Jews and Europe in the Twenty-First Century: Thinking Jewish (Parkes-Wiener Series on Jewish Studies)

Jews and Europe in the Twenty-First Century is a collection of interviews with more than ninety prominent Jewish intellectuals, politicians, writers and scientists from across Western Europe. Nick LambertÃs penetrating interviews and analyses reveal their thoughts, fears and hopes for the future. Deep disquiet and insecurity, even among those who hold "establishment" positions, is uncovered. The author also explores why Jews have not been involved in constructing the European Union - and shows why they should have been. He concludes that Jews will continue to observe the shaping of the European project from an upstairs window - with most longing to be part of a Europe which has now vanished, or been extinguished, and which some of the interviewees admit to having attempted to sustain in their novel-writing. In this unique collection the interviewees reveal that they have often felt alien both to Jewish communal life and to the national societies in which they live, with their relationship to Israel a further controversial area. Lambert shows that we are approaching a time of cultural clashes between different groups of Jews in Europe, in which the future of Jewish identity will be rooted either in Western liberal values or in stricter religious observance. In an age in which political Islam dominates the headlines, this book provides an insiderÃs view of life among another seminal, divided, yet often forgotten group in Europe.