Between Philosophy and Judaism: Leo Strauss’s Skeptical Engagement with Zionism

This article offers an explanation for Leo Strauss’s apparently contradictory views on Israel and the Zionist project. Strauss’s views on Zionism, I argue, are intelligible only within an interpretative framework that allows for the fundamentally open-ended nature of Strauss’s thought. With this in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Taylor, Simon W. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Pennsylvania Press 2017
In: Journal of the history of ideas
Year: 2017, Volume: 78, Issue: 1, Pages: 95-116
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:This article offers an explanation for Leo Strauss’s apparently contradictory views on Israel and the Zionist project. Strauss’s views on Zionism, I argue, are intelligible only within an interpretative framework that allows for the fundamentally open-ended nature of Strauss’s thought. With this in mind, the article demonstrates how Strauss was able to reject the philosophical validity of Zionism even as he maintained a sectarian loyalty to Israel and the Jewish people. These twin identities – what I term “Strauss the Philosopher” and “Strauss the Man” – are justified on the grounds of Strauss’s wider thought.
ISSN:1086-3222
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of the history of ideas
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/jhi.2017.0004