Beyond Jewish Identity: Rethinking Concepts and Imagining Alternatives ed. by Jon A. Levisohn and Ari Y. Kelman (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Beyond Jewish Identity: Rethinking Concepts and Imagining Alternatives ed. by Jon A. Levisohn and Ari Y. Kelman Rebecca Shargel Jon A. Levisohn and Ari Y. Kelman, eds., Beyond Jewish Identity: Rethinking Concepts and Imagining Alternatives. Brookline, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2019. 290 pp. 1 illus. Hardcover $119. Paperback $35. ISBN: 9781644691281, 9781644691298 Beyond Jewish Identity critically interrogates the phrase “Jewish identity” and how it is used in Jewish educational discourse. The editors, Jon Levisohn and Ari Kelman, note that key Jewish educational stakeholders have treated identity as something static and possessed. Since the late 1960s, Jewish educational and communal efforts have been tasked to strengthen Jewish identity and saw Jewish identity formation as the desired outcome of Jewish education. The book’s purpose is to understand how “Jewish identity” is used, its meanings, and also new possibilities to “understand the desired outcomes of Jewish educational interventions” (vii). Most of the book’s discussion focuses on Jewish identity in the United States. This review will draw from several of the chapters authored by different scholars, many of whom are university professors. The book consists of two parts; in the first part of the book, the authors illustrate constructions of Jewish identity. Two essays treat the historical development of Jewish identity discourse in the United States. First, Jonathan Krasner illustrates the ways that identity was used between 1940 and 1980, particularly by the American Jewish Committee. Krasner recognizes the plethora of organizations involved in this endeavor, as well as the conscious use of psychological and sociological theories in the discussions of Jewish identity. He concludes the chapter by naming various forces that worked together as in a “matrix of philanthropic foundations, federations, Jewish schools, camps, Israel trips, Jewish campus organizations, service-learning organizations, youth groups and the like has become a veritable Jewish identity industrial complex” (61). In addition, Ari Kelman looks at identity in terms of the discourse regarding Jewish college students in the late 1960s and early 1970s, given the tumultuous political environments of that time. Jewish leaders considered Jewish identities as a protective force, “a bulwark against the turmoil of social and political currents” (xiii). Deducing that college students were un-prepared to face their challenges, Jewish leaders resolved to bolster Jewish education for those in K-12 settings so that young Jews would be better prepared for what they might encounter in college. Another two chapters treat contemporary populations with multiple identities. Samira Mehta examines Jews identifying with multiple religions and ethnicities. She found that “multireligious, multiethnic, and multiracial families [ . . . ] are increasingly part of the [ . . . ] American Jewish landscape,” reflecting the broader picture of increasingly diverse families in the US (34). Mehta suggests that given these hyphenated and complicated narratives it would be more productive to shift the focus from identity to practice—in other words, from who someone is to what a person does. [End Page 265] Katka Reszke’s chapter examines a diasporic community, young Poles in Poland from “Generation Unexpected,” who grew up Catholic and discovered their Jewish roots in adolescence or young adulthood. As Poland has attracted Israeli and American Jewish tourists, these young Poles encounter perplexed tourists who challenge them with whether or not they are authentically Jewish. This chapter renews the conversation around who is a Jew and also gives a perspective of Jewish identity as a process of discovering, becoming, and looking at family history. The young Polish struggle with facing their Jewishness brings forth a new lens on identity—something which is an evolving process that includes both seeking one’s roots as well as soul searching. In the book’s second section, the authors propose new directions. Tali Zelkowicz notes that stakeholders, including “lay decision-makers, professionals, policy makers, and funders, alike, look to American Jewish education to be, as Jonathan Woocher put it, ‘the guarantor of Jewish survival’” (151). She criticizes an approach based in fear and survivalism. To illustrate, she contrasts two approaches to Jewish identity work in a liberal Jewish high school. The first approach, purporting “to make Jews” (145) forces teachers to prioritize the tradition over students’ futures, which, in turn, suppresses students’ authentic questions and present concerns. Zelkowicz notes the perception that educators...