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Jews and Violence: Images, Ideologies, and Realities (review)

Shofar ♦ An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies Hofman finally revisits the themes of cultural integration, hybridization, and intercultural background of Croatian Jews by discussing the novo-komonirari Židovi (newly composed Jews) who frequent the ŽOZ. She details how some of these men and women chose to recognize their Jewish ancestors in order to fashion contemporary Jewish identities. These are the “intercultural” Jews Hofman mentioned in the introduction, and she attributes the attraction they feel towards their Jewish heritage to symbolic essentialism—their heavy reliance on essentialized notions of identity, such as physical appearance and last names, to “feel connected to their cultural communities” (p. 5). She explores this intercultural theme further by detailing how these Croatian Jews have a “dual identity” because they “feel” as if they are both Croatian and Jewish. Hofman ends her book by commenting that “if there is a real crisis facing Croatian Jews it is the institutionalized disregard for the multiple and diverse versions of Jewish community life that have coexisted for centuries” (p. 127). This book is a valuable contribution to the study of Eastern European and post-socialist Jewish life. Hofman does a laudable job of filling in our knowledge of the region. However, she misses opportunities to theorize key issues. At times, the ethnographic sections read more like a journalistic report than an anthropological analysis. Perhaps this is because Hofman rarely links up her study to other ethnographies of post-socialist Jewish communities that also feature themes of Jewish ethnicity, anxieties over the market economy, and the importance of privately “feeling” Jewish rather than publicly “acting” Jewish. Such an exploration would have enriched her findings, making it clear to the reader what characteristics the ŽOZ shares with other Eastern European Jewish organizations, as well as what makes it unique. Overall, though, this book is highly appropriate for historians, anthropologists, and those in the general public who are interested in knowing more about Jews in Croatia. Sascha Goluboff Department of Sociology and Anthropology Washington & Lee University