A jaded, outdated manifesto of post-Zionism by an Israeli journalist. Evron made a splash with the Tel Aviv cafÇ set (rather than Israel's academic crowd) with the Hebrew publication of The Quality of Freedom and A National Reckoning, from which this book is drawn. Taking a cue from the pre-state school of ``Canaanites'' who wanted to blend secular Jews and Arabs into a nation of Levantine pagans, the author denies the existence of or need for a Jewish state. Displaying ignorance of normative Jewish thought, the author's thesis requires Judaism and nationalism to be incompatible. Overlooking the majority of religious Israelis, who are nationalists and ultrantionalists, Evron seems to only be aware of the Satmar hasidic approach, which posits that only the messiah can return the Jews to their homeland. Evron also touts Napoleon's Jews, ``Frenchmen of the Mosaic persuasion,'' in demonstrating that ``assumptions and ideologies about the nature of the Jewish people and the Jewish State...have largely been refuted by historical developments.'' He claims that Jewish culture and law only flourished ``under foreign rule.'' His post-Zionism resting on a post-post-Holocaust sensibility, Evron even denies the need for Israel as a Jewish national refuge. A lot of water has flowed down the Jordan since his 1988 publications. Just as the barrage of ethnic cleansing following the dissolution of the Soviet Union has sent large waves of Jewish refugees fleeing to Israel, so Muslim and Jewish extremism has forced Israel to seek internal peace through divorce rather than marriage with the area's non-Jews. But Evron still has some powerful points to score about the secularists he does know best. He writes that Israelis like himself ``lack a national consciousness, a religious backbone...and the non-Jews' opinions of them have a decisive influence in determining their opinions about themselves.'' A pseudo-intellectual drive-by with a misfiring Uzi.
Pub Date: April 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-253-31963-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Indiana Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
