Members of the Tribe [Hardcover]

Zev Chafets (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1988

On the road in Jewish America.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

American Jews may be "members of the tribe" by virtue of their birthright, but they are also complacent, overly obsessed with the Holocaust and in danger of self-extinction through assimilation. These are some of the forthright opinions arrived at by Chafets, himself a Jew, as he crisscrossed the United States after a 20-year absence. He lives in Israel and grew up in Pontiac, Michigan. This outsider status gives him a unique vantage point, and his entertaining, breezy, impressionistic travelogue grapples with important issues. He also ventures down seldom-traveled roads as he visits the Jews of the Louisana bayou, a gay synagogue in San Francisco, Jewish prayer services in a Pennsylvania prison, Jews trapped in poverty in a welfare hotel. Author of Heroes and Hustlers, Hard Hats and Holy Men , Chafets takes an opinionated stance whether he is discussing the Jewish Defense League, rivalry between Chasidic sects or American Jews' relationship to Israel.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Curious about "the variety and complexity of American Jewish life and the unpredictable ways it affects individuals," Chafets, an American-born Israeli journalist, spent six months traveling through "Jewish America" in 1986. Here, he introduces us to the fascinating array of characters he metSouthern Jews, gay Jews, rich Jews, poor Jews, black Jews, radical Jews, old Jews, young Jews, Jewish prisoners, Holocaust survivors, and more. Chafets favors the strange and exotic, emphasizes assimilation and intermarriage, ignoring evidence of American Jewish revival and renewal, and makes no claim to be objective or comprehensive. He does, however, have an engaging and sprightly style. For most libraries.Jonathan D. Sarna, Hebrew Union Coll. - Jewish Inst. of Religion, Cincinnati
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1ST edition (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553053086
• ISBN-13: 978-0553053081
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Zev Chafets is the author of eleven books of fiction, media criticism, and social and political commentary. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine and a former columnist for the New York Daily News.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Has its moments, December 16, 2009

By 

NA Miles "VDH" (West Rising Sun, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Members of the Tribe (Hardcover)

I could pen a very long review, but since only three others -- in two decades -- have read & reviewed Mr. Chafets' book, it may not be worth my time.

The book gets four stars because it's very well-written, flows solidly for the most part and is a GREAT idea. Too many Americans Jews remain sheltered in their urban enclaves, concocting stereotypes about the "rest of America" they never visit. I am more like Ze'ev, though I've seen and written about 49 states and traveled through on my own, living in many of those.

Anyway, the chapters on the South, Midwest, Plains and Texas are by far the most interesting. Though those locales are losing folks (at least as of 1988 when the book was written & I cannot imagine it's changed for the better), those stories do allay many of my concerns about Jews completely abandoning the beauty of small town/rural America.

My complaint, and the main reason the book won't receive five stars, is the middle.

My goodness, there is far, far too much about New York City and the northeast. Look, we know the Jewish population of New York City is two million or so with another million perhaps in the metro area -- for a total of probably half of the US Jewish population. But aside from the wonderful (and impecunious) Chasidic (aka the real/traditional Jews), most are the same: secular, ungrateful, pathetically liberal, materialistic, sheltered, and so on. It proves how being "educated" makes you dumber. Boring. Too much time there. And that was close to, if not more than, half the book. These are the Jews that give us good Jews a bad name.

I also don't know how Chaffets claims he hit 30+ states. I didn't count 20, frankly. I am glad he noted many times over that America has been BY FAR the most tolerant, fair and free nation for Jews of any in our history. The same, of course, can be said for other minorities immigrating here, yet this FACT goes lost upon too many of our most fortunate/secular Jews today. Think Spielberg, Streisand and other liberal Jews who've abused America to make their fortune, truly admire this exceptional American experience? No, and they should be ashamed.

I won't get into politics, but the intelligent Republican Jew from the book, wisely working for Pat Robertson in 1988, nailed it when he noted that most liberal/suburban American Jews are bigoted toward Christians. How true. They fear our best friends: right wing Christians, and ignore the anti-semitism from the radical left (many their own) and Radical Islam. I would add ignorant and arrogant.

But a good book, overall. Too bad most American Jews will never read it. They have Jake Gyllenhaal and Jay Leno to watch. I am glad I read, though.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheapest Tour of "Jewish America" Available, January 27, 2003

By 

Jason A. Miller "Rabbi Jason Miller" (rabbijason.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Members of the Tribe (Hardcover)

Zev's wit truly comes through in his travels through Jewish Americana. He finds the most intriguing stories to report, from the zaniest to the unbelievable. This is a must read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, June 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Members of the Tribe (Hardcover)

great book. Zev Chafets takes the reader on a tour of small-town Jewish America.