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Books

Jews in U. S. Politics

A woman who was the trusted adviser to the governor of New York in the 1920s. The ambassador to Turkey in 1889. The attorney general in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. Belle Moskowitz, Solomon Hirsch and Edward Levi were all Jews involved in U.S. political life in different periods. Previously confined to the footnotes of political science textbooks or familiar only to political junkies, these figures and others are part of a new book charting Jews\’ impact on American political life.

The book, \”Jews in American Politics,\” (Rowman & Littlefield, $39.95) is not simply a \”locate the landsman\” exercise but an attempt to address a number of issues — such as Jewish political behavior, Jewish advocacy and the relationship between politics and Jewish identity — along with important demographic information and more than 400 biographical profiles.

Preaching Tolerance

Can religious leaders be devout but not fanatic? Can fervent belief and tolerance coexist? Such questions are hardly academic these days: the results of religious fanaticism now consume headlines, and lives. One set of reassuring answers can be found in the life of Rabbi Benzion Uziel. Uziel served as the Sephardic chief rabbi of Palestine and then the State of Israel from 1939 until his death in 1953.

In \”Loving Truth and Peace: The Grand Religious Worldview of Rabbi Benzion Uziel\” (Jason Aronson, Inc., $30) author and rabbi Marc Angel tells the story of this remarkable man.

The Failed Intellectuals

Fouad Ajami\’s \”Dream Palace of the Arabs\” lacks Benda\’s harshness and polemics, but illustrates how fragile and tenuous are the intellectuals\’ claims on political life.

An Excerpt From “Eden”

At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden

by Yossi Klein Halevi

William Morrow

Drawing on Life

Many independent comic book creators strive for respectability in an art form that has often reeked of lowbrow.

Homeboys on Home Plate

Peter and Joachim Horvitz, the father-and-son team whose recent compendium, \”The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Anecdotal History,\” sets out to prove that there has been a wealth of Jews who have made significant contributions to our national pastime.

You Go, Girlfriend

Jennifer Weiner began writing \”Good in Bed\” during a bout of Dumper\’s Regret in 1998.\n\nShe\’d been dating her nice-Jewish-writer boyfriend for a few years, but no engagement ring was forthcoming. So she requested a trial separation. \”I went home and proceeded to think about the relationship, and he went home and proceeded to date someone else,\” she says.\n\n

Literary Jewish Girls

It\’s time to make room for a newer generation of American Jewish writers, many of whom are young women who have not even hit 30.

Bad Jews

\”Bad Jews\” is Shapiro\’s critique of what\’s wrong with contemporary Jewish life — and the Philistine is high on his list.

A Father’s Loss

Against the Dying of the Light: A Father\’s Journey through Loss\” by Leonard Fein (Jewish Lights Publishing, $19.95)

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.