Historian Kenneth Wald Presents a Jewish Book Council Author Talk

The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism, Winner of the 2019 Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award

Monday, November 30 at 7:00 P.M. on Zoom

Free and open to the public

This event is presented in partnership with the Vilna Shul and Worcester Jewish Community Center.

Register for this event at: https://vilnashul.org/events/event/the-foundations-of-american-jewish-liberalism-with-author-kenneth-wald

Falmouth Jewish Congregation invites the public to a free, virtual Jewish Book Council author talk with political scientist Kenneth Wald, author of The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism, winner of the 2019 Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award. Herb Weisman, author of The Politics of American Jews and a fellow observer of American Jewish voting patterns will join Wald in conversation. This Zoom-based event, a partnership between Falmouth Jewish Congregation, the Vilna Shul (Boston) and the Worcester Jewish Community Center, will take place on Monday, November 30 at 7:00 P.M. Participants can register at https://vilnashul.org/events/event/the-foundations-of-american-jewish-liberalism-with-author-kenneth-wald

With the election having just come to a close, this compelling conversation will reflect on the polit­i­cal behav­ior of America’s Jews in the past, and currently. In con­trast to oth­er eth­nic groups who have moved to the right polit­i­cal­ly as they have ascend­ed the eco­nom­ic and social lad­ders, Jews have large­ly remained wed­ded to the left-of-cen­ter pol­i­tics of their par­ents and grand­par­ents. Ken­neth D. Wald’s provoca­tive book seeks to answer this conun­drum — why Jews, one of America’s most afflu­ent and upward­ly eth­nic groups, have con­tin­ued to vote against what would appear to be their class inter­est. Wald will introduce his book and also comment on the recent election and the impact of American Jews on the results. The event will begin with a brief presentation by Wald, followed by a conversation between Wald and Weisman, and finally a Q & A session for participants.

Kenneth Wald is a pro­fes­sor emer­i­tus in polit­i­cal sci­ence at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Florida. A pioneer in developing the study of religion in modern political life, he wrote what became the major textbook of the field, now in its eighth edition, developed some of the first specialized courses on the subject, published path breaking articles in academic journals, and mentored numerous students who have carried on research in the field. He also co-founded the Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association and a flourishing book series on religion and politics for the Cambridge University Press. Most of his career was spent at the University of Florida but he was (and remains) a visiting faculty member at many schools in the United States and around the world. The University of Florida named Wald its Teacher-Scholar of the Year in 2011, the highest award for a faculty member. Learn more about Wald at his website http://www.kenwald.com.

Herb Weisberg is an emeritus professor of political science at Ohio State University. His main areas of research are American voting and survey research, and he has written several books on both topics. Most recently, he authored the 2019 book The Politics of American Jews and contributed the chapter on “The Presidential Voting of American Jews” in the 2019 edition of the American Jewish Year Book.

Interested in reading The Foundations of American Jewish Liberalism? Please support local independent bookstore by purchasing online through Eight Cousins.

Read Wald’s recent essay “Why the Personal Becomes Politican: Jewish in American Politics” at the Jewish Book Council website: https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/why-the-personal-becomes-political-jews-in-american-politics