Jeffrey L. Bernstein
Winter 2014
Eastern Michigan University
Political Science 499A – American Jewish Politics
Class meets Tuesday and Thursday, 3:30 P.M. – 4:45 P.M., somewhere in Pray-Harrold
Office: 601E Pray-Harrold
Office Phone: 487-6970
E-mail: jeffrey.bernstein@emich.edu
Office Hours: Mon. 11-1; T 11-12 and 2-3; Th 11-12;
and by appointment
E-mail is an effective way to reach me; I check it frequently. In addition to my office hours, I will
be available before and after class every day. If these times don’t work, talk to me and we can
make an appointment. Never hesitate to talk to me if you have a problem, comment, or concern.
Overview of the Class
As any political science student knows, a fundamental question to ask about any political system is
how well it handles the competing demands of different groups within society. To this end, ink has
been spilled on the experiences of women, African-Americans, Latinos and others – how they form
group identities, how these identities are challenged by the larger society, and how they succeed
and do not succeed in getting their issues addressed by the political system. In this course, we
address these and many other questions, using the American Jewish community as our unit of
analysis.
The Jewish experience in America has been an interesting and important one. Though numerically
small, the Jewish minority has managed to attain an importance that far outstrips its numbers, in
many facets of American society (including politics). To a greater degree than many other groups,
it has managed to fully integrate itself into the larger American society. Of course, as we will learn
this term, this presents a dilemma. How can a minority group become part of a larger society while
preserving what keeps it distinct? This question is a useful fulcrum on which we will base much of
our thinking this term.
We begin this course by discussing material on larger questions about religion and politics – what
role does religion play in the political system? What role should it play? We go on to discuss the
diversity within the American Jewish community, religiously, culturally, and politically. After
spending some time discussing the growth of Jewish political power in the United States, we
explore some issues of great concern to Jews today, including anti-Semitism, Israel, and churchstate relations. We then discuss more directly the central fact of American Jewish liberalism, and
the likelihood that American Jews will turn conservatism (I doubt it, but who knows….). We
conclude with some thoughts and speculations on the likely political future for Jews in the United
States.
Course Requirements and Grading
The first and most central requirement that I have for you is that you will do all of the readings
before the class in which we will discuss them. This is a small class, which will provide us the
opportunity to learn from each other and think together. This cannot happen if you are not
prepared for class. I encourage you to ask any questions you may have about the lectures, class
discussions, readings, or things you see in the news. Don’t be passive; class will be much more
interesting, and you will learn the material better, if you are active participants. It goes without
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saying that attending class will prove very useful to you; a great deal of the material for which you
will be responsible can be learned only in class.
While much of the material we discuss this term will be fairly straightforward and noncontroversial, we can certainly expect to have differing views when we discuss issues such as
Jewish political behavior, Israel and the Middle East, church-state relations, etc. To ensure that the
discussions remain educational rather than adversarial, I trust we will achieve a classroom
atmosphere of mutual respect.
There will be two exams in this course, both of which will consist entirely of essay items. The
midterm exam will be in class on Thursday, February 20. The final exam will be a take-home
exam, and is due on Thursday, April 24, by noon. The final will be cumulative.
During the term, you will also be required to write a term paper of approximately 6000 words on a
topic of your choice relating to the study of politics and the American Jewish experience. I will
require a one-page paper proposal from you, due by Thursday, February 6, which will be returned
to you with extensive comments. By Tuesday, March 11, I will require you to have shown me
evidence of significant progress on the paper. We can discuss on an individual basis what this will
entail – the goal is to ensure that you will not approach the end of the term having to do the paper
in two days. The paper itself will be due on Friday, April 4. Except in cases of documented and
unforeseen emergencies, all late papers will be penalized at one full letter grade per day that they
are late. I will certainly discuss this assignment much more as the term rolls along.
Below, I have listed the weight each of these components will have on your grades:
Date
Assignment
Percent of Grade
February 20
April 4
April 24
Midterm Examination
Term Paper Due
Final Examination Due
25
35
25
All term
Class Participation (including evidence of being
prepared for class each day, and taking leadership
roles in our discussions)
15
Your grade as determined by the above percentages is tentative. I reserve the right to raise grades
on the basis of dramatic improvement during the term, exemplary class participation, or other such
things. When events warrant, I am more than happy to do this.
Readings and Schedule of Classes
I have ordered three required texts for this course. The books are:
Dershowitz, Alan M. 1991. Chutzpah. Boston: Little and Brown. Hereafter referred to
as Dershowitz.
Goldberg, J.J. 1996. Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment. New
York: Perseus. Hereafter referred to as Goldberg.
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Moore, Deborah Dash, editor. 2008. American Jewish Identity Politics. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press. Hereafter referred to as Moore.
In addition, all other readings will be available on the course web page, available through the EMU
Online system. I have tried to choose readings that are informative and thought provoking. In
order for class to be useful for all of us, you must do the readings for the date they are assigned.
Below, I have listed the topics to be covered in each class or group of classes, and the readings that
you will need to do for each. Since this is a new course for me, I confess to being a little less sure
than I normally would be about what we’ll cover in a particular class period. I have grouped
readings here around multiple classes – I will give you more guidance about what to read for each
class as the dates approach. I reserve the right to substitute or delete readings as class progresses,
in order to respond to class interests and/or current events.
INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL
Thursday, January 8: Theorizing about the Politics of American Jews
Dershowitz, Introduction.
Goldberg, Prologue.
Tuesday, January 13: Some Perspectives on Religion and Politics
Goldberg, Chapter 1.
Carter, Stephen L. 1993. The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics
Trivialize Religious Devotion. New York: Doubleday. Chapter 1.
Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of the American
Community. New York: Simon and Schuster. Chapters 1 and 4.
Thursday, January 16: Mainstream Jewish Religious Responses to
Modernity – Lisa Bernstein, Guest Lecturer
Bernstein, Lisa P. 2003. “Modern Movements of Judaism.”
Freedman, Samuel G. 2001. Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry.
New York: Simon and Schuster. Pages 217-226.
FURTHER THOUGHTS - RESPONSES TO MODERNITY
JANUARY 21 AND 23
Eisen, Arnold M. 1999. “Rethinking American Judaism.” In Moore.
Gurock, Jeffrey S. 1998. “From Fluidity to Rigidity: The Religious Worlds of
Conservative and Orthodox Jews in Twentieth-Century America.” In Moore.
Fishkoff, Sue. 2003. The Rebbe’s Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch. New
York: Schocken Books. Prologue and Chapter 1.
Dershowitz, Alan M. 1997. The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for
the Next Century. New York: Simon and Schuster. Introduction and Chapter 1.
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THE EARLY DAYS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH
COMMUNITY
JANUARY 28 AND 30
Sarna, Jonathan D. 2003. “American Judaism in Historical Perspective.” In Moore.
Dershowitz, Chapters 1-3.
Goldberg, Chapter 4.
Moore, Deborah Dash. 1994. “When Jews Were GIs: How World War II Changed a
Generation and Remade American Jewry. In Moore.
THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY
FEBRUARY 4 AND 6
Goldberg, Chapter 3.
Dershowitz, Chapter 4.
Chanes, Jerome A. 2001. “Who Does What? Jewish Advocacy and Jewish Interest.” In
Maisel, L. Sandy and Ira N. Forman. Jews in American Politics. Lanham, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield.
THE HOLOCAUST – THEN AND NOW
FEBRUARY 11, 13 AND 18
Dershowitz, Chapter 5.
Goldberg, Chapter 5.
Rosenfeld, Alvin H. 1995. “The Americanization of the Holocaust.” In Moore.
Diner, Hasia. 2004. “Before ‘The Holocaust’: American Jews Confront Catastrophe,
1945-62.” In Moore.
Lipstadt, Deborah E. 2011. “Playing the Blame Game: American Jews Look Back at the
Holocaust.” David W. Belin Lecture in American Jewish Affairs, presented at The
Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan.
Novick, Peter. 1999. The Holocaust in American Life. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Introduction and Chapter 12.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20: MIDTERM EXAM
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THE STRUGGLE FOR SOVIET JEWRY
MARCH 4, 6 AND 11
Goldberg, Chapter 6 – out of context but bear with me…..
Dershowitz, Chapter 8.
Goldberg, Chapter 7.
Lazin, Fred A. 2009. “’We Are Not One’: American Jews, Israel, and the Struggle for
Soviet Jewry.” David W. Belin Lecture in American Jewish Affairs, presented at
The Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan.
RELATIONS BETWEEN AMERICAN JEWS & ISRAEL
MARCH 13, 18 AND 20
Dershowitz, Chapter 7.
Goldberg, Chapters 8, 9 and 13.
Spiegel, Steven L. 2001. “Israel and Beyond: American Jews and U.S. Foreign Policy.”
In Maisel, L. Sandy and Ira N. Forman. Jews in American Politics. Lanham, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield.
Sasson, Theodore. 2009. “The New Realism: American Jews’ Views about Israel.”
Dorothy and Julius Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations.
American Jewish Committee.
Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project. 2013. “Chapter 5: Connection With and
Attitudes Toward Israel.” In A Portrait of Jewish Americans.
THE CHURCH, THE STATE, AND THE JEWS
MARCH 25 AND 27
Dershowitz, Chapter 10.
Sarna, Jonathan D. 1999. “American Jews and Church-State Relations.” In Sarna,
Jonathan D. and David G. Dalin, eds. Religion and State in the American Jewish
Experience. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Cohen, Steven M. 2000. “Religion and the Public Square: Attitude of American Jews in
Comparative Perspective – Part I.” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Carter, Stephen L. 1993. The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics
Trivialize Religious Devotion. New York: Doubleday. Chapter 5.
Fishkoff, Sue. 2003. The Rebbe’s Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch. New
York: Schocken Books. Chapter 15.
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LIBERALISM AND CONSERVATISM IN AMERICAN
JEWISH POLITICS
APRIL 1, 3 AND 8
Goldberg, Chapter 2.
Wald, Kenneth D. 2011. “The Puzzling Politics of American Jewry.” Association of
Religion Data Archives Guiding Papers Series.
Hyman, Paula E. 1997. “Jewish Feminism Faces the American Women’s Movement.” In
Moore.
Fishkoff, Sue. 2003. The Rebbe’s Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch. New
York: Schocken Books. Chapter 10.
Shapiro, Edward. 2001. “Right Turn? Jews and the American Conservative Movement.”
In L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, eds. Jews in American Politics. Lanham,
MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
SOME CONCLUDING PERSPECTIVES
APRIL 10 AND 17
(NO CLASS ON APRIL 15 FOR PASSOVER)
Dershowitz, Epilogue.
Mayer, Egon. 1991. “A Demographic Revolution in American Jewry.” In Moore.
Fishman, Sylvia Barack. 2001. “Constructing Identity in Jewish and Mixed-Married
Families.” In Moore.
Shribman, David M. 2001. “Hosts, Not Visitors: The Future of Jews in American
Politics.” In L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, eds. Jews in American Politics.
Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
THURSDAY, APRIL 24: TAKE-HOME FINAL DUE
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A Few Other Notes
Let me make a couple of other comments here. First of all, academic integrity. Here at the
university, there are few issues that are more important. Academic dishonesty, including all forms
of cheating and/or plagiarism, will not be tolerated in this class. Anyone caught engaging in
academic dishonesty will receive a grade of zero for the assignment in question and may, at my
discretion, receive a failing grade for the entire course. In addition, you may be referred to the
Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for discipline that could result in suspension
or permanent dismissal from the university. If you are not sure whether something constitutes
academic dishonesty, talk to me.
For students with disabilities, if you wish to be accommodated for your disability, EMU policy
requires that you first register with the Disability Resource Center in room 240K of the Student
Center.
You may contact the DRC by phone at (734) 487-2470; their website is
http://www.emich.edu/drc/. Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with DRC soon as
you will only be accommodated from the date you register with them forward. No retroactive
accommodations are possible. I am more than willing to offer you all accommodations to which
you are entitled, but emphasize this is not something I can do on my own. If you have any
questions, talk to me or the Disability Resource Center.
I am willing to make all reasonable accommodations for absences caused by religious
observation. I do ask that you keep me posted when situations like this occur. Like most people, I
am familiar with religious observances in my own faith, but know less about other religions.
Perhaps your informing me of your absences, should they be necessary, will give me an
opportunity to learn something new!
For purposes of this course, when I need to reach all of the students, I will use e-mail, specifically
e-mail sent to your emich.edu address. Please make sure that all messages sent to this account are
accessible by you and, if you use a different account, that you are able to forward EMU e-mails to
your other account. I will consider you to have been informed about something connected with the
course if I e-mail it to you at your emich.edu address.