Deborah Feldman’s New Book – “The Jewish Idol”: On Our Complex Relationship with Judaism – Culture

The best-selling author has done it again: After her autobiography “Unorthodox” and “Überbitten,” Deborah Feldman now delves into the depths of Jewish obsession in her new book “Judenfetisch.” Complex, stimulating, but also categorized.

What is Feldman’s latest biography? “Judenfetisch” is more complex than its two previous works. It’s not just about her own life story. Feldman reflects on her surroundings and the difficulty of seeing herself as visibly Jewish in them. She left religion behind long ago and now asks what’s left. Secular and cultural Judaism – how exactly does that work?

What is the essence of this conflict? Deborah Feldman wrote in the book: “If there is no more religion, there is only Israel or the Holocaust. Tradition in itself is rarely sufficient without religious conviction. To identify with Judaism outside of religion, secular Jews often refer to Israel. These are mostly the people who live there. Or that being Jewish is defined by the Holocaust: by loss and always looking back to history and its memories.

Is this identification with the Holocaust a problem? No, but Feldman criticizes the fact that many people, especially in Germany, are too sympathetic to the Holocaust. This would make individual confrontation with Judaism, which is also religious, impossible. Feldman is particularly critical of Jews who are in the public eye and converts.

Why exactly are these groups criticized in the book? According to Feldman, these people get some kind of profit from their loss story. This means that a famous intellectual or publisher – simply because of his Jewishness – receives more attention in Germany. Ultimately, the policy also encourages everything Jewish because of history, and makes a great effort to cultivate a vibrant Judaism.

Is this a kind of positive discrimination? Today, philo-Semitism is seen as the flip side of anti-Semitism, i.e. a benevolent attitude toward Jews: for example, targeted promotion of the work of the Jewish Museum or Jewish study programs and training spaces. This can also lead to conflicts between Jews, for example between long-time residents and those who have recently arrived or converted. The question often arises: Who gets more money and more power?

What is Deborah Feldman’s book about? On the one hand, it is concerned with internal Jewish conflict. On the other hand, it has to do with the dynamics of society as a whole and the extent to which demands and desires from the outside in turn influence the Jews. This also explains the somewhat harsh title of the book, “The Jewish Idol,” because in one way or another, being Jewish is overrated and objectified. Feldman vigorously defends himself against this.

What is the overall impression of the book? This discussion of Jewish identity is interesting. Readers are challenged in their thinking habits. Sometimes the book also contains many anecdotes and topics that make you ask yourself: what exactly is he talking about? Sometimes it seems like Feldman is generalizing or categorizing things, something she actually fights against.