Copyright © Natan Sznaider 2011

The right of Natan Sznaider to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2011 by Polity Press

Polity Press

65 Bridge Street

Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

350 Main Street

Malden, MA 02148, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-4795-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-4796-8(pb)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-3761-7(Single-user ebook)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-3757-0(Multi-user ebook)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

For further information on Polity, visit our website: www.politybooks.com

This book owes much to conversation with friends and colleagues. More than anything else, it is the product of an ongoing exchange and research agenda that I started with Ulrich Beck. The book is partly a result of long conversations about the virtues of universalism and particularism. It is also a constant intellectual and emotional engagement with his ideas and thinking about the world.

I thank Daniel Levy for his support and friendship over the years. His engagement with my ideas was a constant challenge. I thank him for his criticism and suggestions. I also would like to thank Michael Pollak for his enthusiasm and support throughout.

I would also like to thank my academic home, the Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo for granting me the academic freedom and financial support to engage in this research. Many institutions have provided me with access to their collections which made this book possible. These include the Manuscript and Archival Collection of Stanford University – here I would like to thank Zachary Baker for his support; the Center for Jewish History in New York, where I would like to thank Frank Mecklenburg; the Hannah Arendt Center at the New School for Social Research in New York – here my special appreciation goes to Jerome Kohn who was never tired of guiding me through the ideas of Hannah Arendt. Thanks to Dorothy Smith of the American Jewish Archives for providing me with important materials. In addition, I appreciate the support of the Gershom Scholem Archive at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem for providing generous access to their holdings. Writing this book was indeed a journey through the current centers of Jewish life and learning.