists seem unable to develop a forthright critique of the obvious male-centered nature of ritual circumcision; this is even reflected in children’s books portraying circumcisions. Jewish-American fiction, by such authors as Philip Roth and Bernard Malamud, again reveals underlying perplexity with the role of circumcision in contemporary Jewish identity. Television sitcoms repeat the theme of Jewish discomfort when portraying infant circumcision, while programs dealing with adult circumcision are characterized by outright denigration of the foreskin.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish American boxing champions Barney Ross and Maxie Baer in the U.S. during the 1930s. Ross was undoubtedly the greatest Jewish boxer of this period but he ...
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This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish American boxing champions Barney Ross and Maxie Baer in the U.S. during the 1930s. Ross was undoubtedly the greatest Jewish boxer of this period but he struggled more openly than most Jewish fighters with his father's “Jewish world” to emerge as Jewish champion and American war hero. On the other hand, Ross' Jewish connections were always questioned. The boxing careers of these two men personified the symbolic importance of boxing in the struggle for Jewish survival and American victory in the midst of world war.Less
This chapter examines the experiences of Jewish American boxing champions Barney Ross and Maxie Baer in the U.S. during the 1930s. Ross was undoubtedly the greatest Jewish boxer of this period but he struggled more openly than most Jewish fighters with his father's “Jewish world” to emerge as Jewish champion and American war hero. On the other hand, Ross' Jewish connections were always questioned. The boxing careers of these two men personified the symbolic importance of boxing in the struggle for Jewish survival and American victory in the midst of world war.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the role of sport in helping East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century adopt to American life. The ...
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This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the role of sport in helping East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century adopt to American life. The findings reveal that the scarcity of outstanding American Jewish athletes belies the significant connections between sport and the American Jewish experience. The results also indicate that though Jewish American engagement in sport was rather short, sport played a very important role in assimilation and in the formation and meaning of Jewish and American identities.Less
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on the role of sport in helping East European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century adopt to American life. The findings reveal that the scarcity of outstanding American Jewish athletes belies the significant connections between sport and the American Jewish experience. The results also indicate that though Jewish American engagement in sport was rather short, sport played a very important role in assimilation and in the formation and meaning of Jewish and American identities.
Leonard B. Glick
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176742
- eISBN:
- 9780199835621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019517674X.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
In a surprising development in British and American medical history, circumcision became medicalized in the final decades of the 19th century. It was transformed from a ritual practice exclusive to ...
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In a surprising development in British and American medical history, circumcision became medicalized in the final decades of the 19th century. It was transformed from a ritual practice exclusive to Judaism into a medical procedure adopted by British and American physicians, and widely accepted by the entire population. Some physicians advocated it as a preventive for masturbation, as well as for numerous afflictions ranging from epilepsy and spastic paralysis to syphilis and cancer. A few claimed that Moses had been a great “sanitarian” who introduced ritual circumcision because he understood its medical value. Some Jewish American physicians called for better supervision of mohels, whom they accused of ignorance about aseptic surgical technique. A California physician named Peter Remondino published a book of flowery prose praising circumcision as a near-miraculous medical discovery; his book was widely read and cited.Less
In a surprising development in British and American medical history, circumcision became medicalized in the final decades of the 19th century. It was transformed from a ritual practice exclusive to Judaism into a medical procedure adopted by British and American physicians, and widely accepted by the entire population. Some physicians advocated it as a preventive for masturbation, as well as for numerous afflictions ranging from epilepsy and spastic paralysis to syphilis and cancer. A few claimed that Moses had been a great “sanitarian” who introduced ritual circumcision because he understood its medical value. Some Jewish American physicians called for better supervision of mohels, whom they accused of ignorance about aseptic surgical technique. A California physician named Peter Remondino published a book of flowery prose praising circumcision as a near-miraculous medical discovery; his book was widely read and cited.
Brian C. Etheridge
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813166407
- eISBN:
- 9780813166636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813166407.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter illustrates that during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of factors changed the sociopolitical landscape both abroad and at home. Although the U.S.-German relationship became ...
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This chapter illustrates that during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of factors changed the sociopolitical landscape both abroad and at home. Although the U.S.-German relationship became strained under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, the rhetoric of Democratic administrations did not differ significantly from that of previous administrations. Especially by the middle of the 1960s, with the war in Vietnam intensifying, the civil rights movement fragmenting, and campuses in open revolt, Johnson deployed the Cold War narrative to legitimize his foreign and domestic policies. Aware of the strained relationship with the U.S. government, West German officials sought to combat what they perceived as an “anti-German wave” of material in the American mass media by intensifying their public activities. Fearful and critical of the tension between the American and West German governments, the American Council on Germany similarly sought to strengthen the alliance. The rift between the two governments, along with a series of international events that cast West Germany in a bad light, led Jewish organizations to reassess their stance toward the German Question. Still, while they became more critical, they, like the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, refrained from an open break with the West German government.Less
This chapter illustrates that during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of factors changed the sociopolitical landscape both abroad and at home. Although the U.S.-German relationship became strained under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, the rhetoric of Democratic administrations did not differ significantly from that of previous administrations. Especially by the middle of the 1960s, with the war in Vietnam intensifying, the civil rights movement fragmenting, and campuses in open revolt, Johnson deployed the Cold War narrative to legitimize his foreign and domestic policies. Aware of the strained relationship with the U.S. government, West German officials sought to combat what they perceived as an “anti-German wave” of material in the American mass media by intensifying their public activities. Fearful and critical of the tension between the American and West German governments, the American Council on Germany similarly sought to strengthen the alliance. The rift between the two governments, along with a series of international events that cast West Germany in a bad light, led Jewish organizations to reassess their stance toward the German Question. Still, while they became more critical, they, like the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, refrained from an open break with the West German government.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the saga of Marty Glickman, a young American Olympian whose dreams of Olympic gold were shattered by anti-Semitism at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. Glickman ...
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This chapter examines the saga of Marty Glickman, a young American Olympian whose dreams of Olympic gold were shattered by anti-Semitism at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. Glickman was not allowed to compete in his track and field event because he was Jewish. Despite this Glickman went on to enjoy great success as a collegiate track star and football player before beginning a prominent career in sports broadcasting. His life story illuminates both the passage to assimilation for many Jews of his generation and the meaning of Jewish identity in America today.Less
This chapter examines the saga of Marty Glickman, a young American Olympian whose dreams of Olympic gold were shattered by anti-Semitism at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. Glickman was not allowed to compete in his track and field event because he was Jewish. Despite this Glickman went on to enjoy great success as a collegiate track star and football player before beginning a prominent career in sports broadcasting. His life story illuminates both the passage to assimilation for many Jews of his generation and the meaning of Jewish identity in America today.
Leonard B. Glick
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176742
- eISBN:
- 9780199835621
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019517674X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book traces the history of male infant circumcision from its origins in ancient Judea, through centuries of Christian condemnation and Jewish defense, to its current role in American culture and ...
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This book traces the history of male infant circumcision from its origins in ancient Judea, through centuries of Christian condemnation and Jewish defense, to its current role in American culture and medical practice. Genesis 17 is the biblical text where infant circumcision was mandated by Judean priests in the 6th century BCE; they characterized it as confirming a covenant, but the deeper meaning of the practice was male supremacy and dominance. Early Christians vehemently rejected circumcision, while Jews defended it with equal vigor in the Talmud and other rabbinic texts. The circumcision rite, embellished by folk practices and raised to new heights of significance by Jewish mystics, evolved into its contemporary form in medieval and early modern Europe. Meanwhile, Christian theological writings and medieval European folk beliefs — including those connected with fantasies about ritual murder — contributed to the enduring negative image of circumcision in the non-Jewish world. In the modern period, a few Jews began to question circumcision for the first time. In Germany, where Reform Judaism originated, German-Jewish physicians debated whether ritual circumcision should be either modified or eliminated. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, infant circumcision became a widely accepted medical practice in Britain and the United States, not as a ritual practice but as a preventive or therapeutic procedure. A key element in the new attitude to circumcision was the belief that the practice explained Jewish health and longevity. In the United States, Jewish physicians became especially prominent advocates for the practice, but physicians throughout the country endorsed it with equal enthusiasm. The contemporary circumcision debate in America finds expression in a wide variety of media: most notably, fiction, guides to Jewish parenting, and television sitcoms. The book closes with an epilogue assessing whether circumcision is beneficial or harmful, and whether parents have the right to request genital alteration for their infants or children.Less
This book traces the history of male infant circumcision from its origins in ancient Judea, through centuries of Christian condemnation and Jewish defense, to its current role in American culture and medical practice. Genesis 17 is the biblical text where infant circumcision was mandated by Judean priests in the 6th century BCE; they characterized it as confirming a covenant, but the deeper meaning of the practice was male supremacy and dominance. Early Christians vehemently rejected circumcision, while Jews defended it with equal vigor in the Talmud and other rabbinic texts. The circumcision rite, embellished by folk practices and raised to new heights of significance by Jewish mystics, evolved into its contemporary form in medieval and early modern Europe. Meanwhile, Christian theological writings and medieval European folk beliefs — including those connected with fantasies about ritual murder — contributed to the enduring negative image of circumcision in the non-Jewish world. In the modern period, a few Jews began to question circumcision for the first time. In Germany, where Reform Judaism originated, German-Jewish physicians debated whether ritual circumcision should be either modified or eliminated. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, infant circumcision became a widely accepted medical practice in Britain and the United States, not as a ritual practice but as a preventive or therapeutic procedure. A key element in the new attitude to circumcision was the belief that the practice explained Jewish health and longevity. In the United States, Jewish physicians became especially prominent advocates for the practice, but physicians throughout the country endorsed it with equal enthusiasm. The contemporary circumcision debate in America finds expression in a wide variety of media: most notably, fiction, guides to Jewish parenting, and television sitcoms. The book closes with an epilogue assessing whether circumcision is beneficial or harmful, and whether parents have the right to request genital alteration for their infants or children.
Lederhendler Eli
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195134681
- eISBN:
- 9780199848652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195134681.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter argues that it is only the Jewish neighborhood that has been cast in the Jewish imagination as an urban Jewish space, as if not much about the urban experience is pertinent to Jewish ...
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This chapter argues that it is only the Jewish neighborhood that has been cast in the Jewish imagination as an urban Jewish space, as if not much about the urban experience is pertinent to Jewish social history once we have stepped outside the residential or occupational ethnic niche. With the exception of New York City, no city as a whole has been imagined as a Jewish space: a “home,” in the way that a shtetl or neighborhood is conceived as a home. The fact that urban space as such is not “worthy” of historicizing or folklorizing in the modern Jewish imagination is reflected in the virtual lack of Jewish monuments in American cities.Less
This chapter argues that it is only the Jewish neighborhood that has been cast in the Jewish imagination as an urban Jewish space, as if not much about the urban experience is pertinent to Jewish social history once we have stepped outside the residential or occupational ethnic niche. With the exception of New York City, no city as a whole has been imagined as a Jewish space: a “home,” in the way that a shtetl or neighborhood is conceived as a home. The fact that urban space as such is not “worthy” of historicizing or folklorizing in the modern Jewish imagination is reflected in the virtual lack of Jewish monuments in American cities.
Peter Levine
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195085556
- eISBN:
- 9780199854042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195085556.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the participation of Jewish Americans in professional basketball during the period from 1900 to 1950 in the U.S. Some of the prominent Jewish players during this period included ...
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This chapter examines the participation of Jewish Americans in professional basketball during the period from 1900 to 1950 in the U.S. Some of the prominent Jewish players during this period included Max Zaslofsky who played for the Chicago Stags, Max Friedman who played for the New York Whirlwinds and Jammy Moskowitz who played for the Brooklyn Eagles. This chapter suggests that for both adults and children, appreciation of and connection to Jewish basketball encouraged assimilation to unfold within the rich fabric of the ethnic, Jewish world in which they lived.Less
This chapter examines the participation of Jewish Americans in professional basketball during the period from 1900 to 1950 in the U.S. Some of the prominent Jewish players during this period included Max Zaslofsky who played for the Chicago Stags, Max Friedman who played for the New York Whirlwinds and Jammy Moskowitz who played for the Brooklyn Eagles. This chapter suggests that for both adults and children, appreciation of and connection to Jewish basketball encouraged assimilation to unfold within the rich fabric of the ethnic, Jewish world in which they lived.
Gerard Daniel Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195399684
- eISBN:
- 9780199918423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195399684.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The chapter analyzes the place of Holocaust survivors and Jewish displaced persons within the postwar refugee regime. Recognized as a stateless and extraterritorial community, Jewish DPs nationalized ...
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The chapter analyzes the place of Holocaust survivors and Jewish displaced persons within the postwar refugee regime. Recognized as a stateless and extraterritorial community, Jewish DPs nationalized the course of Jewish history and triggered unprecedented philosemitism in international politics. As much as the historical agency claimed by the survivors of the Final Solution, the skillful determination of the Zionist movement or the political backing of the Western and Eastern blocs, refugee humanitarianism enabled the advent of Jewish statehood.Less
The chapter analyzes the place of Holocaust survivors and Jewish displaced persons within the postwar refugee regime. Recognized as a stateless and extraterritorial community, Jewish DPs nationalized the course of Jewish history and triggered unprecedented philosemitism in international politics. As much as the historical agency claimed by the survivors of the Final Solution, the skillful determination of the Zionist movement or the political backing of the Western and Eastern blocs, refugee humanitarianism enabled the advent of Jewish statehood.
