´Free as a Jew´

 

Prof. Ruth R. Wisse belongs to a generation of Jews that seen and experienced too much to accept any pressure to change their opinions, no matter how controversial. The direct contact with realities of the last century, filtered through a knowledge acquired using the classical literary and religious sources leaves no space to compromise.

Born in Czernowitz, she and her family escaped to Canada via Romania, fearing the Stalinist repression. This early life experience will deepen her understanding of communism, particularly during Cold War. As a Canadian Jew, she witnessed the birth of a new post-WWII diaspora, as well as the multicultural local policies, making friendship with Leonard Cohen. Further more, on the educational level, she experienced directly the birth of Jewish studies in the North American realm, and was directly involved in the rebirth of interest for Yiddish literature. A staunch supporter of the state of Israel, she seized the right directions that may lead to the new forms of Jew-hate - like anti-Zionism. 

She assumed her opinions of being against the ´affirmative action´, criticized the Oslo Agreements and remained a clear supporter of what would be later called ´neo-conservative´ political directions. 

And when the world was over and over again took by troubles, she found comfort in the old tales of Yiddish writers, that she promoted and taught over the years. Besides the strong memorialistic perspective, the book is also a reminder of the timeless value of Yiddish literature and its importance for the Jewish intellectual history.

Testimonies like the ones generously shared by Prof. Ruth R. Wisse are very important from the intellectual point of view. No matter what we may disagree with, she fully assumes her values and beliefs. Making and defending an intellectual choice should be no shame. Accepting someone else´s different standpoint is the beginning of a conversation that may not bring us to changing someone else´s mind, but at least will benefit in terms of understanding the difference and the diversity of ideas, without taking personal offense and directly attacking the opponent.

Rating: 4.5 stars