Power and Powerlessness in Jewish History

by David Biale

Book Overview

In this radical reinterpretation of Jewish history, David Biale tackles the myth of Jewish political passivity between the fall of an independent Jewish Commonwealth in 70 C.E. and the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948. He argues that Jews throughout history demonstrated a savvy understanding of political life; they were neither as powerless as the memory of the Holocaust years would suggest nor as powerful as the contemporary state of Israel...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805240152
• ISBN13: 9780805240153
• Release Date: December 1986
• Publisher: Schocken Books Inc
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Study

Biale has filled the vacuum that one seems to get the impression of and defeats the nonsensical myths one tends to get from biased sources. This is a well researched and illuminating tour through Jewish political relations for over 3,000 years. One gets a better understanding of Jews and Gentiles, Imperial Powers and a small ethno-relgious-cultural groups struggle to not be absorbed like most others. One gets a better understanding of how anti-semitism had arisen rather than the typical "unexplainable and irrational" answer that defies logic itself.