Derek J. Penslar, a leading expert in Jewish history and director at Harvard's Center for Jewish Studies, dives into the emotional underpinnings of Zionism in his latest work. He discusses how emotions drive national movements, revealing the complex feelings that have shaped Zionist identity over the years. Penslar explores the emotional ties American Jews have with Israel and the duality of love and vulnerability within these connections. He also examines Zionism's evolution, from its agricultural roots to its modern identity as a 'Startup Nation,' highlighting themes of gratitude, betrayal, and resilience in Israel's history.
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insights INSIGHT
Zionism as Emotional Bundles
Zionism's energy comes from complex bundles of political emotions varying in intensity and durability.
Understanding Zionism politically requires seeing emotion as intertwined with collective identity and nationalism.
insights INSIGHT
Rethinking Zionist Categories
Traditional divides like Labor vs. Revisionist Zionism overlook their shared transformative goal of remaking Jewish identity.
New categories like Judaic Zionism highlight modern ethno-nationalist and anti-democratic strains within Zionism.
insights INSIGHT
American Zionism's Familial Emotions
American Zionism embodies familial emotions like seeing Israel as a vulnerable child or a protective sibling.
This emotional framework fosters awe and close identification despite geographical and cultural distance.
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In *Zionism: An Emotional State*, Derek Penslar examines the emotional dynamics that have shaped Zionism throughout its history. The book delves into how emotions like love, fear, and passion have influenced Zionist sensibilities and practices, offering a nuanced understanding of Jewish identity and nationalism. Penslar also explores the relationship between Zionism and colonialism, providing a comprehensive portrait of Zionism's role in modern debates.
Exodus
Leon Uris
The novel 'Exodus' by Leon Uris is a historical fiction account that explores the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. It follows the stories of Jewish refugees, many of whom are Holocaust survivors, as they attempt to reach Palestine despite British opposition. The book delves into the back stories of its characters, the history of Jewish settlement in Palestine, and the broader political context of the time, including the struggle for independence and the conflicts between Jewish and Arab populations.
The Brothers Karamazov
Larissa Volokhonsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Richard Pevear
Set in 19th-century Russia, 'The Brothers Karamazov' is a novel that delves into the lives of the Karamazov family, focusing on the three brothers—Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha—and their complex relationships with their father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov. The novel is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry, faith, doubt, and reason. It examines the human psyche, moral dilemmas, and the search for meaning in a world fraught with suffering and uncertainty. The story revolves around the murder of Fyodor Pavlovich and the subsequent trial of Dmitri, accused of the crime, while exploring deeper themes of Russian life, social and spiritual striving, and the clash between faith and reason[2][5][4].
When Nationalism Begins to Hate
When Nationalism Begins to Hate
When Nationalism Begins to Hate
Brian Porter
It Is But a Broken Heart
It Is But a Broken Heart
It Is But a Broken Heart or something of the sort.
Adi Gordon
Emotion lies at the heart of all national movements, and Zionism is no exception. For those who identify as Zionist, the word connotes liberation and redemption, uniqueness and vulnerability. Yet for many, Zionism is a source of distaste if not disgust, and those who reject it are no less passionate than those who embrace it. The power of such emotions helps explain why a word originally associated with territorial aspiration has survived so many years after the establishment of the Israeli state. Zionism: An Emotional State(Rutgers UP, 2023) expertly demonstrates how the energy propelling the Zionist project originates from bundles of feeling whose elements have varied in volume, intensity, and durability across space and time. Beginning with an original typology of Zionism and a new take on its relationship to colonialism, Penslar then examines the emotions that have shaped Zionist sensibilities and practices over the course of the movement’s history. The resulting portrait of Zionism reconfigures how we understand Jewish identity amidst continuing debates on the role of nationalism in the modern world.
Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. He previously taught at Indiana University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Oxford, where he was in inaugural holder of the Stanley Lewis Chair in Modern Israel Studies. Penslar has published a dozen books, most recently Zionism: An EmotionalState (2023). He is currently writing a book titled The War for Palestine, 1947-1949: A Global History. Penslar is a past president of the American Academy for Jewish Research, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Honorary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford.
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