Download or read book Power & Powerlessness in Jewish History written by David Biale and published by Schocken. This book was released on 1986-11-10 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE 1987 JWB NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR HISTORY In this radical reinterpretation of Jewish history, David Biale tackles the myth of Jewish political passivity between the fall of an independent Jewish Commonwealth in 70 C.E. and the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948. He argues that Jews throughout history demonstrated a savvy understanding of political life; they were neither as powerless as the memory of the Holocaust years would suggest nor as powerful as the as the contemporary state of Israel would imply.