Jewish Power and Powerlessness
Steven Windmueller, Ph.D.
Louchheim School of Judaic Studies
Course Number: JS 330 (38264R)
Questions that will engage us during the context of this course:
1. What do we mean by “power” and more directly, “Jewish Power?
2. Why is this question important to minorities in general and to Jews in particular?
3. Can minorities actually attain power?
4. What are the elements of power?
5. Who has power within the Jewish community?
This course will explore the elements of Jewish power and powerlessness over the course of Jewish history. In the context of this survey, we will specifically explore the elements that comprise Jewish power and what these factors mean to Jews in the course of their lives and experiences.
A specific focus of this class is to understand Core Elements:
· Anti-Semitism as challenging Jewish power
· Unpacking different forms of “power”
· Assimilation as a factor in removing oneself from a “state of powerlessness”
· Primary culture-minority rights
· Jewish radicalism as a response to Jewish powerlessness
· Jewish political engagement as an expression of accessing power
· The role of key individual leaders or communal representatives as spokespersons for the Jewish community
· An analysis of the roles performed by Jewish organizations and other institutions to advance Jewish interests and to protect Jews
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Grading:
30% Class Participation
20% Mid-Term Quiz
25% Class Presentation
25% Final Essay Examine
Class Presentation:
Select a specific case example (an event in Jewish history) or an organization about which you would like to report. Alternatively, you may identify a book that you would like to review dealing with an aspect of Jewish power or powerlessness. Please clear your selection with the instructor.
Mid-Term Quiz:
There will be a mid-term quiz designed to assess how well students are identifying with the core ideas introduced by the readings, class discussion, and the lectures.
Final Essay:
The final will consist of a take-home essay examine where you will have occasion to reflect on the key issues of this course, in addition to having the opportunity to present your own arguments and ideas.
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Primary Reading: There are three primary texts for this course:
David Biale, Power and Powerlessness in Jewish History, New York: Schocken Books, 1986
J.J. Goldberg, Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment,
Ruth R. Weisse, Jews and Power, New York: Schocken Books, 2007
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Unit 1: Introduction: Understanding the Core Elements of Power and Powerlessness
In this section, the focus will be on the ideas that
Baile: Introduction and Chapter One
Goldberg: Chapter One
Unit 2: Early Jewish History:
How did Jewish communities in history employ “power” and correspondingly, when communities were devoid of having political authority and control, how did they seek to defend and advance their economic, religious and political interests?
Weisse: Pages 58-72
Unit 3: The Theory of the Diaspora:
How did Jews understand the notion of “Diaspora” and how would they compensate for being denied access to and control over Jerusalem?
Baile: Chapter Two
Weisse: Pages 11-32
Unit 4: Middle Ages
During this period Jews faced discrimination, isolation and even death. How did the communal apparatus manage to deal with matters of security and seek to defend Jews and Judaism?
Baile: Chapter Three
Unit 5: Early Modern Era and the Holocaust
Baile: Chapter Five
Goldberg: Chapter Four
Unit 6: Israel
How has the rebirth of a Jewish State lent support to the notion of Jews with power? Zionism is seen as the expression of Jewish national liberation but it is also understood by Israel’s enemies as a racist concept, disenfranchising the rights of others.
Baile: Chapter Six
Goldberg: Chapter Six
Unit 7: American Jewry:
The American Jewish experience is often referenced as one of the most successful Diaspora opportunities in history. How might we understand this unique and apparently successful engagement with American values and democratic ideals? Despite its evident success, what challenges still face Jews in this society?
Baile: Chapter Seven
Goldberg: Chapters Seven and Eight
Unit 8: Case Studies in Power:
In this unit, we will look at series of specific contemporary situations where Jews exercised their influence (power) to secure political results. What can we learn from these types of experiences that can inform our understanding of minorities in general and Jews in particular? How have ethnic and religious communities employed an array of advocacy and organizing tools to advance their interests?
Weisse: Pages 173-184
Goldberg: Chapters 10 and 11
Unit 9: Presentations:
Students will use the time set aside for this unit to present their case presentations. This will afford the class an opportunity to explore in some depth specific materials and construct some general findings that characterize and shape the uses of power to achieve certain outcomes.
Unit 10: Concluding Notions:
In this final session we will try and construct a set of assumptions and principles that may stand the test of Jewish history, where we can extract certain characteristics including the “Core Elements” presented in the introduction to the syllabus.
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