To the Editors:

Adam Shatz’s articulate review of Jean Daniel’s “The Jewish Prison: A Rebellious Meditation on the State of Judaism,” sounds remarkably similar to the fundamental principles of Sandor Gilman’s 2003 critique of contemporary Jews. This is ironic and more powerful since Daniel writes as a French intellectual (influenced by his North African ethnicity) and Gilman is an American. But listen to the similarities.
Gilman insists that through history Jews have lived on the periphery of societies, and where they are found, are involved contentiously. He insists that this is a foundation of being Jewish. He suggests that Jews should not have a country of their own, lest this undermine (his concept) of being fundamentally Jewish. “Jews have always functioned as a permanent symbolic frontier” (Jewish Frontiers, p. 18). From this periphery, Jews should observe, critique others. Further, “all Diaspora societies in which Jews live … are places of contention and
complexity for Jews.” Like the “blessing” Jacob made on his deathbed to one of his sons, the Jews should eternally, or at least perpetually nip at the hind parts of others.