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Real Jews: Secular Versus Ultra-Orthodox: The Struggle for Jewish Identity in Israel

Noah Efron (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
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Real Jews: Secular Versus Ultra-Orthodox: The Struggle for Jewish Identity in Israel + Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry + Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Efron brings equal empathy to each of the clashing narratives of contemporary Israel. -- New York Times Book Review

Efron paints the whole complicated panorama of the conflict and documents its awful details with sensitivity and fairness. -- Emmunah Magazine

Efron shows that... the clash between religious and secular culture will determine the character of Israeli democracy, and of Judaism. -- Washington Post Book World

It has been done… Prof. Efron…aptly describes the struggle for the hearts and minds of young Israelis. -- The Jewish Press

Noah Efron makes clear in his stunning new book… what Israeli Jews face on a daily basis. -- The Nation

Product Description

An explosive book that documents in savage detail the war that is tearing Jewish Israel apart from the inside.

Most Americans would be shocked and disturbed to learn that the harsh rhetoric of virulent anti-Semitism is alive and thriving in Israel. Israel is a Jewish state, after all, so the anti-Semitism found there could hardly be aimed at all Jews. In fact, the Israeli brand of anti-Semitism pits secular Jews against fundamentalist Jews, the ones in traditional clothing following exacting religious rules.

Writing from his unique vantage as a Tel Aviv resident, Noah Efron examines the discomfiture and spleen that some secular Jews feel when confronted with their ultra-Orthodox brethren. He recounts the difficult history of the ultra-Orthodox in Europe and Palestine, and examines their role in Israel, a country obsessed with and conflicted about what it means to be a Jew. Despite political, economic, cultural, and religious reasons for the tension between the two groups, little can explain the ferocity with which the Orthodox are loathed today, or the shocking rhetoric that many secular Jews use to denounce and ridicule them.

This chilling and disturbing book documents the terrible details of an animosity based partly on fact and partly on a fantasy that threatens the future of Israel.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books (May 27, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0465018548
  • ISBN-13: 978-0465018543
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,245 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Noah J. Efron
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Who are Israel's ultra-Orthodox, and where did they come from? Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
yeshive bukhers, secular neighborhood, million shekels, kosher certification, yeshiva students, yeshiva boys
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Tel Aviv, Supreme Court, Bnei Brak, Holy Land, Meah Shearim, Ramat Aviv, Aryeh Deri, Labor Party, Kiryat Shalom, Free Buyers, Nahal Haredi, Neturei Karta, New York, Jewish Agency, Yom Kippur, Bar Ilan Street, Ovadiah Yosef, United States, Agudat Yisrael, Benjamin Netanyahu, Central Zionist Archives, Hebrew University, Reb Asher, Tal Commission, Israel Cartoonists Union
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERPIECE OF HONESTY, CLARITY AND VISION, December 18, 2003
By Leo Schwartz "realestat" (Lakewood, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
What a thrilling cliffhanger! No, no. REAL JEWS is not a novel; it's a real picture of human nature that serves as the engine driving people to act in their own "best" interests. Efron has delved into the mind of the Chiloni, into his psyche and unearthed not only how he sees the Charedi, but also shines the light on why he sees him that way. When I finished reading I was left with the feeling that, the Chiloni, in Kafkaesque fashion, is trapped in his own historical web and is almost compelled to see the Charedi as a parasitic, greedy, self-righteous primitive buffoon. He sees him as the "Tartuffe, Shylock, Falstaff, and Ruth" of society. He does so, in Dr. Efron's view, because the Charedi now has become the "other" antagonist (replacing the traditional anti-Semite) against whom the modern Zionist Jew reacts in his attempt to find his place in the world.

The artistry of the writer develops the picture to the ultimate that it carries the reader with that argument as if it were the last word. But alas! Like a magician, he flips over the coin and uncovers the weaknesses imbedded therein. He demonstrates that what the Secular Jew accuses the Ultra-Orthodox Jew of doing is the blemish that stains the accuser himself, the Chiloni. Noah Efron demonstrates that there exists a different set of values and rationale that motivates the Charedi Jew, and that the fear the secular Jew experiences toward the ultra-Orthodox is based more on irrationality and anticipation, and his failure to accept that the ultra-Orthodox act in the same self-interest as much as the secular Jew does.

In this turn again he delves into the mind of the Charedi Jew and unearths not only how he acts and how he sees the secular Jew, but also why he sees him that way.

It's a tearful commentary to read the last paragraph of the author's book.........."My grandparents did not live to see the self-assurance of secular Israel disintegrate. They did not live to be hated by people whom they loved so deeply, and for this I am relieved. Even in these very troubled times, I sometimes think that this relief saddens me most of all."

The unique quality I find in this work, REAL JEWS, is not merely the purposeful concealment of the author's viewpoint, but the clarity of the presentation of all sides of the argument. It is left to the reader to weigh them and to evaluate their merits. Noah Efron enhances his integrity in this effort as an "honest broker".

This achievement is in line with Jewish juridical procedure. It is axiomatic in Halacha, that if one cannot see all sides of an argument he does not see a complete picture of the event. It is for this reason the Talmud states in Sanhedrin 17a that in a capital case if all 23 judges vote guilty, the accused is not executed. This is based on a premise that if no one can present an opposing argument in defense of the accused, then there is a blinding, incomplete vision of the event, and society may not take a life without a clear decision.

Efron placed all sides on the table for all to see.

It's a great work!

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Real Jews, June 11, 2003
By adele berlin (silver spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
This is an important book for anyone interested in Israeli society and its future. Well researched, well written, and well balanced, the book puts the tensions between secular and Haredi Jews in historical and sociological perspective. The outlook for reducing these tensions is not optimistic, but perhaps this book will promote more understanding than currently exists.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, October 1, 2003
By Emily "telaviv12" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This books sets out to answer the question 'why do secular Israelis fear/dislike ultra-orthodox Jews so very much?'. I thought I knew a fair amount about this issue, and wasn't all that interested in learning more, but the book really surprised me -- it made me laugh and think, and I found myself citing it to many others.

The story is extremely well-told and compelling. Efron makes it easy to empathise with every side by illustrating each issue with personal anecdotes from his own life between the seams, as a yarmulke-wearing Jew living in a secular neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, teaching in a religious Jewish University but with a profoundly critical and feminist world view.

Buy this book if you know only a little about the issue, but especially if you think you already know all the answers!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis and a very interesting read.
The topic requires a keen understanding of religious, political, social, ethnic, and geographic nuance. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. Bratslavsky

5.0 out of 5 stars A rarity in honesty, balance and thorough research
Efron offers what we cannot get in newspapers, tv or other media. Not in Israel and not abroad.
Efron brings to the forefront what might be Israel's biggest problem. Read more
Published on April 17, 2007 by Ruben Misrahi

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating
An excellent introduction to the many disputes between hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews and Israel's more secular Jews. Read more
Published on March 24, 2007 by Michael Lewyn

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest account
I was initially put off by the fact that Efron has some link to the disreputable Michael Lerner. However, as I read the book today, non-stop, Noah Efron emerges as quite an... Read more
Published on May 6, 2006 by D. Friedman

4.0 out of 5 stars important to read in order to understand the tensions
Efron does a good job in showing the back and forth. The book is slightly repetitious -- but it is going back and forth on the sides, so it is to be expected. Read more
Published on October 11, 2005 by Gil Yehuda

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Gentile Thumbs Up
This book explores the divide between the Ultra-Orthodox religious Israelis and their secular counterparts in the young nation. Read more
Published on August 23, 2004 by Cashew Son

4.0 out of 5 stars Real problem for Israel
I can say that this problem of secularist against traditional Judaisms is almost life and death on the streets of Israel. Read more
Published on April 5, 2004 by Rivkah Rubinstein

5.0 out of 5 stars appreciation from outside the Jewish Community
An amazingly readable examination of a poignant delima. Efron is a wise and experienced scholar most thoroughly attuned to the 21st century in all it's complexities, from sexual... Read more
Published on November 12, 2003 by Mary G. Wirick

4.0 out of 5 stars Did King David wage war on the Sabbath???
Many find interesting the sharp divide in Israel between secular and orthodox. Yet what many don't realize is the current manifestation of Judaism and Jewish debate only mirrors... Read more
Published on November 12, 2003 by Seth J. Frantzman

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally - Real Insights Into Israel's Greatest Challenge
The single greatest compliment that I can offer "Real Jews" is that that the book is truly provocative -- in the very best sense of the word. Read more
Published on September 21, 2003 by Alon Tal

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