Steven R. Weisman, "The Chosen Wars" (w/ Sally Quinn)

Steven R. Weisman discusses his book, "The Chosen Wars", at Politics and Prose on 8/23/18.

Weisman’s compelling history argues that, in many ways, the story of American Judaism is also a story of America itself. Starting with the arrival of the first Jews in New Amsterdam, Weisman, PIIE vice president for publications and communications and award-winning author of The Great Tax Wars, traces the transformation of Old World religious traditions into today’s Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism. The process involved many disagreements: some Jews rejected a separate identity and sought full assimilation. Others wanted to retain, but modify, religious practices. Each wave of fresh immigrants brought its own set of expectations and beliefs. Weisman tracks the various debates through vivid profiles of Jewish thinkers, teachers, and activists such as Rabbi Isaac Wise, Mordecai Manuel Noah, Moses Mendelssohn, Rebecca Gratz, and Isaac Leeser.

Weisman is in conversation with Sally Quinn, founding editor and contributor, On Faith, the online religion discussion forum and author most recently of Finding Magic.

Steven R. Weisman, vice president for publications and communications at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), previously served as a correspondent, editor, and editorial board member at The New York Times. His book The Great Tax Wars: How the Income Tax Transformed America, received the Sidney Hillman Award in 2003.

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Produced by Tom Warren