Associate Professor of History at Southwestern University and Author of Sacred Bonds of Solidarity: the Rise of Jewi - Lisa Moses Leff
Built on solid archival research, Challenges of Equality asks us to look at French Jewish modernization with new eyes. Jeffrey Haus breaks new ground here by focusing on finances rather than ideology. The resulting account is a rich one that tells us much about how, exactly, state support for Judaism was negotiated; in so doing, it also forces us to rethink our inherited notions about Jewish assimilation."
Sophia Moses Robison Professor of Jewish Studies and History at Wellesley College - Frances Malino
Pressing lacunae in French Jewish historiography have finally been addressed. In this meticulously researched and eloquently argued study, Jeffrey Haus reveals the debates, dialogues, struggles, and unintended consequences surrounding the issue of Jewish education in France, thereby providing a new and timely perspective on French Jewish identity and the relationship between Judaism and the state."
Associate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at Brown University - Maud S. Mandel
By showing the financial concerns undergirding Jewish educational choices in nineteenth-century France, Challenges of Equality emphasizes a largely overlooked component of European Jewish history. While not dismissing the role of ideology and culture in shaping Jewish choices, Haus reminds us of the importance of practicality and political negotiation in shaping Jewish institutional development."
Lucy Moses Professor of Jewish Studies at Yale University - Paula Hyman
Challenges of Equality raises questions important to students of modern Jewry and French history and contributes to a growing literature on the development of French Jewry and the changing meanings of citizenship and equality in France."