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A TASTE OF FACULTY RESEARCH
THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX AND THE INTERNET
In January 2000, the ultra-Orthodox Council of Torah Sages
condemned the internet, calling it the “world’s leading cause
of temptation” and a threat to the ultra-Orthodox way of life in
Israel — a threat to the rabbinical hierarchy, religious discipline,
and the isolation of the ultra-Orthodox community from the Israeli
mainstream.
What impact does the internet actually have on the ultra-Orthodox?
Professor Gad Barzilai of the Jewish Studies Program and
Prof. Karine Barzilai-Nahon of the UW Information School have
studied internet use among more than 14,000 ultra-Orthodox in
Israel. They discover that rabbinic prohibitions notwithstanding, the
ultra-Orthodox use the internet extensively for private and political
purposes. The Internet has enhanced their ability to become part of
the global economy, but has also enabled some to disobey and even
criticize religious authorities. The research has been widely debated,
and is published in The Information Society 25 (1) (2005): 25–40.
JEWS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN
COMMERCE IN NORTH AND SOUTH AFRICA
Jewish participation in the American clothing industry early in
the 20th century contributed to both the growth of the American
economy and Jews’ own economic advance. At the same time, in
a very different part of the world, Jews played an important role in
the development of trade in a commodity highly valued in highend
fashion: ostrich feathers. Yiddish-speaking, Lithuanian Jews
oversaw the export and sale of ostrich feathers from South Africa to
Europe and the United States, while Judeo-Arabic-speaking Jews
in North Africa were heavily involved in feather markets there.
Professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein’s research asks why this was
so, and attempts to theorize how Jewishness abetted and shaped
the trade of this and other luxury goods in the modern period. Her
work pivots around a question that historians of modern Jewry
have by and large avoided, perhaps out of fear of reiterating anti-
Semitic stereotypes: what was Jews’ relationship to the expansion
of capitalist markets in modern colonial settings?
CITIZENSHIP AND EQUALITY IN ISRAEL
Can Israel be a Jewish state and also offer equal rights to all
its citizens, Jew and non-Jew alike? Before the 1967 Six-Day War,
Professor Joel Migdal has found, this question was rarely raised
Nextbook
Finds a Home
at the UW
The Jewish Studies Program welcomes
Nextbook Seattle to the Jackson School of
International Studies. Now in its third year,
Nextbook was established by Keren Keshet
— The Rainbow Foundation to be a gateway
for the public to Jewish literature, culture,
and ideas. It works together with the JSP and
the Seattle Public Library to create innovative public programs; it
also highlights a series of short books in which prominent authors
consider notable individuals, issues, or events in Jewish history.
Among the authors, poets, and playwrights Nextbook is bringing
to Seattle during 2005–2006 are Robert Pinsky, discussing his
new book, The Life of David; Susan Stamberg and friends reading
Hanukah Lights: Stories of the Season; Eva Hoffman talking about
“Between Words, Between Worlds: Some Thoughts on Exile”; Gila
Almagor, Alona Kimhi, and Nava Semel discussing new Israeli
writing; and Sander Gilman presenting “Extreme Makover: Jews
and the Invention of Cosmetic Surgery.”
Nextbook’s website (www.nextbook.org) features cultural news,
original features, recommended books, and information about the
year’s Seattle programs. Contact Michele Yanow, Nextbook Program
Fellow, at myanow@nextbook.org or 206-543-9031.
Prof. Gad Barzilai
Prof. Sarah Stein Prof. Joel Migdal Prof. Paul Burstein
in Israel. An idea of at least theoretically equal citizenship for the
entire population prevailed, even in the face of military administration
of the Arab population and clear Jewish stewardship over
state and society.
Since 1967, however, this idea has been increasingly challenged
by the parties of what is called “the national right” (led by the Likud
and the National Religious Party), some arguing that Arabs
may live in Israel but never have equal rights with Jews. On the
other side, demanding an Israeli state “of and for all its citizens,”
have been post-Zionist scholars and Arab political parties. Prof.
Migdal’s research on both Israel and the United States highlights
the significance of what he calls “graduated citizenship” (in which
multiple groups have had different rights in particular historical
periods), and analyzes the conflicts that lead to change in ideas
and laws defining equality, rights, and citizenship.
JEWISH ECONOMIC SUCCESS IN THE U.S.
Jews in the U.S. have almost double the income and triple the
wealth of non-Jews, per capita. What makes this possible? Education
and similar factors explain half the difference. As to the other
half, not only does no one know the answer, no one is trying to find
out — there is almost no research on Jewish economic success.
In a paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association
for Jewish Studies, Professor Paul Burstein speculates that
this is because Jewish researchers are concerned about possible
consequences of finding out: if Jews do well because they work
harder than other groups, the findings could be seen as denigrating
other groups; and if Jews do well because of factors that are
inherently Jewish (culturally or religiously), the findings could be
seen as claims of Jewish superiority. His paper will consider both
new explanations of Jewish economic success, and possible public
reactions to them.
UW Students Return to Israel
Until this spring, UW students had not been allowed to
study in Israel for four years, because of U.S. State Department
advisories against travel to Israel. When those advisories
changed, the Jewish Studies Program and the Jackson School
of International Studies moved very quickly to publicize the
new opportunities. In addition, the JSP applied for, and won, a
$6,000 grant from the Dorot Foundation to support student
travel to Israel, and moved to identify students with outstanding
plans for study there.
This summer six of our students won Dorot funds administered
by the JSP and studied in Israel. James Beebe attended
ulpan at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jacob Brown (one
of last year’s JSAB Scholarship winners) attended ulpan and
conducted research at Haifa University; Summer Loomis also
attended ulpan at Haifa University; Jenna Nace took part in
an archaeological dig; Mariana Shimonova participated in a
program in medical ethics and halakha through Shaare Zedek
medical center in Jerusalem; and Elisabet Wendt enrolled in
ulpan in Jerusalem.
MEREDITH WENGER