What does it mean to be “chosen”? How has this concept impacted relations between Jews and other faiths throughout history? Avi Beker, visiting professor of government, attempts to answer these questions and explore other issues related to the concept of “chosenness” in his new book, The Chosen: The History of an Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession just released by Palgrave MacMillan.

Beker analyzes the concept of “the Chosen People” as it appears in the Old and New Testaments, the Talmud, and other rabbinic sources as well as the Qu’ran and Hadith. In the book he explores this key defining concept of Judaism and investigates why it remains the central unspoken and explosive psychological, historical and theological problem at the heart of Jewish-Gentile relations. The Chosen explains how the Jews have come to simultaneously represent, in Beker’s view, both the good and the odious. He reviews the great stories of how the Jews came to be chosen, as well as efforts by other faiths to appropriate the title, and the role “chosenness” plays in contemporary anti-Semitism and in the current Middle East conflict.

He argues that for many Jews, the concept of “chosenness” is paradoxical. On the one hand, it represents for them responsibility and gives them a sense of mission. On the other hand, Beker says the concept has also led to persecution, suffering and hardship for the Jews. He argues that Jews should ultimately embrace the concept and recognize it as a “pillar of Judaism, the most important paradigm for today’s worldwide religious reawakening,” noting that it is a central component in shaping the perceptions of both Jews and non-Jews and integral to fully understanding Jewish history and the world’s attitude toward Jews.

“Well-researched, insightful, Avi Beker’s volume on the theme of the chosenness of the Jewish people responds to many questions, both ancient and contemporary, that are worth of the reader’s interest,” said Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

Avi Beker is visiting professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. He was a member of the Israeli mission to the United Nations (1977-82). For twenty years Beker served in the World Jewish Congress, as the executive director in Israel, the international director and finally as the Secretary General, the chief executive officer of the umbrella organization of world Jewish communities. Beker participated and led international campaigns against anti-Semitism, Holocaust restitution, defending Jewish human rights and advocating for rights of Jews from Arab countries. Under the auspices of the WJC, he founded the Israel Council for Foreign Relations and the Institute for Research of the WJC which he subsequently headed. He has published books and articles on international politics and security, disarmament, Israel’s foreign policy and Jewish affairs. He lectures regularly on these topics in Israel and abroad. On December 2007 Beker received the Boris Smolar award from the American Jewish distribution Committee (JDC) for his research studies and essays on international Jewish affairs. In 2004-2007 he taught graduate students and headed the program on Jewish Diplomacy at the school of Government and Policy at Tel Aviv University. He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York specializing in international security, arms control and the United Nations.

Source: Office of Communications (May 7, 2008)