Being Jewish and Doing Justice

Book excerpt: This book deals with a wide range of moral, social, and political issues, centered on questions of identity, Jewish or otherwise. The books scope extends from anti-Semitism, Zionism, and Palestinian terrorism to the language of race, the status of animals, the rights of the child, and related topics. While the chapters interact and overlap, each is self-contained. Taken together, they develop the title theme: the inner connection between being Jewish and doing justice. The prologue offers a bold, new interpretation of the idea of 'the people of God.' From this point on, bringing argument to life is the author's watchword. Drawing on his training as an academic philosopher, his Jewish education, and personal experience, author Brian Klug tackles thorny problems, combining rigorous analysis with outspokenness. He assists readers to think for themselves about difficult questions and provokes them to do so. The questions and issues discussed include: Is anti-Zionism a form of anti-Semitism? * Who were Herzl's Jewish opponents in the East End? * Are anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism inextricably entangled? * What draws America to Israel and what ties Israel to Auschwitz? * How can the climate of debate about Israel among Jews be improved? * What does it mean to say that Israel has a 'right to exist?' * Whither the Jewish future? * The 'race question' on the UK census form * Arthur Balfour's take on 'the Jewish race' * Ethnicity in America * Black-Jewish relations in Chicago * Popular attitudes in Britain towards the 'ritual' slaughter of animals * The treatment of animals in the abattoir and laboratory.