At Home in Exile: Why Diaspora Is Good for the Jews

Since Theodor Herzl formally organized the Zionist movement at the beginning of the 20th century, Jews have been divided between those who supported Herzl and those in Europe and America who were sympathetic to Israel but refused to consider moving there. When David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, urged American Jews to send their children to Israel, his suggestion met with hostility. This incident is seen as typifying the problematic relationship between Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Wolfe ([em]The Transformation of American Religion[/em]) thoroughly explores this issue, citing many known and some obscure authorities. His thoughtful argument gradually and powerfully supports his position that a symbiotic relationship between Israelis and Jews living elsewhere (mostly in the U.S.) is good for both. His attitude is especially cogent and timely as Israel encounters difficulties in academia and among former friends. Wolfe, a distinguished political science professor at Boston College, has written more than 20 books, none of them dealing with Israel. He explains his motivation for embarking on this study in an afterword, which might have been more helpful as an introduction to this fine analysis. Agent: Andrew Stuart, Stuart Agency. (Oct.)