Author Description

The survival of Jewish identity and culture is one of the great enigmas of history. Faced with persecution, dispersal, pogroms and Hitler's 'Final Solution', the future of the Jewish people has never been secure. The Jewish Enigma seeks to discover what has made survival possible. In seven concise chapters, leading scholars in the field trace the history of the Jewish people from early post-Biblical times and the first Babylonian exile to the current state of Western and American Jewry. They analyze the changing position of Jews throughout the centuries, contrasting the experience of Jews in Islamic lands and those in Christian Europe. Topics covered in individual chapters include the achievement of full rights which allowed Jews to move into the mainstream of society; the roots and history of anti-Semitism and the effects it had on Jews of different countries; the history of East European Jewry, as well as the troubled history of Zionism and the Palestinians. The Jewish Enigma is fully illustrated, revealing the visual richness and diversity of the Jewish heritage. Twelve specially drawn maps clearly portray the changing borders of ancient and modern Empires, major historical events which affected the Jews and the population movements which followed. Faced with persecution, dispersal, and Hitler's "Final Solution, " the future of the Jewish people has never been secure. This book seeks to discover what has made survival possible. Leading scholars analyze the changing position of Jews throughout the centuries, contrasting the experience of Jews in Islamic lands and those in Christian Europe. 8 color plates. 40 illustrations. 12 map illustrations. Glossary. Chronology.