Seven Pillars of Jewish Denial Shekinah, Wagner, and the Politics of the Small

Raised by an activist mother, Kim Chernin was taught that the politics of religion are just that: politics. As her beliefs evolved, she came to understand the necessity of embracing her Jewish heritage while questioning the notion of taking on Jewishness as a role, religion, and qualifying trait, particularly with respect to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The essays inSeven Pillars of Jewish Denialset forth a justifiable criticism of Israel. Chernin explores memory, survivor's guilt, and denial as debilitating to Jewish consciousness, which cannot see criticism of Israel as morally feasible in an anti-Semitic world. In her view, creating true peace requires understanding and believing that the lives of other human beings matter more than Jewish ideology.