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Ofer Idels

@oferidels

Historian | Zionism and Experience | Postdoc @ucalgary.bsky.social | Former Humboldt Fellow | Author: Zionism: Emotions, Language & Experience (CUP) & Embodying the Revolution (RUP) | @newcastleunited.com Fan. https://ucalgary.academia.edu/OferIdels

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26.11.2024
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Latest posts by Ofer Idels @oferidels

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On the Weather and the Weight of a Sovereign Jewish Experience Sovereignty is not a law of nature, it is a choice we must make in every generation. A reflection on the "miracle" of being a modern Jew. (Available in English and Hebrew)

The Zionist revolution’s success is its blind spot: we’ve forgotten how extraordinary our reality is.
My new essay: "On the Weather and the Weight of a Sovereign Jewish Experience."

🇺🇸 🇮🇱 Full text in English & Hebrew.👇

#Israel #Zionism #JewishIdentity
open.substack.com/pub/oferidel...

12.01.2026 18:21 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

"To say Ofer Idels’s analysis is daring diminishes its force."
📢The first review of my @CambridgeUP
book "Zionism: Emotions, Language and Experience" is out.
Deep thanks to Donna Robinson Divine for this thoughtful and generous reading.
#IsraelStudies #emotions #AcademicTwitter

09.12.2025 18:30 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Just arrived in the mail! My new book, "Embodying the Revolution" is here. If you're into sports, Hebrew culture, or how the "New Jew" was forged, this is for you. @rutgersupress.bsky.social #newbook #history

16.09.2025 17:35 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Excited to kick off this year’s Jewish Culture Forum with Josh Lambert online, Sept 18!
He’ll be diving into Jews, Nazis, and video games — a mix too fascinating to miss. Link and description below
events.ucalgary.ca/event/495836...

05.09.2025 16:08 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Excited to share that my book Embodying the Revolution will be out this October with Rutgers UP! It explores the surprising marginalization of sports in Israeli culture—and how Zionisim shaped the Jewish experience in interwar Palestine. (photo AI, link below)

04.06.2025 16:35 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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This Tuesday (May 27) at 12 PM Calgary / 2 PM EST:
Join me and Dr. Roni Cohen for the kickoff of the Jewish Culture Forum!
We'll dive into medieval Jewish humor and parodic takes on the Talmud and Bible—long before modernity.
On Zoom, open to all. Reg link:
ucalgary.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

22.05.2025 16:05 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Project MUSE - No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender and the German-Jewish Migration to Mandatory Palestine by Viola Alianov-Rautenberg (review) This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

05.03.2025 19:34 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Review of Viola Alianov-Rautenberg "No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender and the German-Jewish Migration to Mandatory Palestine," AJS Review 48 (2024): 428-430 Review of Viola Alianov-Rautenberg "No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender and the German-Jewish Migration to Mandatory Palestine," AJS Review 48 (2024): 428-430

www.academia.edu/128030739/Re...

05.03.2025 19:34 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Review of Viola Alianov-Rautenberg "No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender and the German-Jewish Migration to Mandatory Palestine," AJS Review 48 (2024): 428-430 Review of Viola Alianov-Rautenberg "No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen: Gender and the German-Jewish Migration to Mandatory Palestine," AJS Review 48 (2024): 428-430

I really enjoyed reviewing Alianov-Rautenberg's "No Longer Ladies and Gentlemen," which explores German Jewish immigration to Palestine. It's beautifully written, full of rich anecdotes, but like many in the field, it often overlooks a historical shadow—or perhaps we should say light.

05.03.2025 19:34 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Today's the last day to download my book for free! You can read it anytime. If you're into history, Jewish culture, emotions, and more, you'll find it intriguing. Don't miss out! doi.org/10.1017/9781...

19.12.2024 14:10 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Some time ago, I watched an engaging evening with Simon Schama discussing Tolstoy vs. Dickens. The English novelist lost. However, I believe no one could have guessed his legacy would be tarnished so quickly....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLXp...

10.12.2024 13:32 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Universities are in crisis. We have forgotten that the only way to prepare for the future is to imagine the human in situations yet unknown and to explore the boundaries of the human condition. A focus on economic gain loses sight of all that might be possible.

04.12.2024 09:13 👍 138 🔁 54 💬 2 📌 8

Liberty as Independence - bit.ly/3zeGyK6

02.12.2024 21:10 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Want to do some law and emotions research and need to think through the conceptual questions it raises? Check out our article here! With Kate Rossmanith and Sharyn Roach Anleu!

bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

02.12.2024 04:02 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Massive away win for the little fella.

02.12.2024 13:38 👍 57718 🔁 9529 💬 578 📌 367
History of Emotions lecture series / Historia de las Emociones serie de conferencias

For anyone curious about the history of emotions and allied fields, here are some starter resources, accessible for students and professionals alike.
1. The public lecture series organised by NACHE/SIHEX in English and Spanish and freely available here: mars.gmu.edu/collections/...

11.11.2024 08:29 👍 51 🔁 30 💬 1 📌 1

The next issue of Emotions: History, Culture, Society has a forum on imagination and emotion with an intro by me! Keep an eye out for the rest of the articles as they appear! (Or subscribe and get it in the post).

brill.com/view/journal...

27.11.2024 03:32 👍 7 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Zionism Cambridge Core - History of Ideas and Intellectual History - Zionism

My book "Zionism: Emotions, Language, and Experience" is now available for free—not just for Jewish Studies scholars, but also for those interested in the history of emotions, postcritique, and historiography. Especially for researchers and grad students! doi.org/10.1017/9781...

28.11.2024 09:29 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1
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Zionism Cambridge Core - History of Ideas and Intellectual History - Zionism

For everyone who followed me today (thanks again, Rob!) and is interested in my work, it's available for free for the next few weeks. Right here: - doi.org/10.1017/9781...

26.11.2024 17:33 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Zionism Cambridge Core - History of Ideas and Intellectual History - Zionism

all you #skystorians of #emotion need to know that @oferidels.bsky.social is here, and so is his new Cambridge Element, "Zionism: Emotions, Language and Experience", currently *free* to download. www.cambridge.org/core/books/z...

26.11.2024 12:17 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Thank you!

26.11.2024 14:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

anything interesting?

26.11.2024 11:47 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0