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Co-Winner, 2026 Shapiro Award for Best Book in Israel Studies, given by the Association for Israel Studies
The rise of moderate Orthodox Judaism in Israel and the key role of Americans in its emergence
The conservative ultra-Orthodox and redemptive "Kook" camps hold sway over religious matters in Israel. Yet from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, a small cadre of American immigrants arrived in Israel and established or led a range of educational institutions that trained thousands of advanced students and laid the ideological foundations for an Israeli moderate religious stream. In Agents of Change, Adam S. Ferziger highlights the parts played by these Americans in promoting the rise of a transnational community of moderate Jewish Orthodoxy.
Analyzing the novel outlooks that have found expression in central areas of debates, from women’s engagements in religious and public life and approaches to the gay and lesbian community to interactions with non-Orthodox denominations and attitudes toward academic Jewish studies, Ferziger illuminates both shifting religious dynamics in Israel as a result of this rise in moderate Orthodoxy, as well as the changing relationship between Israeli and American Judaisms, challenging current understandings which see the Jewish communities of the two nations as drifting apart. Though a minority in Israel, this vocal Orthodox community with a more moderate take on key issues is significant in potentially paving the way for social change. Increasingly, their influence is being felt. Shedding light on the impact of American migration in forming a burgeoning moderate religious direction in Israeli life that has challenged the hegemony of the long dominant direction within Religious Zionism, Agents of Change offers a fresh perspective on the multifaceted collaboration of ideas and practices that exists between Israel and America.
— Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation
"How did Orthodox Jews overcome their suspicion of Zionism as a secular movement and come to love the State of Israel? In this fascinating and highly original book, Adam Ferziger, a renowned scholar of modern Orthodoxy, describes the blossoming of a moderate Orthodoxy within Religious Zionism, a formidable political power in Israel today."
— Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College
"Amid the debate about distancing between American Jews and Israelis, Ferziger’s important book focuses on a critical counter-trend: American visionaries who have been influential in shaping Israel. With his rich, nuanced understanding of the Jewish landscape, Ferziger demonstrates that these leaders didn’t just come from America: America went through them."
— David Makovsky, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
"A refreshingly different approach .... Agents of Change will be of great interest to any reader who is deeply engaged with Israel and/or Jewish religious observance."
"Agents of Change is distinguished by fascinating subject matter and impressive scholarly analysis, as well as by the fact that it wrestles not only with the who, what, and why of its subject matter, but also with the ‘so what’ —why it matters."
"Agents of Change is well written, thorough, and particularly relevant for English-speaking olim… it is a most worthwhile read."