Community and Polity: The Organizational Dynamics of American Jewry (Jewish Communal and Public Affairs)

513 Pages·1995·6.94 MB·English

by  Daniel J. Elazar

m Daniel J. Elazar

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y of t The Organizational
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m Revised and Updated Edition

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m The author wishes to thank the Foundations of the Milken
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alit JEWISH COMMUNAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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ctio of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs /
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d f Center for Jewish Community Studies
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n Jerusalem / Philadelphia
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m Copyright © 2001 by Varda Books
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w.c First edition © 1976 by The Jewish Publication Society of America
sro Revised edition © 1995 by Daniel J. Elazar
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bli All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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p or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
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w information storage or retrieval system, except for brief passages in connection with a
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o critical review, without permission in writing from the publisher:
go t The Jewish Publication Society, 1930 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
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n Manufactured in the United States of America
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d fu This ebook has been published with permission of The Jewish Publication
ce Society (Philadelphia). The printed book, which served as a basis for this book
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ha is catalogued by the Library of Congress thus:
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wit Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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e b Elazar, Daniel Judah.
of th Community and polity: the organizational dynamics of American Jewry/Daniel J.
y Elazar.—Rev. and upd. ed.
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co p. cm.—(Jewish communal and public affairs)

wn Includes bibliographical references and index.

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ur ISBN 0–8276–0519–6 (cloth)

yo ISBN 0–8276–0565-X (pbk.)

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as 1. Jews—United States—Politics and government. 2. United States—Politics and
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c government. I. Title. II. Series.
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on New ISBN 1-59045-421-9 Library PDF
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nstit No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
n i any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
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on photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval
se system, except for brief passages in connection with a critical
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he review, without permission in writing from the publisher:
or t Varda Books, 9001 Keating Avenue, Skokie, Illinois, USA
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Typeset by BookMasters, Inc.
m Dedicated to the loving memory
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w. of my aunt, Rose Barzon Goldman,
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er and my uncle, Samuel Goldman,
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sr Community and Polity

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on Community (komiu-niti). ME [from the Latin communitatem]
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ed f unity
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ha example: The Jewish c. 1888
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k wit Polity (po-liti). 1538 [from the Latin politia and the Greek ðïëéô@éá]
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bo a. A particular form of political organization 1597. b. An organized

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of th society ... 1650.

py example: Nor is it possible that any form of politic, much less

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n c politic ecclesiasticall should be good, unless God himselfe
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ur o bee the authour of it—Hooker
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se —from the Oxford English Dictionary
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<< Chapter >> Home | TOC | Index
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w. Contents
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y of t Preface to the Revised and Updated Edition xii

p
o Abbreviations xvi

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o INTRODUCTION: THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY AND THE

our JEWISH POLITICAL EXPERIENCE 3

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has 1 ASSIMILATION AND AUTHENTICITY: THE PROBLEM OF

c
ur THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY 19

p
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y. T American Jewish Uniqueness 22

onl Jews and Religion in a Nonmythic Society 25

uter A Post-emancipation Community 29

mp The American Experience and the Jews: Similarities and Differences 34

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al c The United States as a Pluralistic Society: Problems, Ironies, and

on Contradictions 37

stituti The Problem of Peoplehood: The Unanticipated Polity 41

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n i 2 JEWISH ADAPTATIONS TO AMERICAN LIFE 44

a
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e o Who Came to America? 44

s
e u What Did They Do When They Arrived? 45

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or t Struggling with the Competition 48

s f The Jews and the American Frontier 50

on i The Location of American Jews 58

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er Sectionalism and Jewish Settlement 63

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DF The Geography of Organized Jewish Life 76

P
y Integration and Discrimination 87

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Li 3 THE COMMUNITY IN ITS ENVIRONMENT 90

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T American Individualism and Patterns of Participation 90

The Jewish Environment of American Jewry 100
<< Chapter >> Home | TOC | Index
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m The New Involvement with World Jewry 110

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w.c Religious Challenges to Jewish Unity 115

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ersr 4 THE AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT AND JEWISH

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blis RELIGIOUS LIFE 117

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w. Religious Movements as Expressions of Jewish Adaptation
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w to America 118

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o t The Impact of America on Jewish Religious Life 138

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y Radical Environmental Change Since the 1960s and Its Impact 147

nalit Other Jewish Institutions in a Religion-Oriented Environment 148

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ncti 5 THE EVOLVING FORM OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH

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ed f COMMUNITY: AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY, JEWISH TRADITIONS

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an OF GOVERNANCE, AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE 150

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h e Sectionalism and Jewish Religious Development 150

wit Traditional Elements and Their Contemporary Manifestations 154

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oo Shifting Beliefs and Communal Norm Enforcement 160

b
he The Impact of Technological Change 166

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y 6 THE “STATE” OF AMERICAN JEWRY AND ITS

p
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c INSTITUTIONAL BASE 169

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ur o A Noncentralized Religoethnic Community 169

yo Territorial and Nonterritorial Organization 172

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as Community Size, Rank, and Spacing: Some Role Implications 177

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pur 7 THE MOSAIC OF JEWISH COMMUNAL LIFE 190

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y. Exemplary Patterns 190

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er o From Congregationalism to Federalism 194

ut Trends in Jewish Organization After World War II 219

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om The Synagogue in the New Community 231

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nal 8 ORGANIZING JEWISH ACTIVITY 234

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stit Government-like Institutions 234

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n i Localistic Institutions and Organizations 258

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n General-Purpose, Mass-Based Organizations 260

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se Special-Interest Institutions and Organizations 260

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e Transformations in the Jewish Community Federations in the Tenth

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or t Generation 269

s f
n i 9 THE FIVE SPHERES OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITY 277

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ver Religious-Congregational Sphere 277

F
D Educational-Cultural Sphere 282

P
ary Community Relations Sphere 294

Libr Communal-Welfare Sphere 299

his Israel-Overseas Sphere 303

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<< Chapter >> Home | TOC | Index
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m Changing Roles in the Communal-Welfare and Israel-

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w.c Overseas Spheres 308

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sr The Spheres and the Links Between Them 310

er
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blis 10 THE MAJOR COMMUNITIES AND THE NEW GEO­

pu DEMOGRAPHICS 313

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w A Geo-Demographic Revolution 313

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o t Greater New York: A Region Fragmented Along Multiple Dimensions 322

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y Northeastern New Jersey 329

nalit The Los Angeles Basin 332

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cti “Chicagoland” 334

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d fu Philadelphia (Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and

ce Delaware) and Boston (Eastern Massachusetts) 337

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ha Greater Miami and Southeastern Florida 339

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h e Washington, DC, and Baltimore (the District of Columbia, Maryland, and

k wit Northern Virginia 341

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o San Francisco Bay Area 345

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he Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis 346

of t Denver and Minneapolis: A Study in Contrasts 352

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op Integrated Communities 354

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n Congregational Communities 354

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ur 11 INSTITUTIONS AND DECISION MAKERS 359

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as Four Basic Divisions 359

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urc The Decision Makers: Their Roles and Functions 370

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o How Representative Is the Jewish Leadership? 391

T
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nl 12 HANDLING THE TASKS OF THE JEWISH

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er COMMUNITY 394

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om Defense, Education, and Social Services: The Central Tasks of the
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al Organized Community 394

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utio The Politics of Community Finance 399

stit Maintaining the Belief System 414

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n i Factors in Decision-Making 415

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n Systems of Community Power and Influence 423

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e us 13 FROM FRAGMENTATION TO REINTEGRATION? THE

or th POLITY ENTERS THE POSTMODERN EPOCH 431

n is f Postmodern Trends in Jewish Organization 431

sio The Trusteeship of Givers and Doers 444

ver The Unraveling of the Progressive Solution 447

F
PD The Reassertion of the Jewish Polity 448

y
brar Selected Bibliography: Jewish Community Studies 452

s Li Notes 461

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T Index 481