Bad Jews

You can be called a Bad Jewby the community or even yourselfif you dont keep kosher, dont send your children to Hebrew school, or enjoy Christmas music; if your partner isnt Jewish, or you dont call your mother enough. But today, amid fears of rising antisemitism, what makes a Good or Bad Jew is a particularly fraught question.There is no answer, argues Emily Tamkin. Several million now identify as American Jews; but they dont all identify with one another. American Jewish history, like all Jewish history, has been about transformationand full of discussions, debates and hand-wringing over who is Jewish, how to be Jewish, and what it means to be Jewish.Bad Jewsis a rich, absorbing reflection on 100 years of American Jewish identities and arguments. Tamkins fascinating, diverse interviews explore the complex story of American Jewishness, and its evolving, conflicting positions, from assimilation, race, and social justice; to politics, Zionism, and Israel. She pinpoints the one truth about Jewish identity: Its always changing.