copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson

"ClassicNotes on The Chosen" ClassicNotes by GradeSaver (1999-2001) GradeSaver. 23 October 2001. http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/chosen/links.html GradeSaver is a professional literature and language online resource. It offers notes on several classics including The Chosen. It also offers information about the author, an overview of the book, character lists, themes, and chapter-by-chapter summaries. "Judaism 101: A Glossary of Basic Jewish Terms and Concepts" Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Website (2001) 23 October 2001. http://judaism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ou.org%2Fabout%2Fjudaism.htm This site offers a searchable index of basic Jewish terms and concepts as defined by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. It is informative and easy to use. "Monmouth College Freshman Seminar: Summer Study Questions for The Chosen" Fasano, Chris. Texts for Monmouth College Freshman Seminar: The Chosen (2001) 23 October 2001. http://department.monm.edu/freshsem/fstexts/texts98/chosenq.htm This site contains study questions for a Freshman College Seminar studying The Chosen. It provides some good thinking prompts for students and discussion prompts for teachers. "Palestine in American Jewish Education in the Pre-State Period" Chazan, Barry. Jewish Social Studies 42:3 (1980): 229-247. This article reviews various stances regarding the teaching regarding a Palestinian state and Zionism in schools among the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox/Traditional, and Cultural-Pluralist groups of Jews in America. It shows how Zionism became more readily acceptable from 1900-1948, and finally widely taught from the 1960s onward. Podell, Tim. Interview Good Conversations 1997. 23 October 2001. http://www.authorvideos.com/authors/potok.html This site is an advertisement for Tim Podell's interview with Chiam Potok. It does, however, offer a movie clip of the interview and valuable information about Potok. It is an interesting tidbit students might enjoy. Rev. of American Zionism by Melvin I. Urofsky Feingold, Henry. Midstream. 21:8 (1975): 70-72. Feingold summarizes Urofsky's attempt to describe the whole history of Zionism in America. It points out America's important role as "watchdog" in protecting Israeli interests. Urofsky cites two major events that caused heightened American Jewish interest in Zionism: "the recruitment of Louis Brandeis and the advent of World War I." "The Genesis of the American Council for Judaism: A Quest for Identity in World War II" Penkower, Monty Noam. American Jewish History 86:2 (1998): 167-194. Penkower chronicles the progress of Jews worldwide, especially in America, toward a more united movement of Zionism. He especially focuses on the Reform Jews' struggle to find identity as Jews who were also American citizens. This "dual citizenship" made it very difficult for many American Jews to support the nationalistic ideas of a state of Israel. "The Jew as Portrayed in American Jewish Novels in the 1930's" Yedwab, Stanley. American Jewish Archives 11:2 (1959): 148-154. (The Jews in America growing up in the 1930s became the Jews who, after WWII, helped push Zionism into a force strong enough to establish a state of Israel.) Yedwab observes that characters in 1930s Jewish novels serve well as a "historical mirror of the structure of American Jewish Society." Most are caught between their "Old World" Jewish identity and their New World American life. Second generation American Jews were especially plagued by "pain and guilt" as they left the Old World ideals. Yedwab proposes that 1930s American Jews "epitomiz[ed] the warped and distorted personality of the times" of Depression-era United States. He points out that the marginal Jew was the most affected by these dilemmas of identity, etc. "The Mizrachi Movement in America: A Belated but Sturdy Offshoot" Salmon, Yosef. American Jewish Archives 48:2 (1996): 161-175. Beginning in the late 1800s, the Mizrachi Movement grew to be one of the most influential Zionist organizations in the United States. Its growth was slower than in Europe, but it (the Mizrachi Movement) became one of the most powerful in America, with the most members eventually settling in Eretz Israel (Palestine). "Zionism and the Representation of 'Jewish Palestine' at the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940" Gelvin, James L. The International History Review 22:1 (March 2000): 37-64. Zionists used a separate display at the New York World's Fair to further the cause of Jewish settlement in Palestine. Gelvin describes the propaganda used by display coordinators aimed at romanticizing Zionist settlers' lives in Palestine and mixing traditionally Jewish symbols with Zionist slogans in an effort to create Zionist sympathy among non-Zionist groups. "Zionist Organization of America" Zionist Organization of America Website (2000) 23 October, 2001. http://www.zoa.org/index-1.htm This website is definitely slanted toward an almost radical Zionist point of view. The ZOA does provide helpful information about their purposes and methods of promoting Zionism in the United States. This site is a good representation of one group's view towards Zionism.

Back to Potok's Page

Reading Resources and Unit Guide for this Novel