Book Description:James Benjamin Loeffler, Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century

Bibliographic Information:
James Benjamin Loeffler, Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth Century
ISBN: 978-0-300-21724-7

Professor Loeffler provides us with a sterling example of the research and analysis of events that we hope to find in books on history. He shines a light on the germinal role of Jewish human rights activists in developing the contemporary complex of institutions, laws, philosophies, and competing politics that we call international human rights. Loeffler points us to the development of different approaches based on concepts of protection of minority rights and protection of individual rights. He also charts the development of the ideological chasm between Zionism, Israel, Jews, most of the participants in contemporary Jewish civilization, and some of the major international human rights organizations.

Professor Loeffler writes clearly. The book is easily read. He has a talent for summarizing complex notions of human rights thinking in understandable language.

Rooted Cosmopolitans should find widespread use in the study of human rights, human rights law, antisemitism, and Jewish history. In addition, students may need preparation for the particular situation of Jewish communities and new nation-states in the first half of the Twentieth Century. Rooted Cosmopolitans is one of those rare books that shows graduate students how outstanding historical research, analysis, and reporting look.