Meet Faculty of Humanities’ researcher Dr. Karma Ben-Johanan, a leading scholar in the field of religious studies, and author of the renowned book, Jacob's Younger Brother: Christian-Jewish Relations After Vatican II. In an insightful conversation, Ben-Johanan shares her nuanced perspective on the intricacies of interfaith encounters in a rapidly changing world. Lending insight into the evolving dynamics of Jewish-Christian relations, Karma addresses the dialogue between two rich and complex traditions, revealing millennia-old sensitivities awakened by this reconciliation, and painting a vivid picture of the interplay between history, theology, and contemporary realities.
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Dr. Karma Ben Johanan, a senior lecturer and historian at the Faculty of Humanities and a recent recipient of the prestigious Dan David Prize, is an expert on the history of theology and religious ideas of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She’s particularly interested in the relationships within and between religious groups, namely Christians and Jews, as well as polemics and interfaith dialogue.
Ben-Johanan’s work examines traditions and the ways in which they evolve in response to contemporary conditions – even when these conditions differ significantly from their original contexts. Weaving together historical narratives that are often perceived as contradictory and are not conventionally associated with interfaith engagement, she creates an intriguing mosaic of narratives that enhances our understanding of contemporary Jewish-Christian relations.
[Q] Karma, thank you so much for joining us this morning. For starters, we’d like to delve into your book, Jacob’s Younger Brother, which has attracted significant attention. Can you share some of the reactions it triggered?
[A] It’s a pleasure to be here! Actually, the book’s reactions were diverse. Those who liked the book emphasized the value which lies in its recognition of the complexity of the process of Jewish-Christian post-Holocaust reconciliation. In the book I argue that, after centuries of a multifaceted relationship, there cannot be such a smooth transition into an age of peace and mutual understanding. There is something very delicate when two religions come together and rethink their relationship; there are a lot of compromises involved, and the stakes are different for each community. This is precisely what makes the process of Jewish-Christian rapprochement so interesting, and so unbelievably refreshing that this is even possible. This is also the strength of the book.
On the other hand, addressing the challenges of Jewish-Christian dialogue meant that the book touched upon some sensitive spots for those invested in it. The more critical responses I received stemmed primarily from my revealing certain Jewish voices from the orthodox Jewish community who are very reluctant to engage in Jewish-Christian dialogue. There is, of course, a logic behind this reluctance: Jews lived as a minority under Christian rule for many centuries, so there is a fair amount of embedded resentment – resentment that is less restrained today than it used to be. For us Israelis, who spend most of our time in intra-Jewish conversations, it is easier to deal with these “difficult” materials, since we know that the harsher voices do not represent “all” of Judaism. Judaism is polyphonic and is not woven of a single cloth. But some of the book’s readers were less keen to disclose these parts of Jewish tradition, perceiving them as the ‘uglier’ sides of contemporary Judaism that pose a threat to Jewish-Christian dialogue.
I think that there is an important distinction here between Israeli and diasporic Jews, which makes the book rather Israeli. Jews in the diaspora, and especially the Jewish minority in Europe, are tasked with mediating their Jewishness to the majority society. In this context, it is preferable to bring forth the more tolerant and dialogical aspects of the Jewish tradition and focus less on the radical or hostile parts. Israelis can allow themselves to be less careful, more bold and more polemical, precisely because they are unfamiliar with the experience of living as a minority. To me, the “Israeliness” of the book is both its great advantage and its central weakness – it is only from a distance that one can write about the sensitivities of Jewish-Christian relations, and I am afraid it requires a level of naïveté.
[Q] How do you think Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogue translates into practical terms, if at all?
[A] The argument in the book suggests that theology is more challenging than the practical level. Both communities want to uphold their traditions, making any alterations within them a complex endeavor that may threaten to trigger an avalanche, so to speak. As a result, extra-theological solutions have to be found that can prioritize the fostering of good relationships over theological debates. Take Pope John Paul II, for example, whose pontificate from 1978 to 2005 marked a pivotal era in Jewish-Christian dialogue. While his gestures and actions were innovative, they didn't always align with conventional theology. For instance, his iconic act of placing a note in the Western Wall was a profound liturgical symbol, but its theological implications weren't straightforward. Nonetheless, these actions had a transformative effect on Jewish-Christian relations, often more so than the meticulously crafted doctrinal statements that preceded them. The pope’s adeptness at using ritual, liturgy and symbolism contributed significantly to his wide-scale impact.
[Q] After having written extensively on the topic, do you believe in authentic Jewish-Christian dialogue?
[A] My perspective definitely evolved during the course of writing my book. While I started off by puncturing and exposing the complexities of Jewish-Christian dialogue, I realized with growing admiration how far and deep those who promoted it were willing to go. However, dynamics are currently shifting – the crisis of liberalism worldwide has reshaped the political landscape, and religious power has gained prominence, intertwining with politics in unpredictable ways. This certainly has implications for interfaith dialogue, though it is difficult to predict the scope and nature of the impact.
[Q] How do you stay optimistic?
[A] To be honest, I don't. And you don't have to leave that out, it's the truth!
[Q] What’s next?
[A] I’m currently working on a book about the different understandings of antisemitism in an age in which practically no one identifies as an antisemite. My exploration will span the post-1945 discourse, and compare between Christian, Jewish, religious and non-religious perceptions of antisemitism, trying to decipher the religious component in this overarching debate.
[Q] Your academic journey has led you to prestigious institutions across the globe. With your first year at Hebrew University coming to a close, how would you describe the experience thus far?
[A] I am still getting to know my fellow faculty, but what is already clear is the lengthy list of people I’d love to have lunch with! Despite our varied backgrounds – there is an exciting and curious intellectual community here that I am honored to be a part of.
This has been a difficult year in Jerusalem, and a time of severe social and political crisis in the country. But I am very glad I had the chance to go out to the streets with many of my colleagues and observe how they engage with this existential struggle; how they look for ways to stand up for their values while not compromising the space for other opinions to be heard; how they support the students during this sensitive time; how they use their diverse expertise to analyze the different layers of the current crisis; and how they put their knowledge to the service of the public that resides beyond the protective walls of the campuses.
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Dr. Ben-Johanan completed a PhD degree at Tel Aviv University, a Fulbright Scholarship at University of California, Berkeley, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Polonsky Academy for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Additionally, Ben Johanan engaged in research and held teaching positions at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII in Bologna, and the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften in Bad Homburg. In Berlin, she was the inaugural Chair of Jewish-Christian Relations at Humboldt University’s Faculty of Theology. In 2022, she joined the Department of Comparative Religion at Hebrew University’s Faculty of Humanities, teaching modern Christianity and Jewish-Christian relations.
Ben-Johanan’s book, A Pottage of Lentils: Mutual Perceptions of Christians and Jews in the Age of Reconciliation (Tel Aviv University Press, 2020), won the Shazar Prize for Research in Jewish History in 2021. The revised English version, Jacob's Younger Brother (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022) was awarded the Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines, and was a finalist in both the National Jewish Book Awards and the Association of American Publishers Prose Awards in 2023. Karma’s research contributions have been honored by the prestigious Dan David Prize, the world’s largest history prize, marking her as the first Israeli woman to receive this esteemed recognition.