Abstract
Description and Methods:
It is impossible to understand in comprehensive way the history of Jews and Judaism, hence the course will discuss selective issues, which focusing on
• Interaction – whenever Jews interacted with the other traditions and histories.
• Interconnectivity and comparative elements – subjects/topics that shared by Judaism and
Christianity.
• Contemporary issues – the subjects that prominent in Indonesian public spaces, such as Israel and
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The course will specifically touch upon the following themes:
1. Jewish identity. This theme will be the foundation spirit of the entire discussion in the class, i.e. the
pluralism of the Jews and Jewish expressions, modern State of Israel as historical and “normal” political
entity, against the stereotype Jews and Israel presentation in the Indonesian public space. 2. The interconnection between Jesus Movement and the Second Temple Judaism(s). 3. Jewish cultural expressions, such as Jewish humor, Jewish narrative traditions, and the Hebrew Scripture. Those are the entry points to understand Jewish identity and dis-/connectivity between Judaism and Christianity. In general, the second and third themes will be the important insights for the students who dealing with Theology of Religions, Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology, and Church History.
4. Contemporary Jewry, notably about Modern Judaism, Zionism, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beyond the politico-theological implication of this discourse, it may also help the student to situate this within the globalization and transnational discourses, in which distance and proximity of religious issues is blurred.