Description
Book SynopsisThis book explodes the myth of a monolithic, liberal Judaism and tells the story of the many fierce battles that raged in postwar America over what an authentically Jewish position ought to be on issues ranging from desegregation to Zionism, and from Vietnam to gender relations, sexuality, and family life.
Trade ReviewJewish liberalism and its history is a familiar subject, but this book by Michael Staub offers a great deal of new insight and information; indeed, it is arguably the best treatment of the rightward drift of the Jewish mainstream from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. Tikkun Magazine [T]hrough Staub's book we have a much clearer and better appreciation for the depths of the intra-Jewish, internecine struggles that took place within the American Jewish community from the end of World War II until the end of the war in Vietnam. Torn at the Roots paints a sobering picture of a Jewish community torn by ideological conflict. -- Abraham J. Peck Journal of American History Staub explores divisions within Jewish liberalism during the Sixties and into the Seventies, showing that Jews have long differed in their stances on key political issues... recommended. Library Journal Torn at the Roots contributes significantly to our understanding of what Jewish identity meant to different groups of American Jews, those marching on the left, sitting in the establishment's center, and leaning towards the conservative right in the decades after the Holocaust. -- Pamela S. Nadell History [Staub] challenges commonly held notions regarding the purported liberalism of US Jewry while underscoring the growing importance of spirituality for left-of-center Jews... This is an important work... highly recommended. Choice Masterful... A vibrant history of the liberal quest for improving the world, a history relevant for the present and future, and one which deserves wide reading and discussion. American Jewish History Staub's work is important precisely because it records the history of competing visions of Jewishness. -- Marjorie N. Feld The Minnesota Review Staub's carefully researched and cogently argued book explores the evolution and complex dimensions of Jewish politics, calling into question many widely-held assumptions about Jewish liberalism... [Torn at the Roots] offer[s] new insights into the dimensions of Jewish culture in postwar America. -- Beth Wenger Jewish Quarterly Review Another welcome addition to the already large literature on the suprisingly tenacious adherence of Jews to liberalism. -- Nathan Abrams Journal of American Studies Torn at the Roots will force important and powerful historiographic changes. It is a rich, well-researched, and intricate study. -- Marc Dollinger Journal of American Ethnic History a vibrant history of the liberal quest for improving the world -- Gad Nahshon Jewish Post of New York A window into just how complex the conservative - liberal split has been in the American Jewish community... It adds an important chapter to the story of what the American Jewish community is really like. -- Peter J. Haas JAAR
Table of ContentsIntroduction: "Making my Jewishness too visible" 1. "The racists of America fly blindly at both of us": Atrocity Analogies and Anticommunism 2. "Liberal Judaism is a contradiction in terms": Anti-Racist Zionists, Prophetic Jews, and their Critics 3. "Artificial altruism sows only seeds of error and chaos": Desegregation and Jewish Survival 4. "Protect and keep": Vietnam, Israel, and the Politics of Theology 5. "If there was dirty linen, it had to be washed": Jews for Urban Justice and Radical Judaism 6. "We are coming home": New Left Jews and Radical Zionism 7. "Are you against the Jewish family?": Debating the Sexual Revolution 8. "If we really care about Israel": Breira and the Limits of Dissent
