Ruth Wisse is the author of the new book, Free as a Jew: A Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation. Its Canadian debut coincided with Jewish Book Month, hosted by the Jewish Public Library in Montreal. But the timing wasn’t a coincidence.
Wisse, 85, has spent decades as a professor of Yiddish at Harvard, and pioneered the Jewish Studies graduate program at McGill. These days, her unabashed opinions, often conservative, target left-leaning Jews and what she believes is an over-emphasis on mourning the Holocaust, rather than celebrating Israel.
Wisse joins the show to discuss these topics and more in an expansive interview.
What we talked about:
- Watch Wisse’s book launch on YouTube
- Find her book on simonandschuster.com
- Read “McGill celebrates 50 years of Jewish studies” at thecjn.ca
Credits
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.
