746 research outputs found
The Meaning of David Miller
No full textAccording to Bristol University Professor David Miller, ‘Britain is in the grip of an assault on its public sphere by the state of Israel and its advocates’. He believes ‘Bristol’s JSoc [Jewish Society. Ed], like all JSocs, operates under the auspices of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), an Israel lobby group’ and is part of ‘a campaign of censorship and manufactured hysteria’ that is ‘directed by the State of Israel’. The campaign involves false claims of antisemitism designed ‘to give cover to Zionist activists’. His outburst has led to outraged calls for his removal but also fulsome messages of support from the academic left, in the form of open letters that do not simply argue Miller has free speech rights but which endorse his world view. David Hirsh, author of Contemporary Left Antisemitism, explores the wider meanings and deeper roots of the controversy
A dialogic reimagining of a servant's suffering: understanding second Isaiah's servant of Yahweh as a polyphonic hero
No full textA definitive identification of the Servant figure of Second Isaiah is notoriously difficult, as attested by centuries of conjecture and debate. The interpretive obstacles are profuse: the Servant is addressed as Israel-Jacob, but then spoken of in terms that are not consistent with the nation's experience; in some texts he seems to represent a community, while in others he speaks as an individual; he seems to suffer extreme hardship and persecution, but then is said to experience new life; some of his experiences appear to be historical, while others are best described as idealistic. Further hampering objective interpretations are the pervasive traditional approaches among Christian and Jewish readers, which associate the Servant, equally emphatically, with Jesus or Israel.
But a primary reason the Servant is so difficult to pin down is rarely considered, and that is that there exists no objective image of the Servant anywhere in Second Isaiah. As a literary character he is constituted entirely by dialogue; that is, by discourse addressed to him, spoken by him, and spoken about him by others in the form of a confession. His actions are never described, and his person is never defined. Scholars have referred to this as his 'fluid' nature, but have lacked the methodological tools for a fuller study of this literary curiosity.
The ideas of literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin speak to this type of characterisation. His 'polyphonic hero' is a fictional character who is constituted by what is spoken to him or her, by what they overhear said concerning them, and by how they make that discourse, and the discourse of the wider world, an aspect of their own self-knowledge. They become known only by the discourse that converges on them, much as the Servant of Second Isaiah is constituted. This thesis develops a reading strategy based on Bakhtin's theory of the polyphonic hero, as well as his broader theories of dialogism. It reimagines the inner discourse of the Servant in order to comprehend him according to the dialogue by which he knows himself, and not according to conventional reading strategies that seek for a fixed, opaque image. In the process it discovers that there are not multiple Servants, which is often posited as a solution to the problem of his fluid nature, but one Servant, Israel-Jacob, whose self-knowledge as the faithful Servant of Yahweh calls empirical Israel to faith in a time of national distress. It concludes that the Servant is present in the collection of Second Isaiah as a 'voice-idea', the embodiment of a theologically critical position that calls many of Israel's theological and ideological presuppositions into question, in order to liberate her for a renewed history as a faithful 'witness' to Yahweh her redeemer
Economic utopia of the Torah. Economic concepts of the Hebrew Bible interpreted according to the Rabbinical Literature
No full textHebrew Bible offers alternative Economic utopia for building Theocratic society. In this paper, various economic concepts and themes are presented, as found in the Hebrew Bible. These economic concepts include taxation, property rights, labor market, social policy, banking, years of Sabbath and Jubilee, and business cycles. Most economic issues of the Bible are found in the texts of Torah, also known as five Books of Moses. These texts are analyzed by using classical Rabbinical commentaries for better insight. Contrary to the modern Economic theory which is based on the assumptions of scarcity of resources and unlimited needs of consumers, Economics of the Torah is based on God’s resources which are enough for all true needs of His people.Hebrew Bible, History of Economics, History of Economic Thought, Ancient Israel, Judaism
Violence, terrorism and the role of theology : repentant and rebellious Christian identity
No full textWhat has come to be known within the Academy as, Identity theology, is presented in the
literature as a monolithic belief system which supports and encourages terrorism and other forms
of political violence. This dissertation argues that inattention to theological and social issues
within the many Identity theology based groups in the US has led to a deeply flawed
understanding of the relation between Identity adherents, terrorism and other political violence.
Discussions about these groups in the literature are flawed and there is an imprecise understanding
which has led to an inaccurate alignment of widely varied social groups with a pejorative
classification that is neither descriptive of the various theologies at work, nor the social
manifestations observed in these groups. Further, the research suggests that the academic
community known as “Terrorism Studies” continues to contribute to the inaccurate
understanding and that those inaccuracies are likely impediments to effective government policy
in relation to the phenomenon known as Identity theology.
The research presented here suggests that there are both theological and social
distinctions, which can and should be delineated and understood by all those researching Identity
groups. The research highlights four significant types or differences within what is now known
as Identity theology, by highlighting the nuances between social groups including the Church of
Israel, Covenant, Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), Mission to Israel, KKK and Aryan
Nations and suggests that a more precise understanding of the differences could lead to declining
instances of violence and more openness to positive social change by those who currently follow
these very different types of theological belief systems
Vinculación interinstitucional y peritaje antropofísico. 6 Cuarta época, año 2 (2018) septiembre-diciembre. Diario de Campo. Nombrar y contar. Visibilidad estadística de las poblaciones afromexicanas
No full textEste trabajo presenta una de las posibilidades de aplicación del peritaje en materia de antropología física, llevado a cabo como un ejercicio de colaboración entre el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) y la Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de Querétaro (FGJEQ). Se mostrará un panorama general de la situación que afectaba tanto al patrimonio arqueológico como a la procuración de justicia. Se espera que la estrategia aquí propuesta pueda ser tomada como punto de partida para echar a andar propuestas similares en otros estados de la república.Fenoglio, Fiorella et al. (2012). “Informe de excavación del rescate de una osamenta en Peña Blanca, Peñamiller, Querétaro”. Archivo del Consejo de Arqueología-INAH, México._____ (2015). “La interdisciplina como estrategia para la protección del patrimonio arqueológico de Querétaro”. En Protección, preservación y defensa de los sitios arqueológicos (pp. 147-166). México: Montea / Universidad Meridiano.Lara Barajas, Israel David (2009). Fundamentos de antropología forense: técnicas de prospección, exhumación y análisis de restos óseos en casos forenses. México: INAH (Científica, 543)._____ (2011). “Aspectos para la práctica pericial”. Diario de Campo, 97, pp. 22-28. Recuperado de https://www.revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/diariodecampo/article/view/7913_____ et al. (2013). “De la intervención pericial a la protección del patrimonio arqueológico. Un estudio de caso en Bella Vista del Río, Querétaro”. En Miradas plurales al fenómeno humano (p. 43-70). México: INAH
It was the new phenomenon of Israel-focused antisemitism that required the new definition of antisemitism. David Hirsh responds to a recent ‘call to reject’ the IHRA
No full text40 UK-based Israeli academics, broadly from the anti-Zionist left, have issued a ‘call to reject’ the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. David Hirsh, author of Contemporary Left Antisemitism, reviews and rejects their arguments here. He points out that the phenomenon of contemporary antisemitism came before, and required, the definition: ‘The IHRA highlights the possibility of antisemitism which is related to hostility to Israel because that is a significant part of the antisemitism to which actual Jewish people are subjected in the material world, as it exists’. Calls to reject the definition, he argues, are ‘not concerned with the constructive work of describing and opposing antisemitism,’ but only with ‘the purely negative work of rejecting efforts to do so’. Too often that negative work gives succor to some of the core ideas of contemporary antisemitism
Book Review: The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel
No full textThe author reviews the book The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel
Book Review: The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel
No full textThe author reviews the book The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel
The Christian Right and US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century
No full textThe thesis discusses the role of the Christian Right in the US foreign policy decision making process. The research revealed that the Christian Right has long been fascinated with some international issues in general and US foreign policy in particular. The Christian Right’s interest in international issues increased markedly during years of the George W. Bush presidency. It successfully widened its activities from domestic social conservative issues to foreign policy issues by participating in, articulating and lobbying for its religious version of American foreign policy. In assessing the role of the Christian Right in US foreign policy making, this dissertation examines three aspects of US foreign policy, namely Israel, international religious freedom and global humanitarianism. Based on these aspects, the Christian Right is seen as skilled in framing and defining issues. The Christian Right seems effective in selecting and prioritizing international issues that have a reasonable chance of being selected by foreign policy decision makers, especially in Congress. Moreover, the Christian Right has shown its maturity in seeking engagement and cooperation with other organizations, secular and religious, in order to advance its international goals. Finally, in pursuing and conveying its international agenda, the Christian Right has adopted a more moderate and less overtly religious approach. Instead of using its traditional religious rhetoric, the Christian Right has successfully projected its foreign policy preferences into the conventional realist discourse of American foreign policy that is largely based on the objective of national interest and national security. Nevertheless, this study does not, in any way, conclude that the Christian Right was able to influence or determine the direction of US foreign policy and its outcomes; however, it does suggest that the Christian Right did contribute and have an impact on the formulation of some US foreign policy. As such, the research contends that the role of the Christian Right is similar to other interest group lobbies and that its perceived influence on US foreign policy should not be exaggerated. Finally, the research suggests that the emergence of the Christian Right as an actor in asserting its global agenda through US foreign policy can possibly provide an example of how religious beliefs and values can become a potential source of “soft power”. Together with the “climate of opinion” of the American public during the Bush administration, the “soft power” at domestic level could serve as a valuable new explanatory variable in understanding how the US foreign policy was formulated in the early 21st century
A study American - Israeli relations 1967 - 1973
No full textThe War of June 1967 proved to be instrumental in changing the perceptions of the principal protagonists in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and also the major powers outside the region. The pre-emptive strike launched by Israel on 6 June began a comprehensive defeat of the Arab states, and in just six days Israel increased her size threefold, incorporating large portions of Arab land into her territory. The changes that occurred can be briefly summed up as follows: Soviet influence within the Arab states increased with military advisers sent to Egypt and Syria in great numbers to help reconstruct the defeated armies (despite the fact that Soviet armaments had failed to avoid a convincing Israeli victory). Israel's confidence both i n her own strength and i n her ability to survive increased. The idea that Israel could act as a "strategic asset" became a firmly established tenet of American foreign policy. Ironically, relations between the Soviet Union and the Arab states, who backed them, were strengthened after the defeat inflicted by Israel. On a practical level, the Soviet Union embarked upon a massive programme of military and economic support for the Arab states, quickly replacing the amount of military hardware that had been lost in the war. The Soviet newspaper "Izvestia" suggested that the Arab states realised that only: "through reliance upon the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, can they abolish completely imperialist influence in the Middle East and achieve Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories"
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