JPR News archive
Is There a Global Jewish Politics?

Monday 19 Jan 2009

A fluid pattern of independent action, coordination, competition or conflict emerges in JPR’s new policy debate paper

In a new policy debate paper published this week by JPR, which arose out of a seminar held at JPR last year, author Michael Galchinsky states that ‘when it comes to global Jewish politics there is an alphabet soup of organizations and individuals participating in the decision-making process.’ Jewish associations are essentially voluntary, he says. Their decision-making is neither top-down nor a result of a participatory bottom-up process. On the political level each brings its own constituency and mission to the table.

He argues that their kaleidoscopic interrelations can resemble independent action, coordination, competition, or conflict, and have prevented a unified Jewish response to most political questions. Instead, we find a dynamic system of responses based on ever-changing relationships among multiple power centres.

Michael Galchinsky examines three human rights challenges where Jews have been particularly active to show how this fragile and fluid coalition politics evolved:  Building international human rights institutions; Defending vulnerable Jewish communities and Working for the relief of victims of Israeli human rights violations.

Being aware of the fluid pattern by which global Jewish politics typically operates prompts the question: How will global Jewish politics be managed in the future? This can be divided into three parts: Who sets the global agenda? Does the decision-making process still work? What issues need collective action?

He concludes that the busy, buzzing hive of associations should be seen as a sign of the robust health of global Jewish civil society. Those of us who hope to influence Jewish public policy need first of all to understand how the Jewish people works.

The author: Michael Galchinsky is Professor of English and Director of the Jewish Studies programme at Georgia State University. He co-edited (with David Biale and Susannah Heschel) Insider/Outsider: American Jews and Multiculturalism and is the author of The Origin of the Modern Jewish Woman Writer: Romance and Reform in Victorian England. His most recent book Jews and Human Rights: Dancing at Three Weddings (2007) was one of the first to investigate the juncture of international/transnational studies and Jewish studies.

jpr/ policy debate January 2009:
Is there a Global Jewish Politics? Michael Galchinsky
Printed copies are available from JPR, price £5. Contact jpr@jpr.org.uk