Abstract
Israel and North America currently constitute the two leading centers of Jewish demography, identity and existence. Broadly speaking, they represent the two major Jewish responses to modernity – Zionism as a form of modern nationalism on the one hand, and integration into a liberal western society and body politic on the other. Current relations between the diverse constituencies of Israel and North American Jewry continue to reflect this divide, even as many across the religious and political spectrum are trying to coalesce a collective notion of Jewish peoplehood based on culture, identity and a sense of a shared history and fate.
This course will help students understand the emergence of these two centers, and then explore the past, present and future of Israel-Diaspora relations, with attention paid to some of the current religious and political issues that have led to tension and strife that today’s Jewish professional leadership must be equipped to address.