Alan T. Levenson

David Ben-Gurion and the American alignment for a Jewish state

Against the background of Kristallnacht and Britains retreat from the Jewish mandate for Palestine, David Ben-Gurion shaped a new Zionist foreign policy based on the assumed rise of the United States as a world power that would determine the future of the Middle East. This book traces the evolution of the demand for a Jewish state into a central and specific aim of Zionist policy and the interrelated process by which Ben-Gurion became increasingly oriented toward the United States and American Jewry at the expense of Zionisms historical connection with Great Britain. Based on new documentary evidence, Allon Gals study charts Ben-Gurions ascent from the leadership of the Yishuv (the Jewish community in Palestine) to prominence in world Zionist and international diplomacy. The book also portrays the emergence of American Jewry as a political factor that strove to secure Jewish interests in an open and self-assured fashion.

Syncretism and Surrogacy in Modern Times: Two Models of Assimilation

Levenson argues that syncretism (blending) and surrogacy (replacing) constitute two distinct, prevalent, radical, yet largely overlooked forms of assimilation in the modern era. As examples of syncretism, he offers Jewish-Christianity and Jewish-Buddhism; as examples of surrogacy, secular Zionism and psychoanalysis. He distinguishes these two modes of assimilation both from older forms of inward acculturation which wittingly or unwittingly incorporated outside influences into an agreed-upon Jewish culture, and from more moderate forms of modern assimilation, such as the formation of Jewish subcultures or the transformation of Jewish identities into functional replacements for a religiously oriented civilization. Recognizing that older concepts of essentialism have been discredited by the academy, the author explores the nature of syncretism and surrogacy as an encouragement to greater reflection on the radical implications of these changes for modern Jewry.

Writing the Philosemitic Novel: Daniel Deronda Revisited

This essay treats George Elliot’s Daniel Deronda in the context of European philosemitic discourse, bringing a continental (specifically German) perspective to the gushing reception of the novel on the part of Jewish readers. Going against the grain of revisionist scholars who minimize the centrality and clarity of the “Jewish Question” to Daniel Deronda, this essay argues an apologetic intent lies at the center of the novel. Specifically, the lauding of Ashkenazic Jewry, the affirmation of a Jewish future, the praise of intra-Jewish loyalties, and a generous view of Jewish authenticity mark Daniel Deronda as a landmark in the rehabilitation of European Jewry.