Description
Book SynopsisA study of Catholic perceptions of Jews, Judaism, and Israel, offering an exploration of biographical narratives and reflections on Holocaust trauma, conversion, Zionism, and religious identity.
Trade Review“A fascinating, intelligent, and sensitive presentation of Judeocentric views shared by Roman Catholic priests, nuns, and monks living in the State of Israel. Necessary reading for those interested in Jewish-Catholic relations, ethnography, and the intertwined phenomena of antisemitism and philosemitism.”
—Amy-Jill Levine,author of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
“In this engaging volume, Polyakov delves into the religious identity of a small group of Roman Catholics, some converts from Judaism, who, while living in the State of Israel, attempt to integrate their own identities, the impact of the Shoah, and the teachings of a post-conciliar Church. The varied responses to these influences are fascinating in their own right and raise important questions for our understanding of Jewish-Christian relations today.”
—Rabbi David Fox Sandmel,Director of Interreligious Engagement, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
“This pathbreaking, important book shows the way along the thorny borders of religious identity, pointing to new and more properly complicated understandings. Emma O’Donnell Polyakov—an elegant writer, a diligent scholar, an empathetic interviewer—proves to be a most reliable guide: trustworthy, alive to hazards, an exemplar of hope on one of history’s most challenging journeys.”
—James Carroll,author of Constantine’s Sword and Christ Actually
“The two thousand years of interaction between Jews and Christians have had many twists and turns, but perhaps none as distinctive as what Emma O’Donnell Polyakov calls a ‘Judeocentric Catholicism’ alive today in the State of Israel. Indeed, the spiritualities she describes here would have been impossible before the existence of a nation with a majority Jewish population and the appearance, after the Shoah, of Catholics determined to respect and learn from Jews and Judaism. Her qualitative study testifies to the new era of Christian-Jewish understanding in which we are blessed to live.”
—Rabbi Abraham Skorka,co-author with Pope Francis of On Heaven and Earth
“This is an original and important study constituting a phenomenology of a small number of Catholics committed to repairing Catholic-Jewish relations in modern-day Israel. Polyakov’s sensitive interviews and engaging prose open up a challenging landscape: dual identity, Jewish-Catholic relations, and the impact of the Holocaust on Catholic identity are all explored. This book is a significant contribution to ethnography, theology, and the study of religion.”
—Gavin D'Costa,author of Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People after Vatican II
“In an astute analysis of philosemitism and its relationship with antisemitism, the author distinguishes Judeocentricity from these more classic forms of obsessive focus on Jews.”
—David M. Neuhaus Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Prologue
Part 1: The Jewish People Through a Christian Lens
1. Behind the Monastery Walls
2. A New Philosemitism
3. Christian Constructions of the Jew
4. Christian Responses to Israel
Part 2: A Judeocentric Catholicism
Portrait: Sr. Talia
5. The “Mystery of Israel”
Portrait: Sr. Marie Yeshua
6. Precedents and Predecessors
Portrait: Sr. Anne Catherine
7. A Mission Reversed: The Sisters of Sion
Portrait: Sr. Carmen
8. A Christian Aliyah?
Portrait: Fr. Olivier
Part 3: Religious Identity After the Holocaust
9. Navigating Jewish-Christian Identity
Portrait: Sr. Regine
10. Conversion, Belonging, and Holocaust Trauma
Portrait: Sr. Paula
11. Theology After the Holocaust
Portrait: Sr. Michaela
Part 4: Praying for the Jews
Portrait: Sr. Rebecca
12. Interreligious Dialogue and Monasticism
Portrait: Fr. Jacques
13. Between the Synagogue and the Church
Portrait: Sr. Gemma
14. The Problematics of Prayer for the Jewish People
Portrait: Sr. Maureena
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
