Journalist Tamkin illuminates in this vibrant study the multifaceted nature of the Jewish experience in America…Heartfelt, nuanced, and empathetic, this revelatory ethnography is a must-read.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
"To take stock of one’s own people as a journalist and historian is no simple task, but Emily Tamkin rises to the occasion with aplomb. In Bad Jews, Tamkin has pieced together a vital, sober, and — most importantly — empathic accounting of the American Jewish story. The volume of Tamkin’s research was clearly astounding, and it pays off in the form of a book that is both eminently readable and appropriately provocative. Whether you’re Jew or Gentile, radical or conservative, kosher or lobster-loving, Bad Jews is sure to enthrall and educate you.” — Abe Riesman, author of True Believer
"Anything Emily Tamkin writes will be thoughtful, well-researched, and engaging. Her new book is no exception. It grabs you from page one and every time I put it down, it was with reluctance. This book is so smart, timely, and relevant, that you forget Tamkin is sounding a clarion bell about the very real dangers of our time." — Celeste Headlee, author of Speaking of Race
“With compelling narrative and piercing historical analysis, Emily Tamkin grapples with the big questions of group identity and authenticity and their relationship to inclusion in a diverse nation. She invites readers on a journey of the Jewish experience in the United States and explores the ways culture, intolerance, and perseverance have shaped it. An essential commentary on identity and belonging in America, Tamkin’s Bad Jews is necessary reading for a changing country struggling to live its creed.” — Theodore Johnson, author of When the Stars Begin to Fall
“Like the host of the world’s greatest Passover seder, Emily Tamkin invites everyone in—the idealists, the skeptics, and the dreamers—and gets them talking about all the thorniest issues. With curiosity, chutzpah, and a lot of heart, Bad Jews welcomes us all into the conversation American Jews need to have right now.” — Josh Lambert, Sophia Moses Robison Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and English, Wellesley College
“The world may think that Jews are a homogeneous group. They are anything but. Tamkin’s compelling narrative illuminates as it entertains, distilling Jewish in-fighting to the bone in the process. An essential read.” — Keren McGinity, author of Still Jewish
“Engaging…reflects the author’s experience as a skilled journalist and storyteller.” — Kirkus
“This book is very wide-ranging, …always thought-provoking, and it offers many ideas for readers to further explore.” — Booklist
2022-08-23
An examination of the “debate over who gets to speak for American Jews and who gets to claim American Jewishness.”
Journalist Tamkin, author of The Influence of Soros, explores a wide variety of questions about the Jewish faith and identity and the murky concept of so-called “good” and “bad” Jews. Is the distinction tied to Zionism and Israel? Should Jews be defined by religious or political ties, or perhaps even racial or ethnic? Do the Ashkenazi Jews have a more “authentic” Jewish experience than Sephardic Jews, who first came to America in the 17th century? Do good Jews vote for progressive Democrats or vehemently pro-Israel conservatives? “I would argue that the fact that we are in a time of change and conflict and challenge has thrown many American Jews off-balance,” writes the author. “Things are not as they were. But that, in turn, means there is an opportunity to think about what things could be.” Tamkin begins her “roughly hundred-year history of Jewish American politics, culture, identities, and arguments” with the massive Jewish immigration to America in the 1920s, after which Jews started to assimilate into the mainstream. The author explores a variety of stereotypes about Jewishness and immigration, and she interweaves her own relatives’ history into the national story. When Joseph McCarthy was wreaking havoc across the nation, Jews were targeted disproportionately, especially in Hollywood. Tamkin then moves through the civil rights era; the rise of the neoconservative movement, epitomized by Commentary magazine and its outspoken editor, Norman Podheretz; and the wild financial excesses of the 1980s, represented by Michael Milken and Bernie Madoff, among others, who played into antisemitic stereotypes. Though not a rigorous, scholarly treatment of the subject, the book ably reflects the author’s experience as a skilled journalist and storyteller.
An engaging gathering of voices demonstrate “the one truth of American Jewish identity: it can never be pinned down.
