Jewish-Muslim relations have been affected by European public and political discourse

Jewish-Muslim relations are often constructed in the public discourse as problematic due to the conflict in the Middle East. Based on her recent study conducted with Jewish and Muslim participants in the UK with Fiaz Ahmed, Yulia Egorova suggests that Jewish-Muslim relations are instead shaped by and, at the same time, reflect wider public attitudes towards ‘minority communities’ in general and towards Jews and Muslims in particular

Theorizing "Jewish Genetics": DNA, Culture, and Historical Narrative

In June 2010 two papers appeared in major scientific journals - Nature and the American Journal of Human Genetics – which attempted to address the question about the “genetic structure” of the Jewish people (Behar et al 2010; Atzmon et al 2010). Both papers set out to assess the degree of Jewish communities’ “genetic” relatedness to each other and to their non-Jewish neighbours, and to explore whether the origin of contemporary Jews could be traced to the Middle East. Atzmon et al. examined seven Jewish populations and concluded that their “[genetic] comparison with non-Jewish groups demonstrated distinctive Jewish population clusters, each with shared Middle Eastern ancestry, proximity to contemporary Middle Eastern populations, and variable degrees of European and North African admixture”. More specifically, the paper states that the study it is based on “refuted large-scale genetic contributions of Central and Eastern European and Slavic populations to the formation of Ashkenazi Jewry” (2010: 850). Behar et al. suggest in a similar vein that the results of their study “trace the origin of most Jewish Diaspora communities to the Levant” (2010: 238). These papers contribute to a sizeable body of genetic research that has endeavoured to test the account of Jewish history, according to which contemporary Jews are genealogically connected to ancient Hebrews. This research has added a new dimension to the debate about what it means to be Jewish, injecting new meanings into the “ethnic” discourse about Judaism and Jewish culture

Book review: when the state winks: the performance of Jewish conversion in Israel by Michal Kravel-Tovi

In Israel, Jewish conversions by first and second generation repatriates from the former Soviet Union are often depicted in public discourse as ‘wink-wink’ conversions, whereby converts and the state pretend that converts’ commitment to the Jewish faith and practice is sincere rather than performed solely for the duration of the conversion process. In When the State Winks, Michal Kravel-Tovi unsettles this narrative, offering a rich and insightful ethnography that invites readers to think in novel ways not only about the relationship between conversion and the State of Israel, but also about day-to-day encounters between the state and its citizens, writes Yulia Egorov

‘This is just where we are in history’: Jewish-Muslim dialogue, temporality, and modalities of solidarity

Building upon an ethnographic study of initiatives in Jewish-Muslim dialogue in the UK, I explore the way Muslim participants in such initiatives conceptualise the position of their community in the UK in relation to that of their Jewish co-citizens. I argue that while at first blush my Muslim interlocutors appear to read their community, in some historical time-frames, as being in a position of relative disadvantage in comparison to that of their Jewish counterparts, further analysis of their understanding of the positionalities of British Jews and British Muslims reveals a theorization that conveys a strong sense of solidarity with British Jewish citizens and unequivocally conceptualizes them as a political minority. I also suggest that these comparative reflections on the minority condition bear a productive potential for drawing public attention to specific challenges that different minority groups face

Telugu Jews: Are the Dalits of coastal Andhra going caste-awry?

In the context of religious conversion movements of low castes in India, many Dalit groups have embraced Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and even Jainism in order to restore egalitarian traditions. However, their conversion to Judaism is relatively unheard of in the academia. This essay throws light on the nature of these conversions by looking at a section of Dalit population in the coastal Andhra, who embraced Judaism two decades ago by declaring their community to be the descendants of the Children of Ephraim – one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel

Medindo cidades sustentáveis na Rússia: análise crítica de metodologias-chave

The paper provides insights on the critical analysis of the current methodologies of the sustainability cities measurement for the present-day Russia. Based on meta-analysis of more than 90 peer-reviewed papers published in Russian and English, we examined both authoring and corporate methodologies such as the SGM methodology for Russian sustainable cities, the environmental rating of Russian cities, and the rating of the environmental governance of the Russian cities, the environmental efficacy index and several authoring methodologies. The analysis showed that most of the calculation methods are based on quantitative (statistical) data, what is their advantage, on the one hand, making their results as objective as possible, but on the other hand, it is a disadvantage, because in connection with the delay in publication of statistics or even its absence, it does not allow the annual dynamics to observe. In addition, the difficulty in choosing the most suitable methodology lies in the significant differences in the development of large, medium and small cities in Russia, and many rating methods are developed exclusively for one of the types of cities. Authors concluded that in spite of the high level of the existing methodologies development, there was a shortage of comprehensive studies carried out in the qualitative-quantitative paradigm that would, in addition to index assessment and mathematical models generation, explain complex causal relationships and processes within a city.El documento proporciona información sobre el análisis crítico de las metodologías actuales de la medición de ciudades de sostenibilidad para la Rusia actual. Con base en el metanálisis de más de 90 artículos revisados por pares publicados en ruso e inglés, examinamos tanto las metodologías de autoría y corporativas como la metodología SGM para ciudades sostenibles rusas, la calificación ambiental de las ciudades rusas y la calificación de la gobernanza ambiental de las ciudades rusas, el índice de eficacia ambiental y varias metodologías de autoría. El análisis mostró que la mayoría de los métodos de cálculo se basan en datos cuantitativos (estadísticos), lo que es su ventaja, por un lado, hacer que sus resultados sean lo más objetivos posible, pero por otro lado, es una desventaja, porque en conexión con el retraso en la publicación de las estadísticas o incluso su ausencia, no permite observar la dinámica anual. Además, la dificultad de elegir la metodología más adecuada radica en las diferencias significativas en el desarrollo de ciudades grandes, medianas y pequeñas en Rusia, y muchos métodos de calificación se desarrollan exclusivamente para uno de los tipos de ciudades. Los autores concluyeron que, a pesar del alto nivel de desarrollo de las metodologías existentes, había una escasez de estudios exhaustivos llevados a cabo en el paradigma cualitativo-cuantitativo que, además de la evaluación del índice y la generación de modelos matemáticos, explicaran relaciones y procesos causales complejos dentro de una ciudad.O artigo fornece insights sobre a análise crítica das metodologias atuais da medição das cidades de sustentabilidade para a Rússia atual. Com base na meta-análise de mais de 90 artigos revisados por pares publicados em russo e inglês, examinamos metodologias de autoria e corporativas, como a metodologia SGM para cidades russas sustentáveis, a classificação ambiental de cidades russas e a classificação da governança ambiental. das cidades russas, o índice de eficácia ambiental e várias metodologias de autoria. A análise mostrou que a maioria dos métodos de cálculo são baseados em dados quantitativos (estatísticos), o que é sua vantagem, por um lado, tornando seus resultados tão objetivos quanto possível, mas, por outro lado, é uma desvantagem, porque em com o atraso na publicação das estatísticas ou mesmo sua ausência, não permite que a dinâmica anual observe. Além disso, a dificuldade em escolher a metodologia mais adequada reside nas diferenças significativas no desenvolvimento de grandes, médias e pequenas cidades na Rússia, e muitos métodos de classificação são desenvolvidos exclusivamente para um dos tipos de cidades. Os autores concluíram que, apesar do alto nível de desenvolvimento das metodologias existentes, houve escassez de estudos abrangentes realizados no paradigma qualitativo-quantitativo que, além da avaliação de índices e da geração de modelos matemáticos, explicariam relações e processos causais complexos Uma cidade