Jason Lustig
- Published in print:
- 2022
- Published Online:
- December 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197563526
- eISBN:
- 9780197563557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197563526.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter follows the history of the Jewish Historical General Archives in Jerusalem, founded in 1939 and opened in 1947, which in 1969 changed its name to the Central Archives for the History of ...
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This chapter follows the history of the Jewish Historical General Archives in Jerusalem, founded in 1939 and opened in 1947, which in 1969 changed its name to the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. This archive sought to bring Jewish archives from all over the world to Jerusalem under the banner of what they termed the “ingathering of the exiles of the past.” Its leaders, including Alex Bein and Daniel Cohen, who spearheaded the effort to gather materials from Europe, hoped to draw upon the legacy of European Jewry and thereby place Jews around the world within a sphere of Israeli cultural hegemony. In this archive, one finds an extension and intensification of the Gesamtarchiv’s dream of a total archive of Jewish life—and a powerful instance showing both its possibilities and the problems of fundamentally reframing the Jewish past.Less
This chapter follows the history of the Jewish Historical General Archives in Jerusalem, founded in 1939 and opened in 1947, which in 1969 changed its name to the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. This archive sought to bring Jewish archives from all over the world to Jerusalem under the banner of what they termed the “ingathering of the exiles of the past.” Its leaders, including Alex Bein and Daniel Cohen, who spearheaded the effort to gather materials from Europe, hoped to draw upon the legacy of European Jewry and thereby place Jews around the world within a sphere of Israeli cultural hegemony. In this archive, one finds an extension and intensification of the Gesamtarchiv’s dream of a total archive of Jewish life—and a powerful instance showing both its possibilities and the problems of fundamentally reframing the Jewish past.
Moshe Rosman
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781904113348
- eISBN:
- 9781800340817
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781904113348.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book treats the key questions that postmodernism raises for the writing of Jewish history. What is the relationship between Jewish culture and history and those of the non-Jews among whom Jews ...
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This book treats the key questions that postmodernism raises for the writing of Jewish history. What is the relationship between Jewish culture and history and those of the non-Jews among whom Jews live? Can we — in the light of postmodernist thought — speak of a continuous, coherent Jewish People, with a distinct culture and history? What in fact is Jewish cultural history, and how can it be written? How does gender transform the Jewish historical narrative? How does Jewish history fit into the multicultural paradigm? Has Jewish history entered a postmodern phase? How can Jewish history utilize the methodologies of other disciplines to accomplish its task? All these are questions that Jewish historians need to think about. While engaging with the questions raised by postmodernists, the book adopts a critical stance towards their work. The book's basic claim is that it is possible to incorporate, judiciously, postmodern innovations into historical scholarship that is still based on documentary research and critical analysis. The resulting endeavour might be termed ‘a reformed positivism’. The book presents an argument as to what considerations must be brought to bear on the writing of Jewish history today. By highlighting the issues raised by postmodernism, the book provides those in the field with a foundation from which to discuss how it should be practiced in light of this generation's challenges.Less
This book treats the key questions that postmodernism raises for the writing of Jewish history. What is the relationship between Jewish culture and history and those of the non-Jews among whom Jews live? Can we — in the light of postmodernist thought — speak of a continuous, coherent Jewish People, with a distinct culture and history? What in fact is Jewish cultural history, and how can it be written? How does gender transform the Jewish historical narrative? How does Jewish history fit into the multicultural paradigm? Has Jewish history entered a postmodern phase? How can Jewish history utilize the methodologies of other disciplines to accomplish its task? All these are questions that Jewish historians need to think about. While engaging with the questions raised by postmodernists, the book adopts a critical stance towards their work. The book's basic claim is that it is possible to incorporate, judiciously, postmodern innovations into historical scholarship that is still based on documentary research and critical analysis. The resulting endeavour might be termed ‘a reformed positivism’. The book presents an argument as to what considerations must be brought to bear on the writing of Jewish history today. By highlighting the issues raised by postmodernism, the book provides those in the field with a foundation from which to discuss how it should be practiced in light of this generation's challenges.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804778732
- eISBN:
- 9780804785006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804778732.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
In 1907, Nathan Birnbaum was one of twenty Jewish nationalists who campaigned in the election for a seat in the lower house of the Reichsrat in Austria. Three years before that, Birnbaum had ...
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In 1907, Nathan Birnbaum was one of twenty Jewish nationalists who campaigned in the election for a seat in the lower house of the Reichsrat in Austria. Three years before that, Birnbaum had radically altered his view of Jewish nationalism, turning away from the parochial factionalism of Zionism in favor of a new approach that went beyond organized Zionist politics. That was also the year Theodor Herzl died. In the next few years, Birnbaum took part in two closely interrelated efforts: an attempt to put into action the ecumenical nationalist Jewish People's Party model and an attempt to redefine Jewish cultural renewal based on the Yiddish language when he served as president of the First Yiddish Language Conference held in Czernowitz in 1908.Less
In 1907, Nathan Birnbaum was one of twenty Jewish nationalists who campaigned in the election for a seat in the lower house of the Reichsrat in Austria. Three years before that, Birnbaum had radically altered his view of Jewish nationalism, turning away from the parochial factionalism of Zionism in favor of a new approach that went beyond organized Zionist politics. That was also the year Theodor Herzl died. In the next few years, Birnbaum took part in two closely interrelated efforts: an attempt to put into action the ecumenical nationalist Jewish People's Party model and an attempt to redefine Jewish cultural renewal based on the Yiddish language when he served as president of the First Yiddish Language Conference held in Czernowitz in 1908.
Steven Weitzman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691174600
- eISBN:
- 9781400884933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691174600.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the theory advanced by the Israeli historian Shlomo Sand stating that the Jews were a product of invention, and thus were an artificial people. In his book The Invention of the ...
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This chapter examines the theory advanced by the Israeli historian Shlomo Sand stating that the Jews were a product of invention, and thus were an artificial people. In his book The Invention of the Jewish People, first published in Hebrew in 2008, Sand proposes an alternative account that traces Jewish origins to more recent times. The chapter considers the arguments for and against Sand's controversial theory and the distinctive conception of origin on which it depends. It discusses some of The Invention of the Jewish People's shortcomings, including Sand's treatment of conversion in relation to what is known in biology and linguistics as “polygenesis,” and the idea that the nation was a modern invention, citing the Jews as a classic example of premodern nationalism. Finally, it explains why some scholars embrace the constructivist approach to account for the invention of the nation and others choose primordialism.Less
This chapter examines the theory advanced by the Israeli historian Shlomo Sand stating that the Jews were a product of invention, and thus were an artificial people. In his book The Invention of the Jewish People, first published in Hebrew in 2008, Sand proposes an alternative account that traces Jewish origins to more recent times. The chapter considers the arguments for and against Sand's controversial theory and the distinctive conception of origin on which it depends. It discusses some of The Invention of the Jewish People's shortcomings, including Sand's treatment of conversion in relation to what is known in biology and linguistics as “polygenesis,” and the idea that the nation was a modern invention, citing the Jews as a classic example of premodern nationalism. Finally, it explains why some scholars embrace the constructivist approach to account for the invention of the nation and others choose primordialism.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804778732
- eISBN:
- 9780804785006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804778732.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
In his lifetime, Nathan Birnbaum never wavered in his belief that the Jewish ancestral homeland is the ultimate solution to the troubled life of Jews in exile. He devoted his last years to fervent ...
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In his lifetime, Nathan Birnbaum never wavered in his belief that the Jewish ancestral homeland is the ultimate solution to the troubled life of Jews in exile. He devoted his last years to fervent personal religious belief and to helping the whole Jewish nation get out of desperate straits. Despite breaking ranks with many of his colleagues who had helped him earn a prominent place in Orthodox politics, Birnbaum remained steadfast in his view that a return to traditional belief is crucial to the physical and spiritual salvation of the Jewish people. In essays and commentaries published in the two newspapers, Der Aufstieg and Der Ruf, he tackled various issues of concern to European Jewry as a whole. In such projects as Zionism and the Jewish People's Party, Birnbaum made a stand on issues facing Orthodoxy and his vision for their resolution. By the time of his death on April 2, 1937, Birnbaum had come almost full circle. Colleagues, including those from the Agudah and Oylim movement, remembered him as a leading figure in Jewish nationalism.Less
In his lifetime, Nathan Birnbaum never wavered in his belief that the Jewish ancestral homeland is the ultimate solution to the troubled life of Jews in exile. He devoted his last years to fervent personal religious belief and to helping the whole Jewish nation get out of desperate straits. Despite breaking ranks with many of his colleagues who had helped him earn a prominent place in Orthodox politics, Birnbaum remained steadfast in his view that a return to traditional belief is crucial to the physical and spiritual salvation of the Jewish people. In essays and commentaries published in the two newspapers, Der Aufstieg and Der Ruf, he tackled various issues of concern to European Jewry as a whole. In such projects as Zionism and the Jewish People's Party, Birnbaum made a stand on issues facing Orthodoxy and his vision for their resolution. By the time of his death on April 2, 1937, Birnbaum had come almost full circle. Colleagues, including those from the Agudah and Oylim movement, remembered him as a leading figure in Jewish nationalism.
