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"The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant 200 BCE–132 CE: Power, Strategies, and Ethnic Configurations" by John Van Maaren is a book that explores how Jewishness was constructed and defined during the Seleucid, Hasmonean, and early Roman periods. The author emphasizes the flexibility of ethnicity and how ethnic boundaries can be both stable and porous. The book analyzes specific periods within a defined geographical area and examines the impact of political and social factors on the formation of ethnic boundaries. Chapter 4 focuses on the Roman era and discusses various texts that attempt to position Israel above their Roman rulers. The book provides valuable insights into the processes of ethnic negotiation and contributes to a better understanding of ancient Jewishness and ethnicity, although it has some inconsistencies in its treatment of certain terms and categories. [Extracted from the article]

"The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew" by Michael Patrick Barber is a book that explores the relationship between Jesus and the temple in the Gospel of Matthew. The author argues that Jesus' criticisms of the temple are more focused on the ethical character of Jerusalem's leadership rather than the legitimacy of worship itself. Barber also examines how Matthew portrays Jesus as a Davidic figure and connects his actions to Davidic traditions. The book challenges assumptions about the early Christian distortion of Jesus' teachings and provides insights into how Jesus was likely perceived in his original Jewish context. [Extracted from the article]

Daniel Ross Goodman's book, "Soloveitchik's Children: Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Jonathan Sacks, and the Future of Jewish Theology in America," explores the influence of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik on three prominent Jewish theologians. The book argues that these theologians, despite their departures from Soloveitchik's teachings, are the true heirs to his legacy. The author examines the biographies and theological ideas of each theologian, highlighting their connections to Soloveitchik's core worldview. While the book provides valuable insights into the intellectual contributions of these theologians, it may overlook the broader range of influences and interpretations inspired by Soloveitchik. [Extracted from the article]

Laura Almagor's book, "Beyond Zion: The Jewish Territorialist Movement," explores the history and ideology of the Jewish Territorialist Movement, which sought alternatives to Palestine for settling eastern European Jews after the Zionist rejection of the Uganda proposal in 1905. Almagor positions Territorialism as a key player in twentieth-century Jewish politics, highlighting its shared affinities with non-Zionist visions for Jewish life. The book also examines how Territorialists embraced global trends in population politics, agricultural development, and colonial peripheries to advocate for Jewish settlement in various territories. In contrast, Stefan Vogt, Derek Penslar, and Arieh Saposnik's edited volume, "Unacknowledged Kinships: Postcolonial Studies and the Historiography of Zionism," explores the relationship between Zionism and colonialism from within the Zionist movement itself, using postcolonial studies as a tool. The book aims to inspire dialogue between postcolonial studies and the historiography of Zionism, shedding light on the paradoxes and contradictions within Zionism's self-empowerment and colonial domination. [Extracted from the article]

The article examines contemporary Israeli poetry by post-Soviet Jews who migrated to Israel after the collapse of the USSR. Complicating the dominant assessment of post-Soviet literature in Israel as an isolated and “ghettoized” phenomenon, an analysis of the poetry by Soviet-born, Hebrew-language poets Rita Kogan, Alex Rif, and Arik Eber reveals the strong influence of Hebrew literature in general, and of the Mizrahi poets of Ars Poetika in particular. Through close textual analysis and interviews with Rif, Kogan, and Eber, the article demonstrates how their verse has adopted and adapted the dominant building blocks of Ars Poetika—resistance to Ashkenazi hegemony, protest against exclusion and discrimination, and embrace of one’s own culture and identity— to the situation of Russian-speaking Jews in Israel. Ultimately, the chapter shows how the cultural affinity with poets of Ars Poetika allows post-Soviet immigrants to both construct themselves as part of the Israeli-Jewish population and at the same time express their post-Soviet particularity, thereby bringing into relief the two halves of the poets’ hyphenated Russian-Israeli cultural identities. Reflecting on this cultural cross-pollination, the chapter concludes by reading the poetry of Rif, Kogan, and Eber as part and parcel of contemporary Israeli literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This book review discusses "Ben Ammi Ben Israel: Black Theology, Theodicy and Judaism in the thought of the African Hebrew Israelite Messiah" by Michael T. Miller. The reviewer highlights Miller's self-awareness of his whiteness while writing about Black religion and his respectful treatment of Ben Ammi and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem as an expression of Judaism. The book explores Ben Ammi's origins, his views on eschatology, messianism, theology, theodicy, and practical and ethical concerns. The reviewer praises Miller's analysis and integration of various aspects of study, making it a valuable resource for understanding contemporary Black religions. [Extracted from the article]

"The Reeducation of Race: Jewishness and the Politics of Antiracism in Postcolonial Thought" by Sonali Thakkar explores how the understanding of race was shaped by international bodies, particularly the United Nations, in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Thakkar compares the experiences of black people and colonized peoples with the understanding of antisemitism and examines the role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in establishing scientific facts about race. The book also critiques the 1950 Statement on Race and analyzes the evolution of the concept of race, including discussions on assimilation and cultural differences. Overall, the book sheds light on the assumptions and prejudices underlying the post-war antiracist movement. [Extracted from the article]

This essay discusses three recent publications in settler colonial studies, with a specific focus on Israel. The books explore various aspects of settler colonialism in Palestine-Israel, including the evolution of Jewish national consciousness, the relationship between Israel and other Anglo-European settler colonies, and the support for ongoing settler colonization. The first book, "Jewish Anti-fascism and the false promise of settler colonialism" by Max Kaiser, examines the Australian Jewish anti-fascist left and its critique of white supremacist settler colonialism. The second book, "The Oldest Guard" by Liora R. Halperin, challenges the dominant narrative of left-wing settlers in Israel and highlights the hierarchical relationship between settlers and Palestinians. These books provide valuable insights into settler colonialism and its impact on different communities. The text also discusses the history and current state of Israeli settler colonialism in Palestine, emphasizing the role of private land acquisition by settlers and the erasure of Palestinian history. It further examines the post-state Israeli settler movement, its strategies and tactics, and its political influence and support. The text concludes by emphasizing the importance of studying settler colonialism in relation to right-wing populism and exploring transnational political coordination among settler colonial societies. [Extracted from the article]

The book review discusses "Paris Isn't Dead Yet" by Cole Stangler, focusing on the impact of gentrification in Paris. Stangler explores the historical context of affordable living in Paris and how it has changed over time. The book also delves into the current efforts to address gentrification, such as rent controls and social housing initiatives. Overall, the review highlights the complex dynamics of urban development in Paris and offers insights into potential solutions for the future. [Extracted from the article]

Leonid Livak's book, "Études sur l'histoire culturelle de l'émigration russe en France (1920–1950)," challenges the traditional view of Russian émigrés in Paris as isolated and lonely. Livak argues that their perceived isolation was actually a deliberate intellectual position that aligned with European intellectual trends at the time. The book is divided into two parts, examining the cultural exchanges between Russian and French elites and the impact of Russian modernism in Paris. Livak's work sheds light on the transnational intellectual history of the Russian diaspora and challenges assumptions about their political futility. [Extracted from the article]

"A Race for the Future: Scientific Visions of Modern Russian Jewishness" by Marina Mogilner explores the development of Jewish race science in late Imperial Russia. The book examines how Jewish race scientists sought to establish a biological basis for Jewish identity and nationality, aiming to normalize Jews and present them as a credible modern nation. The author argues that race science and medicine became the foundations for Jewish self-assembly, proto-governance, and nation-building during the transition from Imperial Russia to the Soviet period. While the book lacks a robust theoretical framing, it provides valuable insights into the history of Russia, race, and biology. [Extracted from the article]

It is with Fanon as methodological-political guide rather than as a psychoanalytic theorist as such that Sheehi and Sheehi listen and recode the voices of Palestinian clinicians and enable them to tell a psychoanalytic story that is critical of notions of dialogue and trauma. This all part of a sustained critique of what Sheehi and Sheehi call "psychoanalytic innocence", that is, a psychologised refusal to take into account the social context in which psychoanalysis operates. What is absolutely key here, and in line with making Palestinian clinicians and their clients central to the account, enabling them to breathe, to speak, is that this breaking of BDS poses difficult questions for the Palestinian clinicians allied with a particular theoretical tradition in psychoanalysis. [Extracted from the article]

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In the first work of fiction from a poet who illuminates the queer and Jewish experiences, life flashes before the eyes of a nonbinary person who's lit themself on fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]