In this probing analysis of contemporary American Jewish identity, Mnookin, a leading scholar of conflict resolution and Harvard Law School professor, observes that being Jewish in the U.S. is as likely to be a matter of personal choice and public self-definition as it is of family heritage. To investigate whether such broad criteria for inclusion threatens to weaken American Judaism, Mnookin identifies four challenges the community needs to address: rampant intermarriage, weak religious observance, diminished cohesion in the face of waning anti-Semitism, and deeply conflicting views about Israel. He argues that the greatest danger to American Jews is disengagement and advises that the community can stay strong through actively embracing diversity and debate.
