Hadassah: American Women Zionists and the Rebirth of Israel (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) - Softcover

Katzburg-Yungman, Mira

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190676459X ISBN 13: 9781906764593

Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2014

Synopsis

Founded in 1912, Hadassah - the Women's Zionist Organization of America - has become the largest Zionist organization in the world and the largest and most active Jewish women's organization ever. Its history is an inseparable part of the history of American Jewry and of the State of Israel, and of the relationship between them, but also of the history of Jewish women in the United States. Its achievements are not only those of Zionism but, crucially, of women, and throughout this study, author Mira Katzburg-Yungman pays particular attention to the life stories of the individual women who played a role in it. Now available in paperback, the book focuses on: Hadassah's activities in America, both before and after the birth of the State of Israel; its political and ideological role in the World Zionist Organization; and its involvement in the Yishuv and Israel with medicine and health care, as well as with the welfare of children and young people. A concluding section considers broader concerns, such as gender issues, a comparison of Hadassah with other Zionist organizations, and the role of people from the Yishuv, and later of Israelis, in Hadassah's activities. The book also analyzes the impact of changes within the wider American Jewish community in the 1980s and 1990s - specifically the enormous increase in marriage with non-Jews and the so-called 'second wave' of feminism. This extensive, diverse, and balanced study makes an important contribution not only to Zionist history, but also to the history of American Jewish women and of Jewish women more widely. *** In January 2013, this book was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award in the category of Women's Studies.

About this title

About the Author:

Mira Katzburg-Yungman is an Israeli who received her education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is the author of various articles on American and English Zionism, and the co-editor of American Jewry, an annotated source book on the German and East-European emigration, translated into
Hebrew. She is also the editor of a forthcoming annotated bilingual source book entitled American Jewry 1920-1950 which deals with various issues related to American Jewry. Mira Katzburg-Yungman heads the development and teaching of academic, distance education courses in the fields of history and
sociology of American Jewry at the Open University of Israel.

Review:

'Comprehensive ... uses extensive Hebrew and English archival materials and personal interviews to situate Hadassah activities within their American, Israeli, and Zionist ideological milieus ... in no way resembles the hagiographic portrayals organizations sometimes commission for their significant anniversaries ... Hadassah members can take pride in and learn a great deal about their organization's achievements, both for American Jewish women and for Israel, from [this book].' Roselyn Bell, Hadassah Magazine 'Comprehensive . . . Richly detailed, making extensive use of Hadassah's own archival materials, Katzburg-Yungman's work is a significant contribution to the history of one of America's largest and most important women's organizations . . . highly informative and of use to anyone interested in the organization, Zionist ideology in the United States, and health and social welfare in the early years of the state of Israel.' Mary McCune, American Jewish History FROM REVIEWS OF MIRA KATZBURG-YUNGMAN'S STUDY OF HADASSAH IN HEBREW: 'Katzburg-Yungman brings an innovative element into the analysis and integration of scholarly material, placing ... Hadassah against the backdrop of the establishment of the State of Israel, not only as a Zionist organization but also as a women's organization. She presents its unique contribution as a result of its dual identity: a combination of nationalism and gender ... The book is the result of comprehensive, broad and extensive research on the history of Hadassah ... [it] will constitute the basis for all further research on the history of Zionism in the past hundred years.' Shifrah Schwartz, Harefuah 'An easy and enjoyable read despite the plethora of information ... thanks to the author's style and compelling presentation ... Katzburg-Yungman represents a new trend in the social sciences whereby the area of research is shifted from entire populations to individual lives, combining ethnography with biography ... To sum up: a book wholeheartedly recommended ... informative, enriching, and a pleasure to read.' Rinah Ne'eman, Sotsiologiyah yisra'elit

About this edition

• Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 190676459X
• ISBN 13: 9781906764593
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 412