Hurban, Exile, and Diaspora in Jewish History
Jewish hopes for Return to the Land rest on a cyclical providential narrative: Hurban, Exile, Return. It was shaped from the Bible to the Rabbis. As post-Holocaust security wanes, Malachi Haim Hacohen’s project reconnects secular and traditional exile discourses to rethink the future of Jewry.
Audio Recording: The Future of Jewish History. Catastrophe, Diaspora, and Exile
Malachi Haim Hacohen is Professor of History, Religion, Jewish Studies, and German Studies and author of Karl Popper - The Formative Years, 1902-1945: Politics and Philosophy in Interwar Vienna and Jacob & Esau: Jewish European History Between Nation and Empire.
Recent Critiques of Zionism and Israel have highlighted the diasporic character of the Jewish people: the Jews have been a Diaspora for over 2500 years. Their current acceptance as citizens in nation states is a post-Holocaust exception, a blip on the historical screen.