Real Jews: Secular Versus Ultra-Orthodox
The Struggle for Jewish Identity in Israel
by Noah Efron
Publisher: Basic Books, 2003
An explosive book that documents in savage detail the war that
is tearing Jewish Israel apart from the inside. Most Americans
would be shocked and disturbed to learn that the harsh rhetoric
of virulent anti-Semitism is alive and thriving in Israel.
Israel is a Jewish state, after all, so the anti-Semitism found
there could hardly be aimed at all Jews. In fact, the Israeli
brand of anti-Semitism pits secular Jews against fundamentalist
Jews, the ones in traditional clothing following exacting
religious rules.
Writing from his unique vantage as a Tel Aviv resident, Noah
Efron examines the discomfiture and spleen that some secular
Jews feel when confronted with their ultra-Orthodox brethren. He
recounts the difficult history of the ultra-Orthodox in Europe
and Palestine, and examines their role in Israel, a country
obsessed with and conflicted about what it means to be a Jew.
Despite political, economic, cultural, and religious reasons for
the tension between the two groups, little can explain the
ferocity with which the Orthodox are loathed today, or the
shocking rhetoric that many secular Jews use to denounce and
ridicule them.
This chilling and disturbing book documents the terrible details
of an animosity based partly on fact and partly on a fantasy
that threatens the future of Israel.(320 Pages
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"I know how you feel, Neshama," says G-d. "You
have been with Me for so long. Now it is your time to go down
into the world and give life to the baby that is not yet born."
In this profoundly simple and beautifully illustrated children's
story, a precious soul, Neshama, is delivered against her will into
the world. She discovers the purpose of her mission as she
leaves heaven, gives life to a little boy and goes with him on a
spiritual journey. Witness the story unfold through the easily
recognizable images of the first ten letters of the Alef-Beit, the
Hebrew alphabet.