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     A minister in the governments of Rabin, Peres, and Barak and a leader of Israel's Labor Party, Beilin includes a clear history of his own family, of Zionism, and of American-Israeli relations. Beilin's main purpose in the book, however, is to call for Jewish pluralism and a more equal, balanced relationship between Jews in Israel and Jews in the United States. He argues, "An Israel that is becoming more controlled by the ultra-Orthodox, more cloistered, and even more denounced by the world is a nightmare for the continuity of the Jewish people." One of the centerpieces of Beilin's vision is secular conversion -- obviously, an extremely controversial idea among some segments of the Jewish population. (Secular conversion has been conducted in North America since 1971 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, founder of Humanistic Judaism.) Here is Beilin's reasoning:

If Judaism were only a religion, there would be no room for disputing the rabbinical monopoly on conversion; there would remain only the contention between the different religious denominations. But since being Jewish is also "something else," there is no reason why rabbis should also convert people to this "something else" as part of a rabbinical monopoly. Judaism is also about a people, a culture, an existence. Many Jews -- maybe even the majority -- are atheists or agnostics, but nobody calls their Jewishness into doubt. Why is someone like me entitled to be a Jewish agnostic, while this is not permitted of a Jewish convert? Why does a non-Jewish atheist or agnostic need to go to a rabbi in order to become a Jewish atheist or agnostic?

     The book offers additional radical -- but, to secularists, reasonable -- thoughts and advice. It calls upon Secular Jews to think about Jewish continuity but not wring their hands and sigh about it. Rather, the book calls for action by Secular Jews with their proactive self-definition as Jews first and foremost.

[Notes by Francine Weinberg, a member of The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, New York City; March 2001]

New York: Schocken Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8052-4175-2.

$24.00

To order through Powell's Books, click here. (A portion of this electronic purchase will be contributed to IFSHJ)

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