A Jewish Professor's Political Punditry

According to the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides, one of the ways to find divine forgiveness is by “dismantling for the purpose of building.” Spiritually, the careful analysis of one’s speech, actions, and thoughts can lead to self-improvement. For more than fifty years, political science professor Ron Rubin adapted this concept to the political arena. Through his writing, he endeavored to “dismantle” political forces and events with the hope of “building” a more secure future. The centrality of political power as a tool for a thriving Jewish population has been Rubin’s constant theme.

A Jewish Professor’s Political Punditry is an anthology of Rubin’s works focusing on Israel, Judaism, and world politics, and the personalities who have influenced world Jewry. It includes articles, opinion pieces, letters, serials, papers, and columns gathered from more than thirty publications worldwide including New York Magazine, the New York Times, the Jewish Press, the Jerusalem Post, Western Political Quarterly, Christian Science Monitor, Forward, and the Wall Street Journal. Erudite and impassioned, Rubin offers an acute analytical perspective on American Jewish political behavior, US foreign policy, the plight of Soviet Jewry, the Middle East, terrorism, Israeli communications, Jewish personalities, and more.

One of the few Americans of his generation who has written on such a dazzling variety of subjects, Rubin is also among the most prolific writers on the subject of Soviet Jewry. This anthology gives readers a critical portrait of Jewish interaction with the world during a turbulent era as seen through the eyes of an observant modern Orthodox Jew.