JEWISH PRISON, THE - A REBELLIOUS MEDITATION ON THE STATE OF JUDAISM

Creating a firestorm of controversy in France when it was first released last year, this personal inquiry into what it means to be Jewish posits the challenging idea that Jews have been constrained and punished by their own ideas about their identity. Jewish himself, the author postulates that the concept of the Jews as God's "chosen people" has bound them in ways that are detrimental to themselves and others. An adventurous testimony, the premise is fearless in its intellectual questioning, purposely trying to upend the author's own assumptions and those of his readers. Rooted closely in current events and everyday life, this examination carefully discusses the question of Israel as a state, as an idea in Jewish life, and how the modern-day state of Israel affects the worldwide Jewish community. It closely examines anti-Semitism, both historically and in the present day, and questions the role of religion in modern morality while meditating on issues such as terrorism and the rise offundamentalism.