On November 20th, Yaacov Yadgar—the Stanley Lewis Professor of Israel Studies at the University of Oxford—discussed his new book To Be a Jewish State: Zionism as the New Judaism.

Organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

About the Book

In one of the first books to ask head-on what it means for Israel to be a Jewish state, Yaacov Yadgar delves into what the designation “Jewish” amounts to in the context of the sovereign nation-state, and what it means for the politics of the state to be identified as Jewish. The volume interrogates the tension between the notion of Israel as a Jewish state—one whose very character is informed by Judaism—and the notion of Israel as a “state of the Jews,” with the sole criterion being the maintenance of a demographically Jewish majority, whatever the character of that majority’s Jewishness might or might not be.

The volume also examines Zionism’s relationship to Judaism. It provocatively questions whether the Christian notion of supersessionism, the idea that the Christian Church has superseded the nation of Israel in God’s eyes and that Christians are now the true People of God, may now be applied to Zionism, with Zionism understood by some to have taken over the place of traditional Judaism, rendering the actual Jewish religion superfluous.

To Be a Jewish State deeply informs the democratic crisis in Israel, discussing whether Jewish laws put into effect by the state or political moves made to ensure a Jewish majority can be seen as undermining democracy. In our current era, with nationalism resurging and world opinion on Israel, its actions, and existential security very much in the news, To Be a Jewish State urges a critical re-assessment of the very meaning of modern Jewish identity.

To Be a Jewish State: Zionism as the New Judaism can be purchased here.

About the Speaker

Yaacov Yadgar is the Stanley Lewis Professor of Israel Studies at the University of Oxford. He has written extensively on Israeli nationalism, Zionist Ideology, secularism, and tradition. His previous publications include Israel’s Jewish Identity Crisis: State and Politics in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Sovereign Jews: Israel, Zionism, and Judaism (SUNY Press, 2017).

DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.