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Patriots without a Homeland dissects an important underexplored theme in Hungarian Jewry: Modern Orthodoxy.
This study clearly demonstrates that beginning from the late nineteenth century, a strong modernizing trend developed within Orthodoxy based on the adoption of Hungarian national identity alongside the preservation of tradition. Modern Orthodoxy was receptive to the Hungarian language, culture, and religion. However, the attempt to integrate failed.
The book traces the journey of Hungarian Jews from Emancipation to the Holocaust and seeks to understand the reasons for the Jews’ complete trust in Hungarian integrity. For instance, why did they believe until the very last moment that the Holocaust would not affect them? How could they fail to notice the impending disaster?
This is the story of a community that felt rooted in the land and contributed greatly to its well-being, but was eventually rejected: the story of patriots without a homeland.
“Patriots without a Homeland makes a major contribution in revising the ‘standard’ historiographical view that the Neologue and Orthodox denominations were ineluctably different in their attitudes towards the Hungarian public / nation-state.”
— Sean Remz, Journal of Religion and Culture
“While the study of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe tends to focus on halakhic questions and on the ideological struggles with other Jewish streams, with an emphasis on the internal Jewish arena, this book seeks to examine the conduct of Hungarian Orthodoxy in the external arena. Through rabbinic literature, memoirs, and press, it exposes the changes that occurred in the perception and attitudes of different Orthodox groups. … The book makes a positive contribution to modern Jewish history, particularly, Hungarian Jewry, the emergence of Orthodox Judaism, and the relationship between Jews and other citizens from emancipation to Holocaust. Patriots without a Homeland is recommended for all Judaic scholarly collections.”
— David B Levy, AJL News & Reviews
“This book offers an original interpretation of the history of Orthodox Jews in modern Hungary. Based on a rich selection of sources from Hungarian Jewish press and Hebrew Rabbinical literature, Hartman’s research illuminates the complicated path Orthodox Hungarian Jews underwent towards their self-perception as an integral part of the Hungarian nation. Hartman deftly lays out the story of Hungarian Jewry from the outset of their civil integration up until the eve of the Holocaust while discerning a variety of strategies aimed to balance national Hungarian identity with Orthodox life. The result is a newly considered picture of Orthodox Jewry in Hungary, eye-opening and enriching to anyone interested in modern Jewish history, European nationalism, and Holocaust Studies.”
— Guy Miron, Open University of Israel
"Jehuda Hartman’s monograph is a significant contribution to three major subtopics within the study of modern Jewish history: Hungarian Jewry, the emergence of Orthodox Judaism as one among a range of Jewish religious trends in emancipatory times, and the relationship between Jews and other citizens during this turbulent period. Contrary to popular assumptions, Hartman’s work presents the contours of a deep-seated Jewish patriotism in nineteenth-century Hungary even among the most zealously religious Jews. These connections were subsequently challenged by the rising official antisemitism from the turn of the twentieth century onwards. As such, not only does this book enrich historical scholarship, it offers a fresh comparative perspective from which to examine the vicissitudes of contemporary Jewish engagements with host societies as well."
— Adam S. Ferziger, Professor and holder of the Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Chair for the Study of the Torah and Derekh Erez Movement, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Bar-Ilan University
Jehuda Hartman specializes in the study of the Jewish community in Hungary in modern times. He holds a Ph.D. in Jewish history from Bar Ilan University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the UCLA. Hartman has been involved in international mathematics projects and has taught in universities in the US, Canada, and Israel. He is a recipient of a National Prize for scientific achievement.