Jacob L. Talmon: Mission and Testimony: Political Essays

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Isaiah Berlin, in his "Tribute to a Friend", wrote about the historian Jacob L. Talmon (1916-1980): "No matter what his theoretical interests were, or the topics on which he was lecturing or writing, his deepest concern was with the Jewish people, its history, its religious, moral and social values, its place among the nations, its future in Israel and the diaspora." These words capture the essence of Talmon's political essays presented in Mission and Testimony. Talmon was chosen by an international committee of scholars as one of the twenty major historians of the twentieth century, declaring that "his historiography was a convincing apologia for human freedom." He owes his fame primarily to his magnum opus, the trilogy that began with The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (1952), continued with Political Messianism (1960) and concluded with The Myth of the Nation and the Vision of Revolution (1981). This edited collection of Talmon's essays comprises the following: Part I, "The Nature of Jewish history", deals with the Jewish presence in history, the universal significance of Jewish history, and the impact of Jewish intellectuals. Part II, "From Anti-Semitism to the Holocaust", concerns the anti-Semitic climate of opinion that led to the Holocaust. Part III depicts the regional and global situation of the State of Israel. In Part IV, "Intellectual and Political Debates", Talmon confronts intellectuals and statesmen such as Arnold Toynbee and Menachem Begin. Part V, "Profiles in History", depicts the intellectual portraits of the historian Lewis Namier and the physicist and champion of human rights Andrei Sakharov. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Foreword: Isaiah Berlin – A Tribute to My Friend Introduction: The Historian as an Intellectual - David Ohana Jacob L. Talmon’s Political Essays Part One The Nature of Jewish History Prophetism and Ideology – The Jewish Presence in History The Nature of Jewish History – Its Universal Significance The Jewish Intellectuals in Politics – New Factors in an Ancient Tradition Jews between “Right” and “Left” Suggestion for Isolating the Jewish Component in World History Part Two From Anti-Semitism to the Holocaust Mission and Testimony – The Universal Significance of Modern Anti-Semitism The New Anti-Semitism European History – Seedbed of the Holocaust Part Three Israel between War and Peace For Total Peace in the Middle East Israel and the Arab World Domestic and International Politics – A Presentation Reflections of an Historian in Jerusalem Sadat’s Peace Initiative and Its Aftermath Part Four Intellectual and Political Debates The Argument between Arabs and Jews: An Exchange between Arnold Toynbee and J.L. Talmon An Open Letter to the Minister of Information The Mideast War – A Rejoinder “The Homeland is in Danger” – An Open Letter to Menahem Begin Part Five Profiles in History The Ordeal of Sir Lewis Namier – The Man, the Historian, the Jew Andrei Sakharov’s Ordeal Bibliography of J. L. Talmon Index Back Cover