Synopses & Reviews
Rabbi Elkan Voorsanger received the Purple Heart for his actions during the Battle of Argonne. Chaplain Edgar Siskin, serving with the Marines on Pelilu Island, conducted Yom Kippur services in the midst of a barrage of artillery fire. Rabbi Alexander Goode and three fellow chaplains gave their own lifejackets to panicked soldiers aboard a sinking transport torpedoed by a German submarine, and then went down with the ship.
American Jews are not usually associated with warfare. Nor, for that matter, are their rabbis. And yet, Jewish chaplains have played a significant and sometimes heroic role in our nation's defense.
The Fighting Rabbis presents the compelling history of Jewish military chaplains from their first service during the Civil War to the first female Jewish chaplain and the rabbinic role in Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. Rabbi Slomovitz, himself a Navy chaplain, opens a window onto the fieldwork, religious services, counseling, and dramatic battlefield experiences of Jewish military chaplains throughout our nation's history.
From George Washington's early support for a religiously tolerant military to a Seder held in the desert sands of Kuwait, these rabbis have had a profound impact on Jewish life in America. Also striking are original documents which chronicle the ongoing care and concern by the Jewish community over the last 140 years for their follow Jews, including many new immigrants who entered the armed forces. Slomovitz refutes the common belief that the U.S. military itself has been a hostile place for Jews, in the process providing a unique perspective on American religious history.
Review
"Chaplain Slomovitz has opened the door to a previously undocumented, untold chapter of the history of the Jews in America. The Fighting Rabbis should be read with great pride by the Jewish American community, and with admiration by all others."-Vice Admiral Bernard M. Kauderer(Ret.),
Review
"The Fighting Rabbis surges with true and exciting stories of faith and fortitude little known to the American public. How I wish it were required reading for all military chaplains, and for all clergy and military leaders who care about God's ministry among our men and women in the armed services. Rabbi Slomovitz has granted us a record of great significance." -Rear Admiral Donald K. Muchow,
Review
"Slomovitz has pointed the way towards what could become a new and fascinating dimension of Jewish military history."-H-Net reviews,
Review
"[A] useful history of American rabbis serving as chaplains in the country's armed forces.. . . Utilizing archival materials and interviews with past and present chaplains, the author has enriched his work."
"Very readable . . .an inspiring testimonial of heroic behavior and of ongoing Jewish commitment to the US and its military."
"Slomovitz has pointed the way towards what could become a new and fascinating dimension of Jewish military history."
"Chaplain Slomovitz has opened the door to a previously undocumented, untold chapter of the history of the Jews in America. The Fighting Rabbis should be read with great pride by the Jewish American community, and with admiration by all others."
"The Fighting Rabbis surges with true and exciting stories of faith and fortitude little known to the American public. How I wish it were required reading for all military chaplains, and for all clergy and military leaders who care about God's ministry among our men and women in the armed services. Rabbi Slomovitz has granted us a record of great significance."
Review
"Although the essays explore different events from various historical periods in individual countries, the authors are animated by a common denominator: opposition to rigid isolationism, preserving space for a creative dialogue, and opposition to political manipulation of national identities."-Multicultural Review,
Review
"Todorova kept her authors engaged with each other and with the current scholarly literature on memory, history and nationalism. Their efforts to create such a rich and diverse volume must be commended." -American HIstorical Review,
Synopsis
Reveals the significant and sometimes heroic roles rabbis have played in our nation's defense
Rabbi Elkan Voorsanger received the Purple Heart for his actions during the Battle of Argonne. Chaplain Edgar Siskin, serving with the Marines on Pelilu Island, conducted Yom Kippur services in the midst of a barrage of artillery fire. Rabbi Alexander Goode and three fellow chaplains gave their own lifejackets to panicked soldiers aboard a sinking transport torpedoed by a German submarine, and then went down with the ship. American Jews are not usually associated with warfare. Nor, for that matter, are their rabbis. And yet, Jewish chaplains have played a significant and sometimes heroic role in our nation's defense.
The Fighting Rabbis presents the compelling history of Jewish military chaplains from their first service during the Civil War to the first female Jewish chaplain and the rabbinic role in Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. Rabbi Slomovitz, himself a Navy chaplain, opens a window onto the fieldwork, religious services, counseling, and dramatic battlefield experiences of Jewish military chaplains throughout our nation's history.
From George Washington's early support for a religiously tolerant military to a Seder held in the desert sands of Kuwait, these rabbis have had a profound impact on Jewish life in America. Also striking are original documents which chronicle the ongoing care and concern by the Jewish community over the last 140 years for their follow Jews, including many new immigrants who entered the armed forces. Slomovitz refutes the common belief that the U.S. military itself has been a hostile place for Jews, in the process providing a unique perspective on American religious history.
Synopsis
Balkan Identities brings together historians, anthropologists, and literary scholars all working under the shared conviction that the only way to overcome history is to intimately understand it. The contributors of
Balkan Identities focus on historical memory, collective national memory, and the political manipulation of national identities. They refine our understanding of memory and identity in general and explore and assess the significance of particular manifestations of Balkan national identities and national memories in the region.
The essays in Balkan Identities grapple with three major problems: the construction of historical memory, sites of national memory, and the mobilization of national identities. While most essays focus on a single country (e.g. Croatia, Romania, Turkey, Cyprus, Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia), they are in dialogue with each other and share an opposition to rigid isolationist identities.
Illuminating and challenging, Balkan Identities demonstrates the ever-changing nature of a troubled and culturally vibrant region.
About the Author
Albert Isaac Slomovitz is an ordained rabbi and a CAPT (Colonel) in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He recently earned a Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago in ethnic history, and is currently assigned as the Senior Chaplain at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.