Opening of the Second Semester

It has been a busy week in ארץ ישראל (the Land of Israel). While Palestinian rockets continued to slam into southern Israel, the President of the United States came to visit the country (he did not call on us), and Israeli President Shimon Peres hosted the "Jewish Davos" in Jerusalem (we did not receive an invitation, but our friend S. went). Traffic in Jerusalem, reported J. J. Goldberg, which is "impossible on a good day," became downright hopeless. This enraged residents, making the City of Peace decidedly less placid. Yet through some act of divine providence, I managed to avoid this balagan (mess) despite making two trips to Jerusalem on Sunday and Tuesday.

I went to Jerusalem to begin teaching my sociology class at the Hebrew University. The spring semester, postponed because of the university lecturers' strike earlier this year, is just now beginning. I have a very small group of students: only four so far, though a fifth showed up for the second meeting and may join the class. All of them are Israeli, though one was born in America and made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) a few years ago. Despite the small size and the worries expressed by some of them about their English-language proficiency, we had a great discussion about the liberal tradition in America. (I mean classical liberalism, the kind that sought to maximize individual liberty by means of limited government, the rule of law, and a competitive market economy. For a bit of background, see this brief tribute to Louis Hartz that Alan Wolfe wrote for The New York Times three years ago.) Interestingly, despite plenty of historical evidence of illiberal and inegalitarian practices in American history, all of my students defended the Hartzian thesis of a "liberal consensus" in America and rejected the rival "multiple traditions thesis" propounded by the political scientist Rogers Smith (namely, that liberalism is only one of several traditions that constitute American political culture, none of which is dominant). Nobody in America but us liberals? Perhaps my Israeli students idealize America a little; I suspect they are more critical of their own country than they are about America.

The resumption of my teaching role this week coincided with the conclusion of my student role, conveniently sparing me from any potential "role conflicts" (as sociologists say). I had my last Hebrew class and final exam at Tel Aviv University last Wednesday, but I won't know how I did until later this week. As my friend M. pointed out, "It's humorous that, as a tenured Wisconsin sociologist, you're taking a final exam in some course and awaiting your grade in the mail! But thank God, at least, you won't have to wake up early anymore." I am indeed elated that I will no longer have to wake up at the unholy hour of 6:45 a.m., though I will miss the class, my teacher, and my fellow students (mostly American undergrads, whom I found very likeable). I hope the experience has benefited me in ways that will outlast the class itself. Besides improving my Hebrew language skills, I think it has made me more sensitive and sympathetic to the anxieties and concerns that my Israeli students expressed about reading, writing, and speaking in a second language. With my own experiences in mind, I tried to be especially careful to listen patiently to each of them. Who knows, with an attitude like that in a city where patience is in such short supply, maybe I'll get an invitation to the next "Jewish Davos."