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

Fall 2014 Events

Author Meets Critics Book Panel

Alan Wolfe, 艾可直播 College (author)
Ben Birnbaum, 艾可直播 College
Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College
Kevin Kenny, 艾可直播 College
Moderated by听Erik Owens, 艾可直播 College

Date:听November 12, 2014

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Abstract

Many Jewish thinkers have considered it close to heresy to validate life in the Diaspora. But what if the Diaspora is a blessing in disguise? In听At Home in Exile, Alan Wolfe, writing for the first time about his Jewish heritage, makes an impassioned, eloquent and controversial argument that Jews should take pride in their Diasporic tradition. It is true that Jews have experienced more than their fair share of discrimination and destruction in exile, and there can be no doubt that anti-Semitism persists throughout the world. Yet for the first time in history, Wolfe shows, it is possible for Jews to lead vibrant, successful and, above all else, secure lives in states in which they are a minority. Wolfe argues the Diaspora can be good for the Jews no matter where they live, Israel very much included鈥攁s well as for the non-Jews with whom they live, Israel once again included. Not only can the Diaspora offer Jews the opportunity to reach a deep appreciation of pluralism and a commitment to fighting prejudice, but in an era of rising inequalities and global instability, the whole world can benefit from Jews鈥� passion for justice and human dignity.听At Home in Exile听is an inspiring call for a Judaism that isn鈥檛 defensive and insecure but is instead open and inquiring. At this event, Wolfe will be joined by a distinguished panel of scholars who will review and critique this work.

Speaker Bio

Alan Wolfe听is听the founding director of the Boisi Center and professor of political science at 艾可直播 College. He is the author and editor of more than twenty books, including, most recently,听At Home in Exile: Why Diaspora Is Good for the Jews听(2014),听Political Evil: What It Is and How to Combat It听(2011),听The Future of Liberalism听(2009),听Does American Democracy Still Work?听(2006),听Return to Greatness听(2005),听The Transformation of American Religion: How We actually Practice our Faith听(2003),听Moral Freedom听(2001) and听One Nation After All听(1999). Widely considered one of the nation's most prominent public intellectuals, he is a frequent听contributor to the听New听York Times,听Washington Post, and听Atlantic, and has delivered lectures across the United States and听Europe.

Ben Birnbaum听is special assistant to the president of 艾可直播 College, executive director of its Office of Marketing Communications, and editor of听艾可直播 College Magazine. His essays have appeared in the听Atlantic,听Harvard Divinity Review,听Image,听Moment,听听Nextbook听and the听Jewish Review of Books, among other publications, and have been anthologized in听Best American Essays,听Best Spiritual Writing,听and听Best Catholic Writing.听He is also the recipient of the 2006听Simon Rockower Award from the American Jewish Journalists Association.听He is the author or editor of several books on 艾可直播 College history, including听The Heights, an Illustrated History of 艾可直播 College, 1863-2013听(2014), and editor of the essay collection听Take Heart: Catholic Writers on Hope in Our Time听(2007).

Susannah Heschel听is the Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. Her research focuses on Jewish-Christian relations in Germany during the 19^th听and 20^th听centuries, the history of biblical scholarship, and the history of anti-Semitism. Her books include听Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus听(1998) and听The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany听(2008). She is also the editor of听Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays of Abraham Joshua Heschel听(1997)听and听Insider/Outsider: American Jews and Multiculturalism听(1998, with David Biale and Michale Galchinsky). Heschel has served as a Rockefeller fellow at the National Humanities Center, and on the Academic Advisory Committee of the Research Center of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She is currently working on a book about Jewish scholarship of Islam, for which she received a Carnegie Foundation Scholar鈥檚 Grant in 2009. She earned her B.A. in Religion from Trinity College, her M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School and her Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kevin Kenny听is professor and chair of the History Department at 艾可直播 College, where he teaches courses on American immigration and global migration. He is the author of听Making Sense of the Molly Maguires听(1998),听The American Irish: A History听(2000) and听Peaceable Kingdom Lost听(2009). He is also editor of听Ireland and the British Empire听(2004) and has published articles on immigration in the听Journal of American History听and the听Journal of American Ethnic History. Professor Kenny鈥檚 latest book,听Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction听(2013), examines the origins, meaning, and utility of a central concept in the study of migration, with particular reference to Jewish, African, Irish and Asian history. He received his B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh, and an M.A., M.Phil, and Ph.D. in American History from Columbia University.

Event Photos

Boisi Center director Alan Wolfe discusses his latest book, "At Home in Exile: Why Diaspora is Good for the Jews"

Professor Wolfe addresses questions raised by the panelists.

Susannah Heschel, the Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, responds to Professor Wolfe's book.

Kevin Kenny, professor of History at BC and chair of the department, discusses the concept of diaspora.

Ben Birnbaum, editor of "艾可直播 College Magazine," delivers a personal response to Professor Wolfe's book.

A question from the audience

Erik Owens, associate director of the Boisi Center, introduces the panel discussion. (Photos by MTS Photography)

Event Recap

On November 12 Alan Wolfe presented his new book听At Home in Exile: Why Diaspora Is Good for the Jews, and received feedback from a distinguished panel of respondents. Billed as an 鈥渁uthor meets critics鈥� event, Wolfe鈥檚 critics for the evening were Ben Birnbaum, editor of the 艾可直播 College Magazine; Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College; and Kevin Kenny, professor and chair of the 艾可直播 College History Department.

In听At Home in Exile, Wolfe argues that there is a bright future for Jewish universalism鈥攁 strand of Jewish thought that emphasizes concern for all, in contrast with a particularistic concern for the Jewish people. Jewish life in the Diaspora is vibrant and thriving. The tension between Jewish universalism and particularism is not new but has taken on a new urgency in recent years. With the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel now nearly seventy-five years in the past, Wolfe argues, the Jewish people have reached a moment in their history in which they can once again go beyond the particularism inherent in these events and once more consider their broader obligations to humankind. He suggests that the Jewish people ought to embrace their broad acceptance in Western society and view the Diaspora as a viable and positive site of Jewish existence.

Ben Birnbaum praised the book for being enlightening, well-researched and fair. At the same time, he explained, Wolfe鈥檚 argument pitting universalism against particularism ultimately left him cold. Particularism and universalism are, in fact, two sides of the same particularistic coin鈥攗niversalism maintains the notion that the Jews are the chosen people with an obligation to be a 鈥渓ight unto the nations,鈥� only without God. Birnbaum said he long ago rejected the notion that Jews had some special calling, citing it as onerous. The Jewish people are no more special, with no more obligations, than any other people. All peoples, not only Jews, do best when they live up to their own ideals. He concluded, 鈥淚 am not in exile, I am not in Diaspora. I am where I was born, and where I want to be.鈥�

Susannah Heschel鈥檚 remarks focused on the understanding of exile in Wolfe鈥檚 book. Heschel agreed with Wolfe that Jews in America are different than they were even forty years ago, let alone a century and a half ago in Europe: they are more at home with鈥攏o longer neurotic about鈥攖heir Jewish identity. She asked, though: Was it exile they enjoyed, or the benefits of living in a multi-cultural democracy? She also wondered whether Jews in Israel were not still also in exile since, by design, the modern Israeli state was created in a spirit contrary to that of pious Judaism.

Kevin Kenny began his remarks with a careful articulation of Wolfe鈥檚 thesis. He then evaluated Wolfe鈥檚 book from his perspective as a historian of diaspora. Diaspora involves exile and banishment, but can also entail great flourishing, as in the case of the Jews. In assessing Jewish Diaspora today, assimilation is a factor that needs to be considered; more than half of non-Orthodox Jews in the United States are marrying non-Jews. Kenny noted, moreover, that while Judaism without a state is a concept being celebrated by a minority of Jewish academics around the world, in practice this arrangment brought with it much adversity for the Jewish people. The tragic irony is that the ending of one diaspora (the Jewish) marked the beginning of another (the Palestinian). A diaspora that is to be good for the Palestinians depends on the Jewish universalism that Wolfe advocates.

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